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Exploring the X-SAPRs
During the MC3E campaign, ARM scientists are exposed to several cloud and precipitation monitoring platforms deployed around the SGP Central Facility near Lamont, Oklahoma. For exploring convective storm evolution, some of the most sophisticated (and photogenic) ARM instruments are the newly installed X-SAPR radar platforms. The ARM X-SAPR network over the SGP consists of three…
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“Take Me Out to the Ballgame”
MC3E-ers enjoying a clear night at the ballpark. Although most MC3E instruments operate 24/7, occasionally our MC3E mission scientists and students need a break from the action to explore the surrounding Oklahoma region. Similarly, since MC3E is largely a cloud and precipitation experiment, sometimes the atmosphere does not cooperate. On one particularly clear campaign afternoon,…
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Surface Instrumentation Spotlight: 2DVD Disdrometers
While significant attention during a campaign such as MC3E is paid to aircraft and ground-based radar operations, the science that benefits from those platforms benefits equally from the observations of dense networks of surface meteorological instruments. During the MC3E campaign, an extensive network of surface platforms, including ARM and NASA video disdrometers, dot the northern…
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Following the Ebb and Flow of Nature on the Southern Great Plains
Spring is a time of change across much of the United States. Cool dry air at the surface is refreshed by a warm, moist gulf flow while the upper atmosphere remains seasonally cool. This sets the stage for a convective playground like no other, and the folk here for MC3E take play time seriously! The…
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MC3E Day 1 – The Beginning
MC3E sonde launch. Photo courtesy of S. Collis.As a fitting celebration of Earth Day, the MC3E field campaign officially began at 6:30 AM local time with the successful launch of radiosondes from all five boundary facilities and the Central Facility. Our daily morning briefing was focused on the possibility of aircraft operations as the ER-2…
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MC3E Eve – The Calm Before the Storm (We Hope)
The MC3E team gathered to hear the weather forecast for April 22, the first day of the campaign.The day before official MC3E operations begin has created a lot of excitement for the science team as they converge in Central Oklahoma and complete final preparations for the campaign. After a few weeks of informal pre-campaign weather…
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Not Your Typical 3D Movie
Now that ARM’s new X-band scanning precipitation radars are up and running at the Southern Great Plains site, it’s time to share some videos of that great data.
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Science + Fun = 2011 WeatherFest
The 91st Annual American Meteorological Society (AMS) meeting kicked off with the 10th Annual WeatherFest science fair. Members of the ARM Communications team, along with Professor Polar Bear and the Climate Kids, participated in the public event, which was held at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle, Washington, on January 23, 2011. Over 4000…
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AMF1 Azores Pack-up: Rust, Corrosion, and Wet Instruments
PSP shows the harsh beating it took from the Atlantic mists. We all knew that the 20-month operation in a marine environment would be rough on the instruments, but a few of us expected to see the kind of rust and corrosion on some of the equipment. Much of the damage is on galvanized nuts…
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Pack-up Begins in the Azores
AMF1 Azores on-site staff Francisco Bettencourt releases the last balloon of the 20-month operation on Graciosa Island. With another balloon ascending on a windy afternoon, the AMF1 last Thursday completed its fifth deployment and 20 months of data collection on Graciosa Island in the Azores, Portugal. It was the last of more than 2,400 successful…