A subset of pyranometers used in the diffuse irradiance study collect data from the roof of the SGP radiometer calibration facility. ARM file photo. Scientists use an assortment of sophisticated remote-sensing instruments to obtain measurements of cloud and other atmospheric properties for climate research. A pyranometer is an instrument that measures how much solar radiation…

Nauruan students crowd around the new ARM educational kiosk to learn more about climate change. ARM file photo. Surround by the Pacific Ocean, the Republic of Nauru is one of three sites that make up the ARM Tropical Western Pacific (TWP) locale. With a livelihood and economy driven largely by a dependence on environmental conditions,…

Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) recently visited the North Slope of Alaska site in Barrow. Official portrait, 1997. In late October, U.S. Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), his staff, and executive staff from the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC) visited the ARM North Slope of Alaska (NSA) site in Barrow. Site operations staff showed the visitors around…

The RWP associate instrument mentor Tim Martin shows the new amplifier, interface, processor, and display of the upgraded 915 MHz RWP at the SGP Central Facility. ARM file photo. Radar wind profilers (RWPs) provide hourly measurements of wind speed and direction from 100 m to 5 km above the ground. Between 1992 and 1996, four…

“Thumbtacks” help ARM website users identify where the ARM sites are, including the ARM Mobile Facility deployments. Site maps available on https://www.arm.gov/capabilities/observatories/. The online ARM sites map was recently integrated with Google™ Maps API technology to enhance ARM website user’s experience. Web visitors and ARM Data Archive subscribers can now not only see where ARM…

During the MWR Intercomparison Study at the SGP site, a liquid nitrogen-filled blackbody target (shown on top of the MWR in the foreground) is used for calibration. ARM file photo. Between October and November, six 2-channel microwave radiometers (MWRs) are collocated at the Southern Great Plains (SGP) Central Facility for a 2-month intercomparison study. The…

Dr. Steve Ghan was recently appointed as an editor for the Journal of Geophysical Research. Photo courtesy of PNNL. Congratulations to Dr. Steve Ghan, recently appointed to a 4-year term as editor for the Atmospheres section of the Journal of Geophysical Research, published by the American Geophysical Union (AGU). In his role as editor, Steve…

To complete its initial calibration, a liquid-nitrogen-filled calibration target is attached to the new high-frequency microwave radiometer. ARM file photo. A microwave radiometer (MWR) is essentially a sensitive microwave receiver that is tuned to measure the microwave emissions of vapor and liquid water molecules in the atmosphere at specific frequencies. All of the ARM sites…

Radiative cooling and heating in the mid-to-upper troposphere contribute significantly to the dynamical processes and radiative balance that regulate Earth’s climate. In the longwave part of the spectrum, the dominant agent of this radiative cooling is water vapor. Due to the much greater abundances of water vapor at lower levels of the atmosphere, the spectral…

Maryann Racine was recently awarded the U.S. Department of Energy’s ARM Program Fellowship. The fellowship is offered annually through the American Meteorological Society’s Industry/Government/Graduate Fellowship and Undergraduate Scholarship program to help qualified students achieve educational goals in the atmospheric sciences and climate studies. Maryann is planning to pursue her Ph.D. in environmental science and engineering…