News Archive
April - June 2005
5/11/05 - ARM Research Helps Identify A Brighter Earth
As reported in the May 6 issue of Science magazine, a team of international researchers say that the earth is experiencing a widespread "brightening" trend. Based on a decade of surface solar energy measurements, the finding is a reversal of the "dimming" trend previously reported for the 1960s through 1990. A group of scientists led by Martin Wild at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich—home of the international Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) archive—began collecting surface measurements and crunching numbers to investigate the phenomenon. Analysis of more recent data (from 1990-2000) revealed that the trend has reversed.
Data analysis capabilities developed through ARM research were crucial in the study, which reveals the downwelling solar energy reaching the surface has brightened by about 4 percent during the past decade. Chuck Long and Ells Dutton, members of ARM's Science Team, are co-authors of the paper. A summary of the paper is available via the ARM Research Highlights.
5/9/05 - New search engine implemented for ARM.gov—The GoogleBox is here!
As part of the ongoing redesign of www.arm.gov, the need for a more robust search engine for the site was identified. We are happy to report that the arm website search is now being powered by GoogleTM. Google was chosen because it is the industry leader in search engines and gave us the additional capability to search multiple servers. Now users can see results from all of the arm.gov servers. We truly hope this improvement will make your website experience more usable and encourage you to check out google.arm.gov.
4/20/05 - ARM Principal Investigator Receives Prestigious Award
In January 2005, Dr. Graeme Stephens, ARM Principal Investigator, received the Jule G. Charney Award from the American Meteorological Society (AMS). Dr. Stephens was given the award for "pioneering advances in understanding and measuring radiation processes and their role in climate."
Dr. Stephens, a research professor at Colorado State University, joined the ARM Science Team in 1990. He is part of the ARM Cloud Properties and Instantaneous Radiative Flux Working Groups, and is particularly involved in research related to role of clouds in climate, and their effect on the planetary radiation budget. One of his most recent papers is "Cloud Feedbacks in the Climate System: A Critical Review" (Journal of Climate, Jan. 2005), which emphasizes the important link between cloud dynamics and the earth's climate cycle.
The Charney Award is given to individuals in recognition of highly significant research or development achievement in the atmospheric or hydrologic sciences. The award is given in honor of Jule Charney, who played a major role in establishing the theoretical framework on which numerical weather prediction is based. For more information, see the AMS announcement.
4/1/05 - 15th Annual ARM Science Team Meeting Concludes
Almost 300 participants from 10 countries traveled to this year's Science Team Meeting held March 14-18, 2005, at the Hilton in Daytona Beach, Florida. Dr. Wanda Ferrell, ARM Program Manager for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), opened the plenary session on March 15 with statements regarding the Program's accomplishments since the 2004 Science Team Meeting. In particular, Dr. Ferrell highlighted the completion of the ARM Mobile Facility, a successful infrastructure review, and the award of funding to nine new principal investigators. She also delivered the happy news of a proposed increase to the ARM science budget for 2006—the first increase in 10 years.
"An increase in the science budget is a reflection of the positive view that the Office of Science and the Office of Management and Budget have for the ARM Program," said Dr. Ferrell.
Following Dr. Ferrell's address, Dr. Tom Ackerman, ARM Chief Scientist, recapped his 6-year tenure with the ARM Program by comparing his first state-of-ARM presentation to the current state-of-ARM. Notable advances made during his tenure include the establishment of an ARM site in the Tropical Western Pacific locale; testing of ARM parameterizations in climate and weather prediction models; development of stronger connections with the international atmospheric community; and publication of a new Science Plan to guide ARM into the next five years.
Next year's meeting is heading back to the Hyatt Regency in Albuquerque, New Mexico, March 27-31, 2006.
Events
6/20/05 - GEWEX International Conference on the Global Energy and Water Cycle Begins
The 5th International Conference on the Global Energy and Water Cycle is underway in Orange County, California. Sponsored by the International Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX) Project Office, the theme of this year's conference is "Observing and predicting the Earth's water and energy cycle: current state of knowledge and future research requirements." Dr. Graeme Stephens and Dr. David Randall are invited speakers, and several other ARM researchers are presenting papers during the conference, which runs from June 20-24, 2005. GEWEX is an integrated program of research, observations, and science activities ultimately leading to the prediction of global and regional climate change.
The conference is addressing the following six scientific themes:
- The role of clouds and their effects on radiation budget in climate prediction
- Use of predictions of water cycle variables in water management
- Data and analysis for the role of land fluxes in water and energy budgets
- The role of modeling in predictability and prediction studies
- New strategies for characterizing and predicting energy and water budgets
- Measuring and predicting precipitation
For more information, see the GEWEX website.
