Research to Operations: Value in the Air Quality Research Palimpsest

Part of a great divide between air quality research and air quality service operations includes false starts and deletions, both in operations and in research, overwritten by perceived improvements. Improvements may come from technology, e.g. a new satellite or sensor, or a new model output that supersedes a previous one. But what if the improvement, e.g. visibility due to airborne dust, masks perhaps an even greater valued one presumed irrelevant, e.g. dust concentrations under conditions optimum for ice nucleation. False starts, deletions and changes in direction reveal strategies, trends, data and other features important in developing new tools and methods for useful applications. Seeing these beneath the polished presentations of new products is, as well, an element of transition from multi-disciplinary to inter-disciplinary study.