A technician from the National Center for Atmospheric Research places covers over aerosol spectrometers in preparation for a flight through Kuwaiti smoke plumes-the result of Iraqi troops torching over 150 oil wells at the end of the 1991 Gulf War. The Electra (owned by the National Science Foundation and operated by NCAR) and the University of Washington C-131A took 35 flights through smoke plumes as far as 1,100 miles (1,760 kilometers) downwind. Pictured: Don Stone
