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New Merged Product Integrates G-1 Flight Data
Aerosol concentration data from the G-1 ultrafine condensation particle counter are shown for an approximately three-hour flight on December 8, 2018, near Córdoba, Argentina, during the CACTI campaign. Image is from Krista Gaustad, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. From 2010 until its final science mission in 2018, the Gulfstream-159 (G-1) aircraft served as the Atmospheric Radiation…
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A Focus on Successful and Safe Flight Operations
Tim McLain joins ARM Aerial Facility to oversee flight operations Tim McLain, pictured outside ARM’s new Pasco, Washington, hangar, oversees flight operations for the ARM Aerial Facility. Photo is by Andrea Starr, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Gearing up for resumed operations of the ArcticShark unmanned aerial system and the expected 2022 arrival of its new…
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Improving the Discoverability of ARM Aerial Facility Data
Diverse group teams to make data more accessible for ARM users Finding ARM Aerial Facility (AAF) data is now easier with products such as ARM’s new Data Discovery browser. Now a cross-cutting ARM team has made years of data more discoverable to ARM users. Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash. In late April 2017, Atmospheric…
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A Gathering of Eagles: Experts Impart Wisdom at ARM Aerial Instrumentation Workshop
Report summarizes measurement and instrument recommendations from top scientists Instruments for probing clouds are mounted under the G-1 wing. Imagine getting many of the nation’s top atmospheric scientists in a room to spitball ideas about the ideal suite of instruments to be installed in an airplane dedicated to measuring atmospheric phenomena such as aerosols and…
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AAF’s Challenger 850 Aircraft Moves to Modification Stage
One short year after the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Aerial Facility (AAF) finalized the purchase of its new Bombardier Challenger 850 regional jet, the aircraft lifted off a Texas tarmac and landed in Ontario, Canada. There, it will spend the next 18 months transforming from a business jet into ARM’s new laboratory in the sky.…
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Airborne Program Expert Rickey Petty Nears a Goal Line
The longtime ARM Aerial Facility program manager and die-hard meteorologist prepares for a studious retirement Before the days of pandemic lockdowns, Rickey Petty posed in his Germantown, Maryland, office. He retires at the end of June 2020. Photo is courtesy of Petty. One day in the fall of 1971, a 19-year-old football player at the…
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Charting a Course for ARM Aerial Measurements
Scientists gather to provide expertise and direction Jason Tomlinson, director of engineering for the ARM Aerial Facility (AAF), presents during the ARM Aerial Instrumentation Workshop in March 2020 at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). Photo is by Andrea Starr, PNNL. While much of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility is firmly rooted on the…