Release No. 00-92
Notice to Editors/News Directors

An intensive scientific field campaign supported by NASA gets underway next month to study Southern Africa's ecosystems, air quality, and land use. SAFARI 2000 - the Southern African Regional Science Initiative - brings together over 100 African, U.S. and international scientists in a multidisciplinary research effort to understand the sustainability of the region's sensitive and pressured ecosystems. It is the most comprehensive study ever conducted of the continent's land/atmosphere system.

Media events are scheduled for August 12-18 during the start of the six-week field experiment, from SAFARI 2000 field operations headquarters in Pietersburg, South Africa, in the country's Northern Province. Events include tours of field research sites within the Kruger National Park game preserve.

The campaign, taking place at the height of the region's dry season, will study the complex interaction of air pollution and ecosystems across the southern half of the African continent. NASA's ER-2 high-altitude aircraft and planes from the University of Washington and the South African Weather Bureau will make regular research flights from Pietersburg. SAFARI 2000 includes extensive ground-based and/or airborne campaigns in the Republic of South Africa, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland and Zimbabwe over a three-year period.

Observations from NASA spacecraft - Terra, Landsat 7 and SeaWiFS - will also contribute to the experiment. NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) project is the primary sponsor of U.S. participation in SAFARI 2000.

Public Open House at Pietersburg Airport: Opening ceremonies with government officials; displays of ER-2 and other aircraft; interviews with project scientists

Orientation briefing by project scientists; informal press dinner

Bus tour to field research sites within Kruger National Park; demonstrations by field researchers; observe a controlled burn (weather permitting); photo opportunities in the game preserve

Press briefings and interviews at Pietersburg Airport Conference Center, including daily mission updates, briefings on scientific and policy issues; tours and photo opportunities of research aircraft; chartered flights over the region (tentative)

SAFARI 2000 media events are open to accredited national and international press only. Space is limited; requests to participate must be received by July 31. Fax requests to Steve Cole, EOS Project Science Office, Greenbelt, Md. USA (301-441-2432); or Martha Molete, University of Witwatersrand Media Relations Office, Johannesburg, South Africa (27-11-339-7620).

More information on SAFARI 2000 is available on the World Wide Web:

SAFARI 2000 News Media Guide http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/gsfc/earth/environ/safari2000.htm

SAFARI 2000 project home page:  http://safari.gecp.virginia.edu/

Travel information: General travel information is available from the South African embassy in Washington, D.C. (tel. 202-232-4400) or Pretoria (27-12-342-1048) and on the U.S. State Department Web site (http://state.gov ). Travel advisories are posted on the SAFARI 2000 site (http://safari.gecp.virginia.edu/advisory/advis.html ).