Fort Drum, NY – In a groundbreaking collaboration, Fort Drum and NASA have joined forces to delve deeper into the mysteries of weather phenomena during a total solar eclipse. Today, it was announced that NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, will employ Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) to gather crucial atmospheric data during the forthcoming eclipse, aiming to enhance comprehension of Earth’s atmosphere during rapid weather fluctuations.
Scheduled for Monday, April 8th, the solar eclipse will be a pivotal moment for researchers from Langley, who will deploy specially modified UASs to capture atmospheric measurements before, during, and after the eclipse, facilitating the assessment of meteorological disparities. This initiative will see close collaboration with esteemed partners including the World Meteorological Organization, National Center for Atmospheric Research, and the University of Albany, all of whom will launch weather balloons to collect data within the same time frame.
These unmanned aircraft, soaring to a maximum altitude of nearly two miles, will furnish invaluable vertical modeling of temperature, relative humidity, pressure, and wind, serving as a novel approach to data collection compared to traditional weather balloons.
The insights garnered from this project are poised to enrich our understanding of Earth’s energy equilibrium, offering potential breakthroughs in forecasting sudden weather-altering events such as volcanic eruptions and wildfires.
The endeavor underscores the significance of partnerships between military institutions like Fort Drum and cutting-edge scientific organizations like NASA, as they converge to push the boundaries of knowledge and innovation.
As anticipation builds for the celestial spectacle on April 8th, New York State parks are gearing up to host a series of events to mark the occasion, welcoming enthusiasts and researchers alike to witness this rare astronomical event.
