News Archive
January - March 2005
3/24/05 - ARM Water Vapor Research Makes a Splash
DOE's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program research and ARM Climate Research Facility (ACRF) user capabilities are featured in the March 2005 Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society newsletter published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., (IEEE). Featured on the cover is a photo showing instrumentation mounted on the "Sky Deck" of ACRF's research site in Barrow, Alaska, during the Arctic Winter Water Vapor Intensive Operational Period (IOP) conducted March 9-April 9, 2004. Later in the issue, an ARM principal investigator from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and coauthors provide a lengthy educational tutorial about surface-based measurements of temperature, water vapor, and cloud liquid in the troposphere, and discuss the latest technologies used to obtain these measurements.
Barrow is the northernmost point in the United States, and is one of two Arctic sites (Atqasuk, Alaska, is the other) that make up the ACRF's North Slope of Alaska locale. The major goal of the Arctic Winter Water Vapor IOP was to demonstrate that millimeter wavelength radiometers can substantially improve water vapor observations during Arctic winter. As presented in the tutorial, radiometers deployed during the IOP included the Ground-based Scanning Radiometer of NOAA's Environmental Technology Laboratory (several frequencies from 50 to 380 GHz), the Microwave Radiometer and the Radiometric Profiler of ARM (frequencies from 22.235 to 60 GHz) and the Montana State Infrared Cloud Imager (ICI). Three posters describing results from this experiment were presented at the 2005 ARM Science Team Meeting, held March 14-18 in Daytona Beach, Florida.
The IEEE is made up of more than 360,000 individual members in approximately 175 countries. Its members represent the leading authority in technical areas ranging from computer engineering, biomedical technology and telecommunications, to electric power, aerospace and consumer electronics, among others. Through its technical publishing, the IEEE produces 30% of the world's published literature in electrical engineering, computers and control technology.
2/16/05 - Mobile Facility Arrives Safe and Sound in Point Reyes
Safe and sound at Point Reyes, the ARM Mobile Facility instrumentation is set up on the roof of a shelter until a fence is installed to keep out the curious local cattle.
On February 9, the ARM Mobile Facility (AMF) withstood an accident on the way to its deployment location at Point Reyes, California. About an hour from its destination, the truck carrying the two AMF shelters packed with instrumentation and associated equipment swerved to avoid another vehicle and slid off the road and down a steep embankment. Emergency personnel soon arrived to assess the scene and reported no injuries. With the help of a crane operator, the truck and trailer were soon righted and the shelters moved back into place.
Following delivery to the deployment site the following morning, the instruments and computer systems were setup and checked for operational impacts. After careful evaluation, ARM's Chief Engineer and AMF operations staff estimated a total of $1,100 damage (out of the $850K shipment), mainly due to an external air conditioning unit on one of the shelters. This amount of damage could easily have occurred in a routine shipment. The robust design of the demilitarized military-specification tactical shelters proved their worth in this event. Other than a few minor "battle scars," they not only withstood structural damage from the skid down the embankment, but also protected the instruments and computers (which were insulated in thermoplastic foam-lined boxes) expertly packed inside.
1/20/05 - ARM Program Scientists Feature Arctic Research at Annual Meteorology Forum
Through 20 separate presentations and poster sessions, scientists sponsored by the Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program presented the results of their research—ranging from measurement validation efforts and Arctic field campaigns to long-term data sets and model comparisons—at the 85th annual meeting of the American Meteorological Society (AMS). The theme for this year's program, which took place January 10 through January 13, 2005, at the San Diego Convention Center in California, was "Building the Earth Information System," emphasizing the role that science can play in decision-making for society.
Preliminary results from the Mixed-Phase Arctic Cloud Experiment, conducted on the North Slope of Alaska in October 2004, were presented by ARM researchers at the American Meteorology Society's 85th annual meeting in January 2005.
As part of the 8th Conference on Polar Meteorology and Oceanography, ARM researchers covered findings from cloud property data collected in the Arctic during the past several years, including available results from a comprehensive field campaign conducted at the North Slope of Alaska in October 2004. In light of the recently published Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (2004), and with the forthcoming International Polar Year in 2007-2008, these results are particularly timely. In addition to these Arctic research efforts, ARM scientists presented advances in atmospheric measurement instrumentation and long-term cloud properties data sets.
