Kelle Smith assumed the duties of ExtraView administrator after Jan Gunter’s retirement in October. ExtraView, an application published by Sesame Technologies, provides the necessary tools for management of the Engineering Change Order (ECO) and the Engineering Work Order (EWO) System. ARM Engineering uses this tool to accept and track required engineering work for changes, problems,…

Because of its altitude and arid conditions, Cerro Chajnantor in Chile is an ideal location for obtaining atmospheric measurements in the far-infrared. (Photo credit California Institute of Technology) The Radiative Heating in Underexplored Bands Campaign (RHUBC II) was selected for support by ARM as an off-site campaign in 2009. Led by principal investigators Dr. David…

In September, the ARM Climate Research Facility became an official member of the National Science Foundation’s Center for Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere, or CASA. Initial discussions for partnering began nearly a year ago. After a series of informative visits and presentations, the decision was made to move forward with membership process. The transfer…

On the skydeck at Atqasuk, the new met pack (above right) and GPS receiver (circled at left) acquire data for the SuomiNet. ARM file photo. At the North Slope of Alaska, the ARM operates a research site in the remote town of Atqasuk, Alaska, to provide continental Arctic data to the climate research community. The…

To ensure that ARM precipitation measurements are as accurate as possible, the SGP rain gauges (white cylinder above left) are inspected every two weeks, are statically calibrated in the field every six months, and will now be dynamically calibrated on an annual basis using the system shown above. ARM file photo. The ARM fills a…

A 2-channel microwave radiometer (left) and a 12-channel microwave radiometer profiler (right) are part of a larger collection of instruments deployed at the ARM Mobile Facility site in Heselbach, Germany, in 2007. ARM file photo. Microwave radiometers (MWRs) are instruments used to measure emissions of water vapor and liquid water molecules in the atmosphere at…

The 2006 year-end ARM statistics included a spatial distribution of global (shown here; click map for larger image) and U.S. users, and whether they were funded by the ARM Program. ARM file image. A second straight record high number of users (1092) and a new record for visitor days (2083) were reported by ARM for…

This photo shows a pyrgeometer entering the blackbody calibration chamber. A blackbody is an object that absorbs all electromagnetic radiation that falls onto it. This lack of both transmission and reflection properties make blackbodies ideal sources for calibrating instruments that measure radiation, like the pyrgeometer. ARM file photo. A pyrgeometer is a type of radiometer…

Dr. Beat Schmid is the new Technical and Mission Science Director of the ARM Aerial Vehicles Program. ARM file photo. Effective August 2, 2007, Dr. Beat Schmid will take on the position of Technical and Mission Science Director of the ARM Aerial Vehicle Program (AVP). Dr. Schmid is replacing Dr. Jim Mather as the lead…

Back at the hangar in Ponca City, a multifilter radiometer is positioned inside the Cessna’s new starboard wingtip extension. Downward-facing multifilter radiometers (MFR) are instruments used to measure the intensity and distribution of reflected energy from different surfaces, such as grass or dirt. The relative amount of reflected energy—also called “surface spectral albedo”—is important for…