CHANGED: Global air pollution map produced by Envisat’s SCIAMACHY / ESA TV Exchanges / 15 October 2004

The TV Exchange on the ATV, scheduled for 15 October, is postponed to 26 october, and replaced with a news-related TV Exchange:

Global air pollution map produced by Envisat’s SCIAMACHY

ESA TV Exchanges

15 September 2004, 09:15-09:30 GMT

Replay I: 15 September 18:45-19:00 GMT

Replay II: 16 October 13:15 -13:30 GMT

Man made pollution is a threat for the environment. Fossil fuel burning for transport and in power plants produces nitrogen dioxide NO2 which can cause respiratory problems and is a key ingredient for high ozone levels in the lower atmosphere, in hot summers.

Using data from Envisat’s SCIAMACHY instrument, scientists from Heidelberg University (Germany) have compiled a global map of the NO2 pollution, making it possible to establish trends and to discover some surprises about the sources of pollution.

Today’s TV Exchange features the global map including close-ups of regional details, together with images recorded last week at Heidelberg University, notably a table-top demonstration how Sciamachy is measuring NO2 in the atmosphere.

The next step for the scientists will be a global map of methane which is the second greenhouse gas derived from human activity. Such information matters not only to understand global climate change but also for politicians to underline the need for action to contain man-made atmospheric pollution.

The programme includes an A-roll of five minutes (split audio – English voiceover) and a B-roll of 8 minutes with clean international sound.

The script will be on-line as of 14 October a PDF document under http://television.esa.int/photos/EbS36551.pdf

A Media Player pre-view file is online now under http://esa.capcave.com/wmp/sciamach_13102004_wmplow.wmv

This ESA TV Exchanges feed is transmitted by the European Commission’s “Europe by Satellite” (EbS) service. You can find the complete transmission schedule and download scripts and shot lists, also for ESA TV items, from the EbS Web site at http://europa.eu.int/comm/ebs/schedule.cfm

Detailed backgroud information on the story can be found on: http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM340NKPZD_index_0.html

Transmission details:

EUTELSAT HOT BIRD at 13° East (DVB/MPEG-2), Horizontal, F=12,476 MHz (MCPC, Europe by Satellite), SR=27,500 MS/sec, FEC=3/4

For further information and a daily update of the transmission schedule, visit our website at http://television.esa.int. For all enquires, contact Claus Habfast, Tel +31 71 565 3838, Fax +31 71 565 6340, e-mail claus.habfast@esa.int.