NASA takes part in Philippine monsoon experiment

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines and the United States are conducting an important hi-tech aerosol study on Philippine maritime areas in a bid to help understand how pollution is affecting the country’s southwest monsoon and rainfall.

The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Ateneo de Manila University’s Manila Observatory and Department of Science and Technology are collaborators in the ongoing Cloud, Aerosol, and Monsoon Processes Philippines Experiment (CAMP2EX).

The CAMP2EX is trumpeted as the most comprehensive field campaign to date in maritime Southeast Asia to study the relationship between aerosol particulates as they interact with surrounding monsoon meteorology, cloud microphysics and the sun’s radiation.

NASA has provided the services of their hi-tech maritime and air assets for the effort – a P-3B research aircraft, a Lear jet completely fitted out for flight research surveys, and Neil Armstrong-class research vessel RV Sally Ride for six-weeks of airborne campaigns to gather data over maritime areas of the Philippines.

US Embassy Charge d’Áffaires John Law, in a media presentation of the CAMP2EX campaign Monday morning, said that the project, which had taken 10 years to plan out and bring to fruition, was “significantly crucial” not just for the Philippines and the US, “but for the entire world.”

“We are so thankful for your support, for your collaboration,” Law said.

Hal Maring of NASA and CAMP2EX program scientist will investigate the important “unknowns” in southwest monsoon climate and weather using satellites, aircraft and models.

The airborne campaign lasting six weeks started late last August and will end early next month.

Maring said that data to be generated by CAMP2EX will greatly improve understanding of how precipitation processes such as drought and flooding shift with changing climate, thus facilitating local water and emergency response management.

The study seeks to tackle some of the most difficult weather and climate phenomena to understand, monitor and forecast. 

Science Assistant Secretary Leah Buendia said the Philippines recognized the critical importance of data to be gathered by the project.

“CAMP2EX is a multibillion-dollar project that aims to use aircraft and satellite technology to examine how smoke and pollution affects cloud formation and rainfall for improved weather prediction and disaster preparedness,” Buendia said.

“This is a timely and significant endeavor, especially with urban air pollution on the rise and the recent unfolding of global catastrophes in the burning of the Amazon rainforest and the wildfires in Indonesia. These events have unfortunate impacts in many ways and CAMP2EX  for one, can help quantify the meteorological disturbances they cause,” Buendia said.