Global Atmosphere Watch was mere scientific interest, but of course, many scientists eventually wondered what effects these trace chemicals could have on the atmosphere, and on life. The GAW's genesis began as far back as the 1950s when the World Meteorological Organization began a programme of monitoring the atmosphere for trace chemicals, and also researching air pollution from a meteorological point of view. They were also responsible for monitoring ozone, establishing the Global Ozone Observing System (GO3OS) in 1957, in the International Geophysical Year. In 1968, the United Nations called for an international conference to address world environmental problems caused by rapid industrialization.
Computation of radiowave attenuation in the atmosphere Computation of radiowave attenuation in the atmosphere One of the causes of attenuation of radio propagation is the absorption by the atmosphere. There are many well known facts on the phenomenon and qualitative treatments in textbooks. A document published by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) provides some basis for a quantitative assessment of the attenuation. That document describes a simplified model along with semi-empirical formulas based on data fitting. It also recommended an algorithm to compute the attenuation of radiowave propagation in the atmosphere. NASA also published a study on a related subject. Free software from CNES based on ITU-R