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| Established | 1989 |
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Operating agency | United States Department of Energy |
| Website | http://www.arm.gov |
TheAtmospheric Radiation Measurement User Facility (ARM User Facility)[2] is a multi-laboratoryUnited States Department of Energy , provides 30-plus years of atmospheric measurements, including data sets from all seven continents and five oceans, to advance the understanding of the Earth’s atmosphere.
The ARM User Facility consists of three heavily instrumented fixed-location atmospheric observatories and mobile and aerial research facilities that measure radiative properties of theatmosphere, particularlycloud andaerosol formation processes.[3] Continuous data from these sites, as well as supplemental data obtained through intensive field research campaigns, are available to scientists online through the ARM Data Center Archive. ARM is collaboratively managed by nine DOE national laboratories.[4]
ARM seeks to provide the climate research community with strategically located in situ and remote-sensing observatories designed to improve the understanding and representation, in climate and earth system models, of clouds and aerosols as well as their interactions and coupling with the Earth’s surface. ARM focuses on obtaining continuous measurements—supplemented by field campaigns—and providing data products that promote the advancement of earth system models.
ARM was established in 1989 by theU.S. Department of Energy to develop several highly instrumented ground stations. During the early years of the program, ARM focused on establishing field research sites, developing and procuring instruments, and developing techniques for both atmospheric retrievals and model evaluation. To obtain the most useful climate data, three main sites were chosen that represented a broad range of weather conditions.
The Southern Great Plains (SGP)[5] atmospheric observatory was the first field measurement site established by the ARM user facility. This observatory is the world’s largest and most extensive climate research facility.
Scientists use data from the SGP to learn about cloud, aerosol and atmospheric processes, which in turn leads to improvements in models of the Earth’s climate. The SGP observatory consists of in situ and remote-sensing instrument clusters arrayed across approximately 9,000 square miles in north-central Oklahoma and south Kansas.
The North Slope of Alaska (NSA)[6] atmospheric observatory provides data about cloud and radiative processes at high latitudes. This observatory includes a central facility at Barrow (known officially asUtqiaġvik) and, from 2013 to 2021, an ARM Mobile Facility operated at Oliktok Point, about 160 miles east of Utqiaġvik.[7]
The NSA is a focal point for atmospheric and ecological research activity in the Arctic. Scientists use data from the NSA to improve the representation of high-latitude cloud and radiation processes inearth system models.
TheEastern North Atlantic atmospheric observatory[8] is the newest measurement site established by the ARM user facility. This observatory is located onGraciosa Island in the Azores archipelago. The Azores are located in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean west ofPortugal.
TheTropical Western Pacific sites[9], where data was collected from 1996 to 2014, obtained data from the "warm pool" where the warmestsea surface temperatures on the planet and widespread convective clouds play a large role in the interannual variability observed in the globalclimate system. This site was discontinued in August 2014.
In addition to the fixed-location observatories, ARM also offers mobile and aerial facilities.
Mobile observatoriesTo explore research questions beyond those addressed by ARM’s fixed atmospheric observatories located in Alaska, Oklahoma, and the Azores, scientists can propose a field campaign to use one of three ARM mobile facilities (AMF) to collect atmospheric and climate data from under-sampled regions around the world.
Each AMF is designed to operate in any environment—from the cold of the Arctic to the heat of the tropics—for campaigns typically lasting about a year.
ARM Aerial Facility
Aerial observatory capabilities of the ARM user facility are operated by the ARM Aerial Facility (AAF). The AAF provides airborne measurements required to answer research questions proposed by scientists from around the world.
