SALINA, Kan. (AP) -- A group of scientists from the federal government, Germany and more than 20 universities soon will be studying thunderstorms from the Salina airport.

The project is dubbed the Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry project, or DC3, and will study storms in Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma and Alabama starting next week.

The Salina Journal (http://bit.ly/Kz2P3t) reports the project's intent is to see how thunderstorms suck up pollution and distribute it around the country.

Researchers say Salina was chosen to host the project because of its central location and the length of the airport's runway, one the longest in the Midwest.

The project's site manager estimates DC3 will pump about $1.5 million into the Salina economy through the end of June.