New SAIL campaign aims to improve modeling of processes affecting mountainous water cycles Each year, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) requests proposals from scientists worldwide to use key components of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility for field campaigns. DOE seeks research that addresses ARM’s mission of improving the understanding and modeling of…

Facility remains focused on arctic field campaigns, new instruments, and data products Development activities across the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility focus on meeting user needs with instruments, facilities, and science products. The Engineering and Process Management group leads the coordination of new development tasks in ARM, working with facility managers, instrument mentors, data…

New understanding of modeling soot in the atmosphere underscores the importance of reducing carbon emissions Black carbon particles—more commonly known as soot—absorb heat in the atmosphere. For years, scientists have known that these particles are affecting Earth’s warming climate, but measuring their exact effect has proved elusive. Researchers at Michigan Technological University and Brookhaven National Laboratory…

New sensors and microprocessors installed at seven Southern Great Plains sites Eddy correlation flux (ECOR) measurement systems measure the transport of water vapor, carbon dioxide, heat, and momentum between the land and the atmosphere in 30-minute periods. The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility provides ECOR systems at its fixed and mobile atmospheric observatories around…

Researchers find that more cracks in the ice lead to fewer—not more—low clouds A recent study in Nature Communications revealed a counterintuitive link between “leads”―cracks in arctic sea ice―and the prevalence of low clouds during winter. Leads can be from a few meters to tens of kilometers wide. They branch and intersect, creating splinters of…