Mounted on tripods, numerous interferometer antennas are secured to the roof of the Darwin site observers building, while the computer and electronics are located inside. ARM file photo. While the ARM sites contain extensive instrumentation for measuring the outflow of convective cloud (storm) systems, they include very little capability for characterizing the convection that produces…

About the size of a toaster, the MAX-DOAS instrument system at Atqasuk is well-insulated to protect it from the Arctic cold. As the unit rotates on its side axis, measurements are obtained through the optical inlet. ARM file photo. Springtime in the Arctic produces reactive halogen gases, such as bromine monoxide, that form from evaporating…

Aircraft for the Boundary Layer CO2 Intensive Operational Period will fly over the SGP Central Facility using both spirals and racetrack patterns. Data will be collected under a variety of cloud and meteorological conditions. ARM image file. As the focus of the Boundary Layer Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Intensive Operational Period (IOP) starting in March, science…

Safe and sound at Point Reyes, the ARM Mobile Facility instrumentation is set up on the roof of a shelter until a fence is installed to keep out the curious local cattle. ARM file photo. On February 9, the ARM Mobile Facility (AMF) withstood an accident on the way to its deployment location at Point…

At the end of a string tied to the weather balloon, a small sensor package, called a radiosonde, contains the “brains” for measuring atmospheric temperature, pressure and humidity. ARM file image. As part of the Balloon Borne Sounding System, radiosondes launched at the the ARM Climate Research Facility sites are supplied by Vaisala, one of…

Each data stream is now presented on its own web page, and is cross-linked back to its instruments and primary measurement web pages. ARM file image. In early February, the arm.gov website took one more step towards the goal of helping users access data. The ARM Climate Research Facility website staff published a significant reorganization…

A key addition to the ARM Climate Research Facility scientific infrastructure is ready to roll…literally. In February, the ARM Mobile Facility (AMF) is being packed up and shipped from Richland, Washington, to the Point Reyes National Seashore north of San Francisco, California. There, it will be reassembled in preparation for its first deployment as part…

These full spectrum plots show radiance data collected by the SWS at five time intervals over the course of four consecutive days. The scattering profiles indicate three cloudy days (Nov. 21-23) and one clear day (Nov. 24). ARM file image. From November 19, 2004, to December 17, 2004, a new Shortwave Spectrometer (SWS) was deployed…

Challenges presented by the remoteness and environmental conditions at the ARM Climate Research Facility’s Tropical Western Pacific locale are offset by the unique climatological data collected by the measurement instruments located at its sites, including Nauru Island shown above. ARM file photo. Located about 8,000 miles from the United States along the equator near northern…

Difficulties in modeling the effects of clouds on climate arise largely from the insufficient number of observations needed to sufficiently understand cloud processes. Science collaborators at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations (NOAA) Aeronomy Laboratory have developed a cost effective technique that uses measurements of sunlight scattered by clouds, at various near-infrared wavelengths, to infer…