Scientists routinely use light detection and ranging (lidar) systems to obtain data about cloud and aerosol layering and optical properties. In October 2006, ARM scientists spent a week at the ARM Southern Great Plains (SGP) site using the established Micropulse Lidar (MPL) and a new EZ Lidar to gather measurements of aerosols and cloud structure…

This chart shows the spectral and height dependence of the infrared cooling rates for a mid-latitude summer profile. Note that the majority of the infrared cooling in the middle and upper tropsphere occurs in spectral regions that RHUBC will investigate. In conjunction with other scientific activities taking place during International Polar Year 2007-2008, today (February…

The AMF decommissioning team poses for a group photo at the AMF site near the airport in Niamey. ARM file photo. At midnight January 7, 2007, the ARM Mobile Facility (AMF) deployment in Niamey, Niger, successfully concluded. For the next two weeks, the AMF decommissioning team packaged the AMF for subsequent uplift to Germany. Not…

A new corner reflector (too small to be seen in this photo) on the WACR calibration tower helped to correct problems related to signal interference. ARM file photo. As reported in July 2005, the W-band ARM Cloud Radar (WACR) is a 95-GHz system designed for a unique purpose – monitoring the radar returns of insects…

The ARM Archive stores and distributes the large quantities of data resulting from routine operations and scientific field campaigns conducted at the ARM sites. Scientists use these data to study atmospheric radiation balance and cloud feedback processes, which are critical to the understanding of global climate change. In the first quarter of FY07 (October through…

Scientific instrumentation at the ARM sites generates massive amounts of data for atmospheric research. These data are processed at the Data Management Facility (DMF) housed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. In late 2006, the DMF completed the replacement of its database processing capabilities with a new Data System Database (DSDB), after a 2-year process of…

ARM staff returned to San Francisco in December 2006 for the 2006 American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting, this time with a new exhibit. With over 1,120 sessions and 13,023 abstracts to choose from (an increase of more than 15 percent over the 2005 Fall Meeting), another attendance record was set. Nearly 14,000 scientists from…

Researchers installed a continuous 222Rn monitor at the base of the 60-meter tower at the SGP Central Facility. A sampling tube connected to the tower supplies air to the container, where the radon is measured. ARM file photo. In November, ARM scientists and researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics…

Onshore winds and a mountain range to the west of Shanghai form a natural basin which traps particulates in the air above the Yangtze River delta region. (Illustration courtesy of Patricia Ebrey, University of Washington) China generates exceptionally high amounts of aerosol particles whose influence on the atmosphere has been detected across the Pacific Rim.…

External Data Center was recognized for 10 years of service. ARM file photo. In celebration of its tenth year of operation, the ARM External Data Center (XDC), which is managed by Brookhaven National Laboratory, was recently recognized for its outstanding contribution to the scientific user community. The XDC collects and processes data from other climate…