Two ARM sites—Barrow and Atqasuk—at the North Slope of Alaska (NSA) provide key data about cloud and radiative processes at high latitudes. Barrow is located at the northern most point of Alaska, on the shore of the Arctic Ocean, while Atqasuk is located on the Arctic tundra about 100 km south (inland) of Barrow. Analyses…

The new W-band ARM cloud radar, or WACR, provides improved sensitivity for detecting tiny objects in the atmosphere to an altitude of 5 km. The instrument’s antenna is located adjacent to the antenna on top of the MMCR shelter; the rest of the unit is located inside (inset). ARM file photo. The main purpose of…

New climate datastreams are now available from Point Reyes National Seashore in California, where the first deployment of the ARM Mobile Facility is currently underway, and for the site of the ARM Mobile Facility’s next deployment at Niamey, Niger, Africa. The new datastreams, which are supplementary to the datastreams obtained by the Mobile Facility instruments,…

From left, Dr. Sylvia Edgerton, Science Liaison for the ARM Science Board, Dr. John Watson, Research Professor at the Desert Research Institute, and Dr. Judith Chow, Research Professor at the Desert Research Institute and member of the ARM Science Board, discuss the ARM display during the A&WMA conference. ARM file photo. Approximately 2,500 environmental professionals…

The 2-channel NFOV gets careful attention as it joins the suite of instruments collecting data for the ARM Mobile Facility field campaign at Point Reyes National Seashore. Image courtesy of Gary Eckert. Since March 2005, the ARM Mobile Facility (AMF) has been at Point Reyes National Seashore in northern California for the Marine Stratus Radiation,…

The counter-flow virtual impactor (inset), which can characterize aerosol particles in cloud droplets, joins a number of other guest instruments at the ARM Mobile Facility deployment site at Point Reyes National Seashore in California. ARM file photo. The ARM Mobile Facility’s (AMF’s) inaugural field campaign, the Marine Stratus Radiation Aerosol and Drizzle (MASRAD) Intensive Operational…

Data from the TSI measurements are presented as individual images and retrievals, including daily “movies” of sky conditions above the site. ARM file photo. Environmental conditions in the tropics present unique challenges for conducting scientific research. At ARM’s Tropical Western Pacific (TWP) locale, instruments that collect climate data are continually subjected to adverse operating conditions…

ARM’s tropical convective clouds animation illustrates the difference between tropical cloud systems that form over islands versus over the ocean. ARM file image. A primary focus of ARM Education and Outreach is to develop basic science awareness and increase critical thinking skills focusing on environmental science and climate change for K-12 students. Though their efforts…

Understanding the microphysics (size, shape, velocity) of heavy precipitation is important for scientists to accurately estimate rainfall rate and for improving these parameterizations in models that predict weather. Between May and June, the ARM Southern Great Plains (SGP) site is hosting a joint field campaign for scientists from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR),…

As the name implies, a “datastream” is a continuous record of a specific type of data that is collected and saved in a time series. Occasionally, modifications are needed to update or correct a datastream. Knowing the history of changes to a datastream is a critical issue for ARM data users. Recognizing this need, the…