A monitoring station that tracks and studies environmental airborne pollutants in Southeast Asia will be temporarily relocated to Dongsha Island (東沙島) this month, Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) officials said yesterday.
The station, which began operations last month, is part of a research project funded by the EPA and is operated jointly with the US’ NASA. It is currently situated in a field near the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium in Pingtung County.
The temporary move to Dongsha, located 445km from Kaohsiung City, would enable researchers to take more precise measurements, given the island’s location in the South China Sea and proximity to Southeast Asia, officials said.
The project marks the first time the two agencies have worked together, which officials have labeled a “breakthrough.” They said working with NASA had helped increase the EPA’s international exposure, creating opportunities for meaningful contribution on the environmental front.
The NASA component contains instruments that include its Chemical, Optical and Microphysical measurements of InSitu Troposphere (COMMIT) system. The staff is expected to include up to five US-based experts and technicians, officials said.
While Taiwan’s current systems largely focus on quantitative measurements of airborne pollutants, the NASA component would be more directed toward analyzing pollutant substances and compounds, EPA Environmental Monitoring and Information Management Director General Chu Yu-chi (朱雨其) said.
The four-year research project will consolidate efforts by Taiwan’s research and educational institutions. Officials said information would be pooled with research teams from Southeast Asia.
The project is a continuation of one begun in 2006 to study air pollution with a focus on the Asian Brown Cloud, a pollution layer caused by airborne particles, combustion and biomass burning.
“It’s important for us to stay on top of trans-border airborne pollutants because of their ability to affect us in Taiwan,” Chu said.
EPA statistics show that the nation’s annual atmospheric mercury emissions average 1.82 nanograms (ng) per square meter. The figure is highest during May, measuring 2.49ng last year.
A total lunar eclipse coinciding with the Lantern Festival on March 3 would be Taiwan’s most notable celestial event this year, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said, urging skywatchers not to miss it. There would be four eclipses worldwide this year — two solar eclipses and two lunar eclipses — the museum’s Web site says. Taiwan would be able to observe one of the lunar eclipses in its entirety on March 3. The eclipse would be visible as the moon rises at 5:50pm, already partly shaded by the Earth’s shadow, the museum said. It would peak at about 7:30pm, when the moon would
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