Carbon Purging

Harvard University will be flying a modified Gulfstream V jet, dubbed Hippo, with specialized equipment between the North and South Poles to test Earth’s atmosphere for variations in greenhouse gases.

They plan to use the data to help improve computer models used to predict the effects of global warming.

It will fly at varying altitudes to test carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gas concentrations to determine where the gases are being released and absorbed at a high rates.

The name Hippo, the mission’s acronym, stands for Hiaper Pole-to-Pole Observations. Hiaper stands for High-performance Instrumented Airborne Platform for Environmental Research.