COLLEGE STATION, July 14, 2010 - Numerous scientists are measuring the Gulf oil spill at various depths, but what about the air above it? Texas A&M University atmospheric science researcher Don Conlee and a group of students are taking air samples with a series of weather balloon tests in conjunction with the National Weather Service (NWS).

The group is currently near the site of the Gulf spill and was asked by the NWS to develop procedures and examine feasibility of weather balloon observations in the vicinity of the site where the Deepwater Horizon platform sank about 40 miles off the coast of Louisiana.

The weather balloon launches, frequently seen on land but rarely seen in the ocean, will help improve the operational forecasting efforts of the weather service.

"This should contribute to the efficiency of ongoing operations and cleanup efforts in and near the spill area," Conlee explains.

"A recent balloon launch has revealed significant differences in the upper atmosphere conditions than those expected by models of the regions," he adds.

"That shows the value of having the kinds of observations available on land in the critical incident area."

The group will take numerous air samples to be examined later, some of them by fellow colleagues at Texas A&M. The samples, Conlee says, will complement the ongoing science investigations in the area by multiple agencies and universities.

Ian McDonald, a former Texas A&M scientist now at Florida State University, is the party chief on the current cruise and has also made use of Texas A&M meteorology senior Dion Delao in collecting surface oil samples

Conlee is on his second cruise of the area in recent weeks. His first cruise was accompanied by atmospheric science graduate student Greg Seroka, who helped develop the initial procedures for the balloon soundings of the depth of the lower atmosphere.

The project was made possible by the purchase of ultra-portable weather balloon equipment by Richard Orville, director of the joint Texas A&M and NOAA Cooperative Institute of Applied Meteorological Studies (CIAMS). The group embarked on the BP-contracted research vessel Brooks McCall.