The Bodeker Scientific project to exploit data being collected from Google's [x] Project Loon commenced on 1 October 2014. The goal of the project is to use the Loon balloon data to investigate stratospheric transport, and in particular barriers to transport because these barriers largely determine the distribution of radiatively active gases (e.g. ozone) in the stratosphere. The distribution of such gases then determines their fingerprint on the warming of the atmosphere. The processes associated with transport in the stratosphere are often not well simulated in atmosphere-ocean global climate models. This year, hundreds of long-duration stratospheric balloons are being flown in the stratosphere by Google to provide internet access to remote locations. Bodeker Scientific will use balloon position data to reveal in unprecedented detail the transport processes, and small-scale turbulent diffusion processes, active in the southern high latitude stratosphere. Our research will add to fundamental understanding of stratospheric dynamics and its role in climate. This project is funded through the New
Zealand Antarctic Research Institute.