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| It's been getting darker. |
Once a week out at TAWO I load that suitcase with glass flasks and carry it outside into the clean air sector. I raise the inlet mast and turn on the pump. The flasks are flushed with clean outside air for 5 minutes while I'm away from the case. Next I close the valves so the samples can pressurize while I hold my breath so my breath doesn't contaminate the samples. These samples are sent back to boulder to have there CO2 levels and other trace gasses tested.
This is the inside of TAWO. My main work area. It looks way bigger than it really is in this picture... it's pretty tiny actually.
After filling the balloon I have to wait for it to get used to being in it's inflated shape so it doesn't go into some kind of balloon shock when I take it outside. This means a good 10 minutes of hanging out with it before setting it free.
