NEW $500,000 INSTRUMENT DEDICATED AT POKER FLAT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 15, 1998

Fairbanks, Alaska - A new $500,000 instrument that measures winds and waves in the atmosphere about 40-60 miles above Earth will be dedicated at 3 p.m. at Poker Flat Research Range on Friday, Oct. 16.

The instrument, a triangular antenna array known as a medium-frequency radar, has been installed just inside the front gate of Poker Flat, which is located on the Steese Highway about 30 miles northeast of Fairbanks.

The instrument is the fourth to be installed as part of a 10-year international research project designed to assess global climate change and to monitor the destruction of the ozone layer across international boundaries. The agreement, between the Communications Research Laboratory with the government of Japan and the Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, is scheduled to bring nearly $10 million worth of instruments to Poker Flat Research Range.

The instruments, many of which are being constructed and tested in Japan, are designed to monitor the hard-to-reach middle atmosphere, about 15 to 60 miles above Earth. Scientists generally launch rockets to study the middle atmosphere because satellites fly too high above it and research balloons can only skim its bottom layer.

Geophysical Institute Director Syun Akasofu said that the middle atmosphere area is often ignored by scientists because it is so difficult to reach. Yet, the processes that occur there are likely to affect life around the world. The ozone layer is prominent in the middle atmosphere, along with night-shining clouds, which are indicators of global climate change.

-30-

NOTE TO EDITORS: Members of the media are welcome to drive to the dedication ceremony at Poker Flat Research Range, where Japanese and UAF scientists will be available for interview. Please be aware that road conditions on the Steese Highway leading out to the range may be slick.

CONTACT: Geophysical Institute Science Information Officer Kathy Berry (907) 474-7798.

KB/DPD/10-15-98/99-022