The annual AMS meeting is the most extensive gathering of its kind in the field of atmospheric science and technology. Scientists and technology developers from around the world—representing high-tech weather service companies, publishers, government agencies, research institutes, and others—convene each year to see and hear about the latest advances in this growing area of interest. The ARM Climate Research Facility (ACRF) joined more than 100 other exhibitors with a display in the event's main exhibit hall throughout the meeting.
Pictures from the 2005 American Meteorological Society meeting, in San Diego, California, are available.
ACRF education staff Andrea Maestas (front) and Darcy Short (back) help WeatherFest attendees learn more about the ARM Climate Research Facility education programs.
1/10/05 - ACRF Participates in 4th Annual WeatherFest at American Meteorological Society's 85th Annual Meeting
Update: A PDF version of the activity book is now available on the Education website.
On Sunday, January 9, the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility (ACRF) hosted an educational display, complete with hands-on demonstrations and free activity booklets for kids, during "WeatherFest"—a public science fair that kicked off the American Meteorological Society (AMS) annual meeting activities. ACRF's climate change coloring and activity books were a huge success and given out within the first hour of the event.
1/6/05 - ACRF Breaks New Ground with Exhibit at AGU Fall Meeting
The ARM Climate Research Facility display during the AGU Fall Meeting in December.
More than 10,000 geophysicists attended the 2004 American Geophysical Union (AGU) fall meeting that took place December 13-17 in San Francisco. Exhibiting for the first time at this meeting, Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility staff provided extensive background information about the ARM science program and the transition to a national user facility. Because the emphasis of the meeting was geophysical rather than weather related, explaining the program's mission and goals to attendees represented a challenge. However, several inquiries about how other research could be conducted at the ACRF sites resulted from the meeting.
In addition, ARM/ACRF staff submitted or presented more than 30 abstracts and posters at the meeting. Researchers sponsored by ARM/ACRF routinely attend the regularly scheduled AGU meetings each year. These meetings cover topics in all areas of geophysical sciences and provide an opportunity for researchers, teachers, students, and consultants to present and review the latest issues affecting the earth, the planets, and their environments in space.
Events
2/11/05 - 3rd GEWEX Cloud Systems Study (GCSS) meeting in Athens, Greece, in May 2005
The 3rd GEWEX Cloud Systems Study (GCSS) meeting will take place in Athens, Greece, in May 2005. This meeting, which is sponsored in part by ARM, will review progress in the understanding and modeling of clouds. The deadline for abstracts is 15 February 2005. More information is available on the GEWEX website.
Employment Opportunities
2/16/05 - Operations Position Still Available with the ARM Climate Research Facility
The ACRF Operations Group at Argonne National Laboratory currently has a position available for a full-time staff member to assist with Operations Group activities at Argonne. In the future, this position may be expanded to include management of the Southern Great Plains Climate Research Site in Oklahoma and Kansas. This position requires a minimum of a Master's Degree in Atmospheric Sciences, previous management and contracting experience, knowledge of the DOE Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program, and some knowledge of remote sensing instrumentation. For further information, please contact Doug Sisterson. This position is now closed.
2/14/05 - Microwave Remote Sensing Algorithm Development Scientist
Atmospheric and Environmental Research, Inc. (AER) is currently seeking a scientist who will be responsible for development and performance evaluation of algorithms for retrieving atmospheric and/or land/ice surface parameters from microwave remote sensing data. This position will focus on algorithms for the Conical-scanning Microwave Imager/Sounder (CMIS), which is in development for the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS). This position is open to United States citizens and lawful permanent residents of the United States; AER offers a competitive wage and benefit package.
Applicants should meet the following qualifications:
- talent and enthusiasm for innovative research and applications
- working knowledge of atmospheric radiative transfer
- familiarity with satellite remote sensing retrieval techniques
- firm background in mathematical/statistical methods for applied physics
- good oral and written communication skills
- knowledge of FORTRAN and Microsoft Office applications
The following qualifications are desired in applicants:
- MS or PhD in one of the physical or Earth sciences
- familiarity with microwave radiometric technology
- experience with developing and meeting technical requirements
- detailed knowledge of the physics and computation methods of atmospheric and/or surface radiative processes
- knowledge of IDL, Python, Matlab, and CVS
This position is now closed. For more career opportunities with AER, please see http://www.aer.com/aboutUs/careers.html.
