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Languages : en
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Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program Facilities Newsletter, February 2002
Author: Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program Facilities Newsletter, October 2002
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Languages : en
Pages : 2
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Aerosol Observing System Upgraded--The Aerosol Observing System (AOS) at the SGP central facility recently received maintenance and was upgraded to improve its performance. The AOS measures the properties of the aerosol particles around it. Several AOS components were removed, repaired, and calibrated to operate within specifications. The system continuously gathers information about the way minute aerosol particles interact with solar radiation. A better understanding of these interactions will help climate change researchers integrate aerosol effects more accurately into global climate computer models. Polar Bears Make Work Dangerous at ARM North Slope of Alaska Site--The late development of seasonal sea ice has increased polar bear sitings at ARM's Barrow site. The bears were recently seen next to the ARM instrument towers at Barrow, making the normal work day a bit more tricky for the technicians who are at the site year-round. Polar bears are not afraid of people and will attack and kill. The bears usually spend most of their time on off-shore ice floes hunting seals. This season, a large storm pushed the floes out to sea while the bears were ashore at Barrow, leaving them to forage for food on land until the sea ice reforms with the onset of colder weather. The hungry bears have made working at the Barrow CART site a dangerous proposition. ARM workers carry shotguns with them at all times for protection. On a recent journey to the site, ARM instrument mentor Michael Ritsche encountered the animals. ''You become much more aware of your surroundings, '' said Ritsche after returning safely to Argonne. Barrow residents protect themselves by shooting warning shells to scare the bears away from developed areas. Hearing the firing in the early mornings and late evenings at Barrow reminded Ritsche that he was in a more dangerous world.
Istoria e descrizione in compendio della città e regno di Algeri
Author: Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program Facilities Newsletter, September 2002
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Languages : en
Pages : 5
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This Atmospheric radiation measurement program facilities newsletter covers the following topics: The Raman lidar at the SGP central facility is receiving upgrades to its environmental controls; The instrument tower at Okmulgee State Park is receiving upgrades to prevent Turkey Vultures from roosting on the booms.
Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program Facilities Newsletter, June 2002
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Languages : en
Pages : 5
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ARM Intensive Operational Period Scheduled to Validate New NASA Satellite--Beginning in July, all three ARM sites (Southern Great Plains [SGP], North Slope of Alaska, and Tropical Western Pacific; Figure 1) will participate in the AIRS Validation IOP. This three-month intensive operational period (IOP) will validate data collected by the satellite-based Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) recently launched into space. On May 4, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched Aqua, the second spacecraft in the Earth Observing System (EOS) series. The EOS satellites monitor Earth systems including land surfaces, oceans, the atmosphere, and ice cover. The first EOS satellite, named Terra, was launched in December 1999. The second EOS satellite is named Aqua because its primary focus is understanding Earth's water cycle through observation of atmospheric moisture, clouds, temperature, ocean surface, precipitation, and soil moisture. One of the instruments aboard Aqua is the AIRS, built by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a NASA agency. The AIRS Validation IOP complements the ARM mission to improve understanding of the interactions of clouds and atmospheric moisture with solar radiation and their influence on weather and climate. In support of satellite validation IOP, ARM will launch dedicated radiosondes at all three ARM sites while the Aqua satellite with the AIRS instrument is orbiting overhead. These radiosonde launches will occur 45 minutes and 5 minutes before selected satellite overpasses. In addition, visiting scientists from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory will launch special radiosondes to measure ozone and humidity over the SGP site. All launches will generate ground-truth data to validate satellite data collected simultaneously. Data gathered daily by ARM meteorological and solar radiation instruments will complete the validation data sets. Data from Aqua-based instruments, including AIRS, will aid in weather forecasting, climate modeling, and greenhouse gas studies. These instruments will provide more accurate, detailed global observations of weather and atmospheric parameters that will, in turn, improve the accuracy and quality of weather forecasts. A satellite-based instrument is cost-effective because it can provide continuous global measurements, eliminating isolated yet costly weather balloon releases. Aqua, launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California (Figure 2), carries six state-of-the-art instruments that measure various water vapor parameters: (1) AIRS, which measures atmospheric temperature and humidity, land and sea surface temperatures, cloud properties, and radiative energy flux; (2) Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit, which measures atmospheric temperature and humidity during both cloudy and cloud-free periods; (3) Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer, which measures cloud properties, radiative energy flux, precipitation rates, land surface wetness, sea ice, snow cover, sea surface temperature, and wind fields; (4) Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System, which measures radiative energy flux; (5) Humidity Sounder for Brazil, which measures atmospheric humidity by using a passive scanning microwave radiometer; and (6) Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, which measures cloud properties, radiative energy flux, aerosol properties, land cover and land use change, vegetation dynamics, land surface temperature, fire occurrence, volcanic effects, sea surface temperature, ocean color, snow cover, atmospheric temperature and humidity, and sea ice. The data-gathering capabilities of the Aqua instruments will provide an unprecedented view of atmosphere-land interactions (Figure 3). The availability of more frequent, more accurate global measurements of important atmospheric parameters will both improve our capabilities for short-term weather forecasting and lead to a better understanding of climate variability and climate change. Simultaneous measurements of many parameters will allow scientists to study complicated forcings and feedbacks of the atmosphere, which can be integrated into climate models.
Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program Facilities Newsletter, January 2002
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Languages : en
Pages : 2
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Central Facility Benefits from Improvements--Three current projects are improving the ARM SGP central facility near Lamont, Oklahoma: construction of an instrument maintenance facility, installation of an instrument to measure carbon dioxide flux, and construction of a platform to accommodate instruments brought to the site by visiting scientists. Instrument Maintenance Facility--Construction of the instrument maintenance facility began on November 26, 2001. Being assembled from three mobile trailer units rescued from Argonne National Laboratory's excess equipment pool, this facility will add almost 2,400 square feet of space and will allow significant expansion of the onsite electronics laboratory that repairs and troubleshoots malfunctioning equipment. The facility will also consolidate instrument parts and repairs and provide much-needed office space and indoor restroom facilities for the field and electronics technicians who work at the central facility. New Carbon Dioxide Flux Measurements--In mid-December, scientists from Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory and the University of Nebraska installed an instrument that measures carbon dioxide flux in a wheat field near the 60-meter tower at the central facility. Measurements of carbon dioxide flux during the winter wheat growing season will be used to validate measurements taken by similar equipment mounted on the nearby tower. Several similar systems may be installed in surrounding fields during January. All equipment will be removed before the May wheat harvest. New Platform for Guest Instruments--The guest instrument facility will be receiving an addition soon, in the form of an elevated deck on the north side of the building. The deck, measuring 15 feet by 30 feet, will accommodate instrumentation brought to the CART site by visiting scientists. The SGP CART site hosts an increasing number of guest instruments each year. The addition will provide adequate space for the temporary instrument installations.
Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program Facilities Newsletter, August 2002
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Languages : en
Pages : 3
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ARM in Australia--The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has launched its newest Atmospheric Radiation and Cloud Station (ARCS) in Darwin, Australia. This is the fifth research site established since ARM Program inception in 1989. The new Darwin site and two other ARCS sites--on Manus Island and the island of Nauru--are in the Tropical Western Pacific region. The North American sites in the U.S. Southern Great Plains and on the North Slope of Alaska represent two different climate regions. A goal of the ARM Program is to improve understanding of (1) the ways clouds and atmospheric moisture interact with solar radiation and (2) the effects of these interactions on both a local and global climate. Years of collected data are being used to improve computer climate models so that their predictions are more accurate. The new Darwin site is at the Darwin International Airport, adjacent to the Darwin Airport Meteorological Office. The site features state-of-the-art instrumentation used to measure solar radiation and surface radiation balance; cloud parameters; and standard meteorological variables such as temperature, wind speed and direction, atmospheric moisture, precipitation rates, and barometric pressure. A data management system (DMS) consisting of two computer workstations collects, stores, processes, and backs up data from each of the ARCS instruments. Data are transmitted via the Internet to the United States for further processing and archiving with data from the other ARM sites. All ARM data are freely available via the Internet to the public and the worldwide scientific community (http://www.arm.gov/). Operational since April 2002, the Darwin site was officially dedicated on July 30, 2002, by dignitaries from both the United States and Australia. The site is a collaborative effort between DOE and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology's Special Services Unit--the equivalent of the U.S. National Weather Service--which will handle daily operation. U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham remarked, ''Our collaboration with Australia in the establishment of this site represents an exciting expansion of the ARM Program and our ongoing quest to understand and predict the earth's climate.'' The five ARM Program research locations were chosen because of their varying and abundant cloud formations. More cloud types mean a more complete investigation. To the ARM collection, the Darwin site adds data sets detailing interactions between a unique type of cloud and solar radiation. This addition represents another step toward the ARM goal of more accurate predictions from computer climate models.
Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program Facilities Newsletter, December 1999
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Languages : en
Pages : 4
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This issue continues the discussion on lightning begun with the last issue. It reviews briefly what lightning is, then discusses protecting buildings and structures, personal protection, and protecting ARM structures. Five sources for more information are listed.
Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program Facilities Newsletter, July 2002
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Languages : en
Pages : 2
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ARM Participating in Off-site Intensive Operational Period--The ARM Program is playing a role in the Cirrus Regional Study of Tropical Anvils and Cirrus Layers-Florida Area Cirrus Experiment (CRYSTAL-FACE) intensive operational period (IOP), under way through July in South Florida. The objective of CRYSTAL-FACE is to investigate the physical properties and formation processes of tropical cirrus clouds. The ARM Program has deployed a suite of ground-based instruments in Florida for CRYSTAL-FACE. In addition, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration provides six research aircraft equipped with state-of-the-art instruments to measure characteristics of cirrus clouds and their ability to alter the temperature of the atmosphere. The reliability of climate predictions depends on the accuracy of computer models of climate. Interactions between clouds and solar radiation are a major source of current uncertainty in the models, hindering accurate climate prediction. A goal of CRYSTAL-FACE is to improve on the way clouds are represented in and integrated into the models and thus achieve more reliable climate predictions. CRYSTAL-FACE will be followed in 2004 by CRYSTAL-TWP, to be held at ARM's Tropical Western Pacific (TWP) location on Manus and Nauru Islands. New Storage Building Proposed for Central Facility--Now in the design phase is a new storage building to be erected at the central facility, west of the shipping and receiving trailer. The added storage is needed because shipping needs for the TWP are now being handled by the SGP site. New Seminole Extended Facility Location Approved--The extended facility formerly on the property of the Seminole Industrial Foundation had to be removed from service in April, after the land was sold to a new owner. Both the foundation and the new land owner offered options for new extended facility locations in the area. An Environmental Evaluation Notification Form has now been approved by the USDOE (ARM Program sponsor), as required by the National Environmental Policy Act, for a newly leased site 1.5 miles north of the old site. DigiCORA-III Transition IOP Scheduled--A July IOP at the central facility completed the transition from the DigiCORA-II to the DigiCORA-III radiosonde sounding system. The DigiCORA, the computer ''brains'' behind the radiosonde (weather balloon) system used at the SGP, retrieves signals from the radiosonde as it travels upward into the sky, collecting and processing the data in real time. Radiometer Calibration Exercise Under Way--The second Broadband Outdoor Radiometer Calibration (BORCAL) exercise of the year is currently calibrating the pyranometers from the SGP extended facilities. Half of the SGP pyranometers are calibrated during each of two annual BORCAL events. This schedule ensures that at least half of the deployed instruments are operating optimally at any time.
Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program Facilities Newsletter, March 2002
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Languages : en
Pages : 2
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International H2O Project (IHOP-2002)--The International H2O Project (IHOP-2002) will take place in west-central Oklahoma over 44 days, May 13-June 25, 2002. The main focus will be water vapor and its role in storm development and rainfall production, information needed to improve rainfall forecasting. Forecasting the amount and location of rainfall is difficult, particularly in the warm months, and improvements are urgently needed. Accurate prediction of floods would be very beneficial to society, because flooding is costly in terms of loss of life and property damage. Deaths resulting from flash flooding outnumber those from hurricanes, tornadoes, windstorms, or lightning, and damage due to flooding exceeds $5 billion annually. One measure of weather forecasting success is the accuracy of the Quantitative Precipitation Forecast (QPF), which predicts the amount of precipitation to be received at a certain location. One of the research goals of IHOP-2002 is to determine whether more accurate, detailed measurement of humidity will improve a computer model's ability to forecast rainfall amounts accurately. Current water vapor measurements are inadequate. The weather balloons (radiosondes) that gather most of the water vapor data used in today's weather and global climate models have three problems. First, the radiosonde stations are located too far apart, generating a grid of data that is too coarse to show the needed details in water vapor variability. Second, the radiosonde launches occur only every 12 hours, again providing too few data points for a highly variable parameter. Third, the radiosonde instrument has biases and inaccuracies in its measurements. Questionable data quality and data sets too coarse in both time and space make accurate forecasting difficult. The key to better, more accurate, higher-resolution water vapor measurements is dependable, ground-based sensors that operate continually and accurately. Such sensors will decrease dependence on sparsely spaced, costly weather balloon releases. IHOP-2002 will give researchers an active platform for testing and evaluating the capabilities and limitations of several water vapor measurement instruments. For example, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Environmental Technology Laboratory will be bringing a mini-DIAL (differential absorption lidar) to the SGP central facility for comparison with the SGP Raman lidar. Lidars send beams of laser light skyward and measure scattered light not absorbed by water molecules. The collection of IHOP-2002 instruments includes 2 fixed radars, 6 mobile radars, 2 airborne radars, 8 lidars (6 of which can sample water vapor), 1 advanced wind profiler, 2 sodars, 3 interferometers, 18 special surface stations, 800 radiosondes, 400 dropsondes, 1 tethersonde system, 52 global positioning system receivers, 3 profiling radiometers, 1 mobile profiling radiometer and wind profiler, and 5 water vapor radiometers. Six research aircraft will be deployed during the course of the field campaign. The aircraft will occasionally fly low-level tracks and will deploy dropsondes. A dropsonde resembles a radiosonde, an instrument package attached to a helium-filled balloon that rises into the atmosphere, but the dropsonde is released from an airplane and collects data on its way down to the ground. Finders of dropsondes are asked to follow the instructions on the package for returning the device to the researcher. Funding for IHOP-2002 is from many sources, including NOAA, the National Science Foundation, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, and the U.S. Department of Energy. Participation is worldwide, including researchers from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States.