Poor lil Troll! Sounds like you need to get a life! Feel the need to reply to people's comments with your nothing-ness, do ya? Poor thing! Mommy/Daddy didn't give you enough attention?? LOL
Ironic that they'd be using an old, polluting four-engined airliner at (inefficient) low altitudes for polar surveys. Must be a legacy flying lab. Nonetheless, it might be interesting to see the (corroborating?) data they gathered over the years..
Just in case you didn’t know, the NASA DC-8 is a series 70 DC-8. The “polluting” JT3D was replaced with CFM56B, which are the same engines used on A340 and 737NG. So, there is no cleaner flying 4 engine medium-long range alternative exist, and given DC-8 is smaller than A340, 747 and A380, I think you will agree it will burn less fuel than those. The DC8 often fly 6-8 hours over arctic seas and Antarctica with no alternative airports nor rescue stations nearby, personally I won’t even risk to fly that long on a twin. Remember when doing Atlantic crossing there are several diversion airports available, when flying over Antarctica... good luck with finding the nearest research station....
I would say this is a good comment for several reasons. First, the writer simply presented facts, not guesses, suppositions, or assumptions. The facts explained why this aircraft is a good choice. Another reason, and almost more importantly, the writer did so without using invective, personal attacks, or even suggesting that someone might be wrong. It was polite and informative.
No matter what. These folks can prove that humans are or are not causing anything other than the depth of the latrine....who again melted the glaciers over the great plains?