The scientific results of the VOCALS field campaign are based on analysis of observations made by instruments located on ships, aircraft, and land. This map shows the paths followed by ships and planes over the Southeast Pacific and the observation stations along the coasts of Chile and Peru.
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Courtesy of Robert Wood
What are the results of VOCALS?
Scientists must work very hard to understand the data collected in field campaigns like VOCALS. They must review and study it to determine what has been learned. Many model runs will be made and analyzed. Eventually, they will publish their discoveries in scientific journals and give oral presentations at conferences.
VOCALS will allow examination over an entire month of how variability in ocean currents, ocean upwelling, marine winds, and air pollution will impact the properties of the atmosphere, the clouds, and the amount of precipitation found there. The climate of the Southeast Pacific is especially complicated by the nearby Andes Mountain range.
VOCAL measurements will be important! They will add to current knowledge in the fields of atmospheric science and oceanography. They will be used to improve models exploring the atmosphere and climate. VOCALS could ultimately lead to much better predictions of future climate. Predictions are very important to people around the world who are in danger from the impacts of climate change, such as sea level rise, heat waves, drought, severe rainstorms, and changes in growing seasons.
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