WEBVTT

00:18.618 --> 00:20.687
We’re now walking towards

00:20.687 --> 00:22.155
the only high-elevation atmospheric baseline station

00:22.155 --> 00:24.190
situated in East Asia.

00:26.192 --> 00:29.229
It situated in the altitude of 2,862 meters.

00:30.864 --> 00:32.065
The oxygen level at this altitude

00:32.065 --> 00:34.401
is only 70% of that in the ground level.

00:34.868 --> 00:36.603
So, I have to manage breathing

00:36.603 --> 00:39.239
after walking a few steps.

00:41.074 --> 00:42.742
Our science team from

00:45.078 --> 00:45.879
National Central University basically

00:46.346 --> 00:48.515
comes up here to maintain instruments

00:49.082 --> 00:51.384
on every Monday and Tuesday.

00:54.821 --> 00:57.991
Lulin Mountain is an exceptional observation point.

00:57.991 --> 01:00.593
There’s no factory nearby.

01:00.593 --> 01:02.062
It is not a commonly trodden region.

01:02.062 --> 01:04.030
So the data being measured here is

01:04.030 --> 01:05.298
considerably neutral.

01:05.298 --> 01:06.900
We can elaborate further on this topic.

01:06.900 --> 01:09.235
As the atmosphere travels with circulatory flow

01:09.235 --> 01:10.370
and arrives at Taiwan,

01:10.370 --> 01:11.905
we’d like to know its background value.

01:11.905 --> 01:13.406
And with the data under pollution,

01:14.107 --> 01:15.708
we can do a comparison to these data under different circumstances

01:15.708 --> 01:17.143
and analyze them.

01:17.143 --> 01:18.578
Then, we’ll know its secular change

01:18.945 --> 01:20.780
and what environmental status it is in.

01:30.190 --> 01:31.724
When I was studying my masters in the States,

01:31.724 --> 01:34.461
my thesis was about acid rain.

01:34.894 --> 01:36.563
My family wanted me

01:36.563 --> 01:38.631
to stay in the States after I graduated.

01:39.099 --> 01:41.434
I did seriously consider about it.

01:41.734 --> 01:44.370
Taiwan was at an early stage of economy boom.

01:44.604 --> 01:46.139
Along with economy growth,

01:46.139 --> 01:47.974
the environmental pollution

01:47.974 --> 01:50.543
was already becoming serious.

01:50.777 --> 01:52.445
I think returning to Taiwan

01:52.445 --> 01:56.116
and using what I learnt in my own country

01:56.116 --> 01:58.651
is in fact the reason why I went studying abroad.

01:59.119 --> 02:00.720
It was in 1992 when I came back.

02:01.488 --> 02:03.356
I have conducted research on acid rain

02:03.356 --> 02:05.258
in Taoyuan ever since.

02:05.258 --> 02:06.126
At that time,

02:06.126 --> 02:07.694
the air pollution was terrible.

02:07.994 --> 02:09.796
Standard of regulation was rather loose.

02:10.430 --> 02:11.564
When I returned home from work,

02:11.564 --> 02:14.667
the collar of my shirt

02:14.667 --> 02:15.902
had a shade of dusty grey.

02:22.475 --> 02:23.977
This is the rain drop sensor.

02:23.977 --> 02:24.711
When it rains,

02:24.711 --> 02:27.280
the rain drops fall on the sensor.

02:27.280 --> 02:28.715
After we power up this device,

02:29.048 --> 02:32.051
its cover will move to the other side.

02:32.051 --> 02:33.119
From 9:00 am yesterday

02:33.119 --> 02:34.487
to 9:00 this morning,

02:34.487 --> 02:35.455
if there’s any precipitation

02:35.455 --> 02:37.924
we’ll sample raindrop collected within the previous 24 hours.

02:37.924 --> 02:41.027
We will take the sample back to laboratory.

02:43.897 --> 02:45.165
Raindrops in nature

02:45.165 --> 02:46.566
are in fact acidic.

02:46.566 --> 02:49.269
Because carbon dioxide exists in the atmosphere

02:49.269 --> 02:51.838
and when it reacts with water, it becomes carbonic acid,

02:51.838 --> 02:54.340
which has a pH of 5.0–5.6.

02:54.340 --> 02:57.277
As you add anthropogenic pollution,

02:57.277 --> 02:58.711
the rain will have a pH

02:58.711 --> 03:00.413
below 5.0.

03:00.413 --> 03:02.482
Acid rain in Taoyuan was critical

03:02.482 --> 03:04.918
because back in 30 years ago

03:04.918 --> 03:06.819
it had a pH below 4.5.

03:07.120 --> 03:09.189
After the air pollution fee is established,

03:09.189 --> 03:11.157
the air pollution has finally improved

03:11.157 --> 03:15.361
at the year of 2000.

03:15.361 --> 03:17.997
Within the last 1-2 years,

03:17.997 --> 03:19.766
on a national average

03:19.766 --> 03:20.967
rain is not overly acidic anymore.

03:24.871 --> 03:25.939
We’ve started out from

03:25.939 --> 03:28.141
research and now that we finally get rid of the acid rain.

03:28.141 --> 03:30.109
This life-long journey we’re devoted to

03:30.109 --> 03:31.311
for a span of 10, 20, or even 30 years

03:31.311 --> 03:32.579
are definitely worthwhile.

