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"Discovery Files" Features from the National Science Foundation
"Dimmer Switch"
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A PILOT PROGRAM, WITH NO PILOT. THE "DISCOVERY FILES": NEW ADVANCES IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. YOU MIGHT THINK OF THEM AS AN "AIR" FORCE: A FLEET OF UNMANNED DRONES THAT RECENTLY FLEW THROUGH THE POLLUTION-FILLED SKIES ABOVE THE INDIAN OCEAN--WITH THE ABILITY TO COLLECT UNPRECEDENTED ATMOSPHERIC DATA RELATED TO GLOBAL DIMMING. "GLOBAL DIMMING" REFERS TO THE REDUCTION OF SUNLIGHT REACHING THE EARTH BECAUSE OF POLLUTION PARTICLES IN THE AIR, AND THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO CLOUD FORMATION. BECAUSE OF THEIR SMALL SIZE AND MINIATURIZED INSTRUMENTS, THIS GROUP OF "AUTONOMOUS UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES"--OR A-U-A-V'S--IS ABLE TO ANALYZE CONDITIONS INSIDE, ABOVE AND BELOW CLOUD FORMATIONS--A FEAT THAT'S RARELY ATTEMPTED USING MANNED FLIGHTS, BECAUSE OF THE LOGISTICAL DIFFICULTY AND COST INVOLVED. RESEARCHERS HOPE--BASED ON THE SUCCESS OF THIS MISSION--THAT, WITHIN FIVE YEARS, HUNDREDS OF A-U-A-V'S MAY SERVE AS AN EARLY-WARNING SYSTEM FOR A POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER--AND SHED SOME NEW LIGHT ON GLOBAL DIMMING. THE "DISCOVERY FILES" COVERS PROJECTS FUNDED BY THE GOVERNMENT'S NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH BROUGHT TO YOU BY YOU! LEARN MORE AT "N-S-F"-DOT-GOV.
For additional "Discovery Files" features from the National Science Foundation, click here.