6/13/05 - ACRF to Exhibit at 98th Annual Air & Waste Management Conference
Next week, ARM Climate Research Facility (ACRF) staff will spread the word about ARM's national user facility and services to more than 3,000 participants from industry, government, and academia at the 98th Annual Air & Waste Management Association (A&WMA) Conference. The conference and exhibition will run June 21-24 at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and is considered a premier environmental, education, networking, and solutions event.
More than 150 technical sessions covering a range of air, environmental management, and waste issues will be brought together under the conference theme "Exploring Innovative Solutions" to explore new technologies, pioneering public policies, and ground-breaking partnerships. The exhibition will feature hundreds of companies and organizations, including ACRF, to showcase the latest environmental products and services. Be sure to check out the June 22, 10:30 a.m., presentation about ACRF to be given by Dr. Sylvia Edgerton, ACRF Science Liaison, at the New Business & Technology Center, a designated area in the exhibit hall.
A&WMA is a nonprofit, nonpartisan professional organization that provides technology exchange, training, networking opportunities, and public outreach to more than 9,000 environmental professionals in 65 countries. For more information, visit the conference website.
6/6/05 - Climate Science in Support of Decision Making Workshop Call for Presentations
The U.S. Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) will hold a workshop on Climate Science in Support of Decision Making on November 14-16 at the Crystal Gateway Marriot Hotel in Arlington, Virginia. The CCSP invites presentations by climate science users and members of the research community on the following workshop themes:
- Water
- Ecosystems
- Coastal issues
- Energy
- Air quality
For more information on submitting a proposal, see the CCSP website. The deadline for submitting proposals is July 30, 2005.
6/3/05 - AGU Fall Meeting Request for Session Proposals
There is still time to request a special session for the Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in San Francisco, December 5-9, 2005. Session proposals will be accepted until June 10. Abstracts submission will open July 26. The AGU holds two organizational meetings each year, one in the spring and one in the fall. This international scientific society of over 41,000 members fosters high-quality scientific research in the understanding of Earth and atmospheric, oceanic, hydrologic, space, and planetary sciences.
5/23/05 - AGU Spring Meeting Highlights Cloud Microphysics
In partnership with three other scientific organizations, the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Joint Assembly convened on May 23-27 in New Orleans, Lousiana, and featured a special session on microphysical cloud processes and their representation in models.
Continuing advances in computing power allow atmospheric prediction models to run at progressively finer scales of resolution, using increasingly more sophisticated physical parameterizations and numerical components. The representation of cloud microphysical processes is a key component of these models. The goal of the special session, "Microphysical Processes in Cloud Resolving, Numerical Weather Prediction, and Climate Models," is to bring together those knowledgeable in the areas of cloud microphysical observations, numerical modeling, and weather and climate forecasting to discuss these issues. Invited speakers and presenters at the session include members of the ARM Science Team.
5/13/05 - Southern Great Plains Outreach Program Hosting Two Summer Teacher Workshops
The Oklahoma Climate Survey (OCS) is preparing to host two teacher workshops this summer in Norman, Oklahoma: the Full Option Science System (FOSS) Weather and Water Workshop and the EarthStorm Weather Institute for Teachers. The FOSS Workshop features hands-on training, presentations, field trips, and an introduction to weather visualization software. It will be held June 26-July 1, for more information, see the flier.
The EarthStorm Weather Institute is a free four-day workshop in July that will give K-12 teachers an opportunity to investigate weather and improve their skills in preparing students to design and implement science fair projects. More information, including how to register, will be provided as it becomes available.
5/11/05 - Strong ARM Presence Expected at 3rd GEWEX Cloud Systems Study (GCSS) meeting in Athens
On May 16, 2005, the 3rd GEWEX Cloud System Study (GCSS) meeting begins in Athens, Greece, at the Royal Olympic Hotel, where international participants will review progress in the understanding and modeling of clouds. This year's week-long meeting is sponsored in part by the ARM Program, and kicks off with introductory remarks by Dr. Christian Jakob, ARM Principal Investigator and chair of the meeting. In addition, several ARM principal investigators will present their research and chair working group meetings. More information and a summary agenda is available on the GCSS website.
4/14/05 - ACRF Participates in Workshop on Earth Observations
On May 9-10, ACRF representatives will be in Washington D.C. to participate in a Public Engagement Workshop sponsored by the Interagency Working Group on Earth Observations. This Working Group—comprised of seventeen federal agencies—was formed to develop a plan for the U.S. contribution to the Global Earth Observations System of Systems (GEOSS), an international collaboration to connect data from satellites, ocean buoys, weather stations and other Earth observing instruments scattered around the world. The purpose of the May workshop is to identify earth observation system components and solutions to contribute to the implementation of the Integrated Earth Observation System (IEOS), the U.S. portion of the GOESS. ACRF representatives are attending the workshop to contribute information about ACRF data holdings and measurement categories.
The ultimate success of both the IEOS and GEOSS depends on input from not only federal sources, but also state and local governments, industry, academia, and non-government organizations who, in the end, will play a major role in leveraging these observation systems for social and economic benefit.
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