ATom-4

The NASA Atmospheric Tomography (ATom) project, an Earth Venture Suborbital phase 2 (EVS-2) mission, studied the impact of human-produced air pollution on greenhouse gases and on chemically reactive gases in the atmosphere. Reductions of atmospheric concentrations of methane (CH₄), tropospheric ozone (O₃) and black carbon (BC) aerosols are effective measures to slow global warming and to improve air quality. Airborne instruments looked at how atmospheric chemistry is transformed by various air pollutants and at the impact on CH₄ and O₃. Mitigation of these short-lived climate forcers is a major component of current international policy discussions.