NOAA aircraft, ship support major El Niño study

NOAA scientists, aviators and mariners have embarked on a land, sea and air campaign in the tropical Pacific to study the current El Niño and gather data in an effort to improve weather forecasts thousands of miles away. The El Niño Rapid Response Field Campaign includes NOAA’s Gulfstream IV aircraft, NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown, NASA’s Global Hawk unmanned aircraft equipped with NOAA sensors, and researchers stationed on Kiritimati (Christmas) Island in the Republic of Kiribati. “The rapid response field campaign will give us an unprecedented look at how the warm ocean is influencing the atmosphere at the heart of this very strong El Niño,” said Craig McLean, assistant administrator for oceanic and atmospheric research.