Earth Day 2022: Video Reflections from ARM’s Early Career Community

Earth Day, born on April 22, 1970, is the annual day we honor our planet and bring awareness to how we can protect it.

For Earth Day 2022, the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility asked for reflections from early career scientists who study earth systems―the interlocking nature, properties, and predictive patterns of Earth’s land, oceans, and atmosphere.

Scientists associated with ARM study the interactive physics, chemistry, and biology behind climate and weather. They puzzle over the processes that create clouds, precipitation, and fluxes of energy. They investigate the atmosphere, a thin layer of gases that moderates solar radiation and holds and releases water.

Atmospheric scientists also study suspended bits of matter and moisture called aerosols. Without aerosols, there would be no clouds. Earth is shaded and shielded by clouds and nourished by their reservoirs of airborne water.

A video series here highlights the Earth Day reflections of 11 ARM-affiliated scientists in their early careers.

Some use ARM data. Others support ARM data collection as instrument mentors or technicians. All of them contribute in some way to the Earth Day 2022 theme, “Invest in our Planet.” Their data, research, and improved predictive models are investments in the climate solutions that Earth requires.

Earth Day 2022 Videos

Participants selected one of the following questions to answer: “Why is Earth Day important to me?” and “How does my research contribute to our understanding of the world around us?”

Curtis Beutler, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory	Ya-Chien Feng, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Travis Griggs, University of Houston	Bobby Jackson, Argonne National Laboratory
Alex Kotsakis, ERT Inc. and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center	Alexander Newman, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory
Minnie Park, Brookhaven National Laboratory	Liz Pillar-Little, Cooperative Institute for Severe and High-Impact Weather Research and Operations (CIWRO)
Bhupendra Raut, Northwestern University and Argonne National Laboratory	Alex Sokolowsky, Colorado State University
Maria Zawadowicz, Brookhaven National Laboratory