03:32.679 --> 03:34.247
Now it’s mostly vehicles, motorbikes,

03:34.247 --> 03:35.481
and factories

03:35.481 --> 03:37.083
that emit nitrogen dioxide

03:37.083 --> 03:38.218
which is the substance that causes air pollution

03:38.218 --> 03:40.687
rather than sulfuric acid in previous days.

03:40.687 --> 03:42.422
It shows that Taiwan has

03:42.422 --> 03:44.490
sulfuric acid emission

03:44.490 --> 03:45.258
under control.

03:47.227 --> 03:49.829
When I was admitted to Atmospheric Science at

03:49.829 --> 03:52.465
National Taiwan University my father was taken by surprise.

03:52.999 --> 03:54.567
He asked:

03:54.567 --> 03:56.102
“What exactly is an Atmospheric Science graduate does?”

03:56.102 --> 03:57.337
“Becoming a weatherman?”

03:58.137 --> 04:01.174
He always wanted me to become a doctor.

04:01.574 --> 04:03.543
When I was a junior in the university

04:03.977 --> 04:06.012
I met Professor Tseng,

04:06.346 --> 04:09.282
who was a hearing-impaired teacher.

04:09.716 --> 04:11.451
He can’t hear us at all.

04:11.451 --> 04:13.319
He can only read our expression.

04:13.319 --> 04:14.754
But he was terribly devoted in teaching and conducting researches.

04:15.054 --> 04:16.789
In his class I always felt a sense of wonder

04:17.090 --> 04:19.292
as to how such a person would exist.

04:19.292 --> 04:21.361
His extreme concentration towards science

04:21.361 --> 04:23.329
touched me deeply.

04:23.329 --> 04:24.264
I realize that becoming a scientist

04:24.264 --> 04:26.833
is not something you do on a whim

04:26.833 --> 04:28.434
but a life-long devotion towards a vocation.

04:29.402 --> 04:31.070
What does this stand for?

04:31.070 --> 04:32.338
This is sulfate ion.

04:32.338 --> 04:34.707
Let’s look at chemical reaction of precipitation,

04:34.707 --> 04:36.042
which is viewing chemistry of acid rain

04:36.476 --> 04:37.644
and see if we do have

04:37.644 --> 04:38.645
a successful improvement in terms of

04:38.645 --> 04:40.113
controlling air pollution.

04:58.931 --> 04:59.666
Let’s do a regular check

04:59.666 --> 05:01.334
and see if any issues occurred in the past two weeks.

05:01.334 --> 05:05.004
The motherboard is operating normally.

05:05.004 --> 05:07.273
The entry for sample injection has a normal temperature too.

05:08.675 --> 05:09.342
In my whole life,

05:09.342 --> 05:11.044
I only complete this single task.

05:11.778 --> 05:15.081
That is uncovering the secret of atmospheric baseline.

05:15.882 --> 05:17.216
My students often asked me

05:17.216 --> 05:17.984
that if I ever

05:17.984 --> 05:19.619
feel bored or tired about

05:19.619 --> 05:21.321
gathering data over and over again during my whole life.

05:22.121 --> 05:22.889
I always tell them

05:23.222 --> 05:23.990
I don’t feel bored at all.

05:23.990 --> 05:25.224
After I sort out

05:25.224 --> 05:26.926
all the data,

05:26.926 --> 05:28.294
and get a result that

05:28.294 --> 05:29.896
no one has ever discovered before.

05:29.896 --> 05:33.333
That means I’m able to offer policy maker

05:33.333 --> 05:34.867
a new way of thinking

05:34.867 --> 05:37.303
where those new strategy,

05:37.303 --> 05:38.371
projects or program can be in tune with

05:38.971 --> 05:41.107
the cause of making our environment better.

05:41.107 --> 05:42.608
Then this is my rewards.

05:46.012 --> 05:47.313
During the process,

05:47.313 --> 05:48.481
Professor Lin has always taught us that

05:48.481 --> 05:50.616
we should never ever

05:50.616 --> 05:52.518
ignore a task no matter

05:52.518 --> 05:53.319
how tiny it is.

05:53.319 --> 05:54.954
We have to do everything right.

05:55.455 --> 05:56.255
Even though it’s something insignificant

05:56.255 --> 05:58.057
we still have to do it correctly

05:58.057 --> 05:59.859
and continue doing so.

05:59.992 --> 06:01.561
After I got my master's degree

06:01.561 --> 06:03.363
I did work in

06:03.363 --> 06:06.265
technology industry for a while.

06:06.265 --> 06:08.434
My salary package was quite good

06:08.434 --> 06:10.436
but it didn’t make me happy.

06:10.436 --> 06:12.405
Professor also encouraged me

06:12.405 --> 06:14.073
that someone need to join the crew

06:14.073 --> 06:15.808
so that this research

06:15.808 --> 06:17.677
can be continued.

06:20.980 --> 06:22.982
Conducting research is

06:22.982 --> 06:24.517
a lonely career.

06:24.517 --> 06:26.219
Especially for those who works natural science

06:26.219 --> 06:28.988
that seeks to uncover the great secret in nature.

06:30.356 --> 06:31.023
But then it comes to me that

06:31.023 --> 06:33.259
youngsters are joining this line of research.

06:33.259 --> 06:34.193
While there are still plenty of

06:34.193 --> 06:36.963
unknown secrets that’s waiting for me to discover.

06:36.963 --> 06:38.297
I don’t feel lonely at all.