The Tropical Atmospheric Sciences Center

A NASA Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) grant established the
Tropical Atmospheric Sciences Center (TASC) in 1994.  This multidisciplinary center is divided into
three components - Atmosphere transport and transformations, atmosphere-ocean interactions, and
atmosphere-terrestrial interactions.  Atmosphere transport and transformations involve laser
spectroscopic studies of chemical reactions, and water and chemical distributions and motions in the
atmosphere by RADAR and LIDAR.  Atmosphere-ocean Interactions include measurements of gas
exchanges at the ocean surface with oceanographic research cruises.  Atmosphere-terrestrial
interactions measure wet and dry deposition to the land, photosynthetic rates, volcanic gas emissions,
and chemical releases from the soil, plants, and animals.  Faculty researchers and students from the
UPR Mayaguez Departments of Chemistry, Marine Sciences, Electrical Engineering, and Geology, UPR
Rio Piedras Institute for Tropical Ecosystem Studies and the Biology and Chemistry Departments, the
U.S.D.A. Forest Service International Institute of Tropical Forestry, and the National Astronomy and
Ionosphere Center at Arecibo (NSF-Cornell) are involved in TASC.