On Monday, Feb. 13, Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego hosts a media and public open house from 10 a.m. to noon to promote the launch of EPCAPE, a year-long study of clouds and aerosols that will be conducted from Scripps Pier and Mount Soledad. The project is led by the federal Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement facility and Scripps Oceanography scientists. The chief scientists from Scripps - Lynn Russell and Dan Lubin - as well as Gerald (Gary) Geernaert, DOE Director, Earth and Environmental Systems Sciences Division and other DOE officials will be in attendance. Researchers will launch an instrumented balloon at 11 a.m. that will produce data of atmospheric conditions as it rises. Members of the public are welcome to explore the pier and the science taking place. Public parking will be available along La Jolla Shores Drive.