-
New Evaluation Product Estimates Aerosol Properties
Time series of the retrieved aerosol optical depth (aod), single-scattering albedo (ssa), and asymmetry factor (asym) at 415 nm (green color) and 500 nm (red color) wavelengths for May 9, 2011. Solid black line represents a parameter describing the temporal variability of aod: parameter = 1 (variability is large) and parameter = 0 (variability is…
-
Convective Vertical Velocity Data Ready for Evaluation
A cross-section of the atmosphere over the Billings, Oklahoma, radar wind profiler (RWP) at 22:12 UTC on May 23, 2011. The x-axis shows the location of the RWP (-14.5 km) in relation to the SGP Central Facility (0 km). The y-axis shows height above the surface. The bar on the right-hand side shows reflectivity. Contours…
-
New Evaluation Product Provides Improved Eddy Correlation Data
This figure describes the process used to generate the QCECOR VAP. Click to enlarge.Eddy correlation flux measurement systems (ECOR) are used by ARM to provide surface turbulence flux measurements. The Quality Controlled Eddy Correlation Flux (QCECOR) value-added product (VAP) improves the ECOR data by applying the following quality control (QC) procedures: Eddy correlation corrections Determination…
-
ARM Developers Seek to Improve Data Flow
After a full day discussing all things data related, participants at the ARM Developers Meeting relaxed on the shores of the Columbia River with a low-key game of cricket. Once a year, representatives from ARM’s External Data Center, Data Quality Office, Data Archive, and Data Management Facility gather with infrastructure management, scientists, and developers of…
-
New Radar Data Lead to New Value-Added Product
This sample KAZR-ARSCL plot shows data from the SGP on April 26, 2011. The top image shows the ‘reflectivity_best_estimate’ field, and the lower image shows cloud base and cloud top heights for all cloud layers detected on this day.The Ka-band ARM zenith radars (KAZRs) have replaced the long-serving millimeter-wavelength cloud radars (MMCRs). As a result,…
-
New Product Organizes Data for Use by Modelers
Knowledge of a wide range of meteorological, chemical, and aerosol quantities and properties is needed to fully understand the key processes that affect aerosol life cycle. Field campaign and operational measurements of aerosol properties and trace gas chemistry are often available in a wide range of formats. As a result, scientists usually spend a large…
-
New Evaluation Product Estimates Planetary Boundary Layer Height
Example quicklook plot from the VAP showing the sub-sampled potential temperature (black) and potential temperature lapse rate (red) from a single radiosonde along with the estimates of PBL height from the three methods. Click to enlarge. Planetary boundary layer (PBL) height (or mixing-layer depth) can vary significantly with time due to a number of factors,…
-
Unique Manus Island Precipitation Data Available
Statistical coverage product from the Manus C-SAPR showing times of data availability. Click to enlarge. Evaluation data are available for the value-added product (VAP) Mapped Moments to a Cartesian Grid (MMCG) for periods between October and December 2011 from the Tropical Western Pacific Manus site. The C-band Scanning ARM Precipitation Radar (C-SAPR) produces measurements of…
-
New Evaluation Product Provides Thermodynamic Variables from Multiple Instruments
INTERPSONDE output from the SGP Central Facility during the Midlatitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment from April 26, 2011. The Interpolated Sonde (INTERPSONDE) value-added product (VAP) is an intermediate step of the MERGESONDE VAP that produces a daily file of atmospheric state variables (temperature, humidity, pressure, and winds) from radiosonde soundings, the microwave radiometer, and surface…
-
Aerosol Optical Depth Measurements Available as Value-Added Product
These two images show data plots of cloud-screened AOD at the AMF site in China collected on a 20-second interval during daylight hours. These two days show drastically different aerosol optical depths.Aerosol optical depth (AOD) is a measure of the total aerosol burden in the atmosphere. The spectral dependence of AOD, typically described by the…