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…

Established in 1989, the ARM Program is the Department of Energy’s largest global change research program. Eight national laboratories and numerous government agencies, universities, private companies, and foreign organizations contribute to its science and infrastructure using a complex network of web servers. While this distribution successfully focuses each server on a specific area of the…

As an extension of the North Slope of Alaska (NSA) Climate Change: Science and Traditional Knowledge kiosk developed by the ARM Climate Research Facility Education and Outreach staff, a DVD archive of related interviews is now available to students, teachers, and the community of Barrow, Alaska. The interactive kiosk—in place at the Iñupiat Heritage Center…

Trying to describe the ARM Climate Research Facility to an educated audience is hard enough; imagine explaining it to someone who knows next to nothing about atmospheric science! Judges of the 2005 Communicator Awards print media competition apparently got the message, as they gave awards to four ARM Climate Research Facility entries in various categories.…

Scientific research increasingly shows evidence of climate change first appearing in the Arctic. Unfortunately, typical instruments for measuring water vapor—like the microwave radiometers used at the ARM Climate Research Facility Southern Great Plains and Tropical Western Pacific locale—struggle to obtain accurate moisture readings in highly arid conditions like the Arctic. Using a DOE Small Business…

The Continuous Quality Improvement Program (CQIP) implemented by the ARM Program in 1998 requires annual audits and inspection visits to each of the ARM Climate Research Facility Southern Great Plains (SGP) site’s 27 field facilities located in Oklahoma and Kansas. A small team of scientists and engineers conduct the inspections each year to evaluate the…

To help ARM scientists analyze cloud temperatures and infer cloud heights over the ARM Climate Research Facility Southern Great Plains (SGP) site, operations staff are installing six new infrared thermometers (IRTs) at Extended Facilities throughout the domain, with plans to eventually equip all Extended Facilities. One of the primary uses of these data is to…

Two things are critical for conducting scientific research: adequate equipment and power. This is especially true in the Arctic, where average winter temperatures hover around -30 degrees Celsius, and access to additional resources is limited. After experiencing crowded working conditions during complex field campaigns last year, followed by several power outages this past winter, operations…

Talk about a change of scenery. Scientists replaced Harley riders as the 15th Annual ARM Science Team Meeting began March 14-18, 2005, in Daytona Beach, Florida, just as thousands of motorcycles involved in Daytona’s 64th Annual “Bike Week” roared out of town. Almost 300 participants from 10 countries came together for this once-a-year opportunity to…