Bill Text: TX SR126 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Recognizing the Geronimo Creek Atmospheric Monitoring Station for its ongoing atmospheric measurements.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2021-03-09 - Reported enrolled [SR126 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-SR126-Enrolled.html
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WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas is pleased to | ||
recognize the Geronimo Creek Atmospheric Monitoring Station for | ||
31 years of ongoing measurements of the aerosol optical depth, | ||
total precipitable water, and total column ozone in the | ||
atmosphere over Guadalupe County; and | ||
WHEREAS, These ongoing measurements have become the | ||
longest series of such measurements in the United States since | ||
the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory measured aerosol | ||
optical depth and total precipitable water at Table Mountain, | ||
California, from 1926 to 1957; and | ||
WHEREAS, The measured and photographic clarity of the sky | ||
over the station has improved despite the periodic arrival of | ||
volcanic aerosols from the historic 1991 eruption of Mount | ||
Pinatubo in the Philippines, smoke from western states and | ||
Mexico, dust from the Sahara Desert, and smog from the Ohio and | ||
Tennessee Valleys; and | ||
WHEREAS, The average total water vapor, which is the | ||
principal greenhouse gas, has remained stable for 31 years, | ||
despite the increase caused by the historic 1997-1998 El Niño | ||
effect and the decrease caused by the extraordinarily dry | ||
2010-2011 La Niña effect; these measurements were made by | ||
instruments calibrated at Hawaii's high-altitude Mauna Loa | ||
Observatory annually from 1992 to 2018; and | ||
WHEREAS, Important discoveries at the Geronimo Creek | ||
Atmospheric Monitoring Station led to a 1993 Rolex Award; the | ||
station's findings have appeared in leading scientific journals, | ||
including an error in the National Aeronautics and Space | ||
Administration's ozone satellite that was published in Nature in | ||
1993 and the discovery by Sarah Anna Mims of living microbes in | ||
biomass smoke from Yucatan, Mexico, that began the new field of | ||
science called pyroaerobiology, published in Atmospheric | ||
Environment in 2004; and | ||
WHEREAS, Forrest M. Mims III, scientist-in-residence at | ||
the station, has described atmospheric conditions over Guadalupe | ||
County while representing the county at the Alamo Area Council of | ||
Governments; he has also described these conditions in many | ||
scientific papers and in many of his science columns for the | ||
Seguin Gazette and the San Antonio Express-News; he has devoted | ||
many years to encouraging children, students, and citizen | ||
scientists to employ photography and simple instruments he has | ||
designed to record the clarity of the atmosphere over Texas; now, | ||
therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 87th | ||
Legislature, hereby recognize the Geronimo Creek Atmospheric | ||
Monitoring Station as it begins its 32nd year of measurements of | ||
aerosol optical depth and total precipitable water, the longest | ||
such series in the United States; and, be it further | ||
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for | ||
the station as an expression of esteem from the Texas Senate. | ||
Campbell | ||
________________________________ | ||
President of the Senate | ||
I hereby certify that the | ||
above Resolution was adopted by | ||
the Senate on March 9, 2021. | ||
________________________________ | ||
Secretary of the Senate | ||
________________________________ | ||
Member, Texas Senate |