Winter 2010 Climate Alert
Mexico: Inspiring Climate Solutions [ PDF ]
In this Newsletter:
Tickell High Altitude Climate Observatory Fills Crucial Gap in Greenhouse Gas Analysis
The February 2010 Inauguration of the Sir Crispin Tickell High Altitude Observatory will mark the realization of a dream of at least six years by a number of Mexican scientists and environmentalists who have constituted the core of the Climate Institute’s Mexico and Latin America Program. Having led efforts to provide the Mexican public access to information on UV radiation and air quality, Luis Roberto Acosta, Carlos Diaz Leal and Dra. Aurora Elena Ramos identified the opportunity for Mexico to have an important high-altitude greenhouse monitoring station and obtained the necessary international designations from the World Meteorological Organization and pledges of instruments from NOAA and NASA. Gaining the active support of key Mexican agencies, including the National Meteorological Service, the National Institute for Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics (INAOE), and the National Protected Areas Commission, the Climate Institute team received support to finance observatory construction from Fundación Pedro y Elena Hernández, whose President is Barbara Hernández, an active environmentalist in Mexico. They also recruited Margie Simon de Ortiz, Director General of El Centro de Información y Comunicación Ambiental de Norte América, AC (CICEANA), Mexico’s leading environmental awareness group.
This effort soon grew past its initial conception as an important scientific enterprise into the spark for development of an Interactive Climate Awareness and Response Network linking the Observatory with Climate Theatres in museums and educational parks across Mexico. Three leading international experts played key roles in broadening this effort to the first of its kind in the world - Sir Crispin Tickell, Chairman Emeritus of the Climate Institute, John Topping, President of the Climate Institute, and Michael MacCracken, Chief Scientist for Climate Change Programs of the Climate Institute and President of the International Association on Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences from 2003 to 2007.
The highest greenhouse observatory on Earth, the Tickell Observatory is located about 15,000 feet above sea level on Sierra Negra Peak within Pico de Orizaba National Park in the State of Puebla. Both its altitude and location make it very special. The altitude means that it will be above much of the atmosphere, especially above most of the water vapor and pollution that can cause problems with observations. The location is special because the Latin American region has not been adequately represented among the stations included in the global observing system, a result of there having been, prior to this effort, no clean, accessible, and available high-altitude location. In addition, with no station in this region, there has been no reliable way to get an estimate of the north-south flux of various gaseous species across the southern border of North America.
The site is so important that on-site measurements of greenhouse gases began in January 2009, even before the Observatory had been constructed. For the past twelve months weekly air samples have been collected and shipped to NOAA’s laboratory in Boulder, Colorado for validation and analysis. Instruments to be installed in the Observatory when the building is completed will allow a greater range of observations and enable at least some of the analysis to be done directly at the site.
In addition to becoming a member site of the global greenhouse gas monitoring network of the Global Change Observing System (GCOS), which consists of over two dozen stations around the world, the Tickell Observatory will produce other scientific benefits.
The Observatory will be the first GCOS station in the midsection of the Americas (roughly at the same 19 degrees latitude as Mauna Loa). Its location should aid in understanding concentrations and fluxes of greenhouse gases, which should help to provide a better grasp of regional sources and sinks.
The Observatory’s latitude makes it ideal for exploring the potential scientific benefits of an east-west linkage of stations from Mauna Loa to the Cape Verde Islands. In addition, The Observatory will collaborate with University of Massachusetts atmospheric scientists who are establishing a set of high altitude meteorological observatories along the spine of Central and South America.
The Observatory’s location near the Gulf of Mexico also provides the potential to help track dust transport across the Atlantic from Africa and flows of various particles between the Atlantic and Pacific basins.
Because of its altitude and ready access, NASA is planning to use the high-altitude location as a surface station for satellite calibration. There is also the potential for the station to be useful in directly observing changes in climate forcing at a level above most atmospheric water vapor, thus allowing a focus on the effects of the changing greenhouse gas concentrations.
With its growing number of instruments and the Observatory’s unique location, it is expected that the observations taken there will provide an opportunity for Mexican scientists to develop collaborations with scientists from throughout the Americas and beyond, enhancing both Mexican science capacity and international cooperation.
Other Articles in this Newsletter:
A Message from the President: Mexico Lights the Way to Climate Stabilization
Pride In Having World’s Highest Observatory Sparks Growth of Interactive Network
Primer Centro Nacional de Observación Climática Global de Gran Altitud Sir Crispin Tickell
Sir Crispin Tickell: un pionero ambiental
Sir Crispin Tickell: Environmental Pioneer
Heherson Alvarez Appointed Climate Change Commissioner
Heherson Álvarez nombrado Comisario del cambio climático