China’s first Atmospheric Profiling Synthetic Observation System (APSOS) has been installed in the Yangbajain International Cosmic Ray Observatory in Tibet and is ready to be put into practice. Funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), APSOS is independently developed by the Chinese scientists and experts, and is one of the major scientific projects in China aiming to better forecast the atmospheric environment.
According to the journal ‘Atmospheric profiling synthetic observation system in Tibet’, the components of the system include five lidars for monitoring the vertical distribution of various elements and substances in the atmosphere, such as temperature, wind, water vapor, cloud and aerosol, a W-band radar and a cloud radar for observing the non-precipitating cloud, a Thz radiometer and a radiance interferometer for measuring ozone and water vapor, as well as an integrated telescope.
Moreover, the journal mentions about the reason for setting the system in Yangbajain, Tibet. It is because the Tibetan Plateau is considered highly sensitive to the atmospheric environment of the Earth and it plays a crucial role in the global problem of climate change. It has been found that in summer, the atmospheric surface of Tibetan Plateau would act like a giant heat panel in which the hot air is drawn upwards to affect atmospheric circulation, and it is discovered that the Tibetan Plateau would allow chemicals and water vapors to reach the stratosphere, thus threatening the ozone layer which has a protective function to the atmospheric environment. Therefore, the role and influence of Tibet Plateau are not limited in China only, but it may cause far-reaching environmental impacts to the whole world.
With the help of all these devices and instruments, it is expected that the coverage of APSOS includes the layers of troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and lower thermosphere, so that more comprehensive data regarding the whole atmospheric environment can be collected and analyzed continuously. As a result, people can have more understanding on the current and future situation of climate change and provide more solutions to the problem.
