News Archive
October - December 2004
12/3/04 - First Deployment of ARM Mobile Facility to Occur on California Coast
Point Reyes National Seashore, on the California coast north of San Francisco, has been identified as the official location for the first deployment of the DOE's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Mobile Facility (AMF). As part of a 6-month field campaign beginning in March 2005 to study the microphysical characteristics of marine stratus and, in particular, marine stratus drizzle processes, the AMF will provide a mature instrument system to help fill information gaps in the existing limited surveys of marine stratus microphysical structure. Marine stratus clouds are known to be susceptible to the byproducts of fossil fuel consumption, a multi-agency climate change priority.
Extensive sheets of stratus and stratocumulus clouds over the world's oceans are known to be an important component of global cloud forcing as they exert a large-scale cooling effect on the ocean surface. Increases in anthropogenic (manmade) sources of cloud condensation nuclei (microscopic aerosol particles that serve as collection points for liquid water) can increase the "reflectivity" of the clouds by decreasing the size of cloud droplets. Increasing numbers of cloud condensation nuclei may be contributors to the reduced rate of drizzle produced by marine clouds. Despite an extensive body of modeling studies, these microphysical processes continue to be poorly understood from a quantitative perspective, particularly on a global scale.
In collaboration with the U.S. Office of Naval Research and DOE's Atmospheric Science Program, the objectives of the Marine Stratus Radiation Aerosol and Drizzle project are to make observations of cloud aerosol interactions and to improve understanding of cloud organization that is often associated with patches of drizzle. At least two research aircraft will participate in the project. The AMF will contribute significantly to the scientific objectives of this project by providing state-of-the-art active and passive remote sensors to measure the detailed microphysical structure of drizzle patches and the associated clouds as they move onshore.
Point Reyes National Seashore was chosen due to its marine environment, as well as its accessibility for scientific research endeavors. This national park is home to the Pacific Coast Science and Learning Center, established by the San Francisco Bay Area Network of National Parks. The center provides office space, housing, data, reports, coordination and logistical support for researchers performing projects within Bay Area parks. ARM scientists met with National Parks Services (NPS) employees in November 2004 to tour the NPS facilities and design a lay out for the AMF instruments. The AMF will be located at an existing NPS facility less than one mile from the northwest-facing beach.
11/19/04 - Fiscal Year 2005 Science Team Proposals Announced
DOE ARM Program Manager Wanda Ferrell announced the selection of FY 2005 ARM science grants today. The titles and principal investigators of the selected proposals are available at FY 2005 Selected Science Team Proposals.
"We have many new principal investigators to welcome to the team and many old friends to welcome back." Wanda said. "Congratulations to this year's grant winners."
11/16/04 - Applications Analyst Position Filled at External Data Center
Min Liang, External Data Center Applications Analyst.
Congratulations to Min Liang who was recently named as the new applications analyst (term appointment) in the Environmental Sciences Department for the External Data Center (XDC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Min will be coding data-conversion, performing analysis, and building display applications to collect, standardize, document, and archive data collected at the XDC.
11/9/04 - New ARM Science Plan Published
To read about the direction of the ARM Science Program for the next 5-10 years, see the recently released ARM Science Plan (PDF, 939K). Since the last science plan was published almost a decade ago, the ARM Program has achieved considerable scientific success in a broad range of activities, including site and instrument development, atmospheric radiative transfer, aerosol science, determination of cloud properties, cloud modeling, and cloud parameterization testing and development. Based on this significant progress, the focus of ARM science has shifted in the past several years to an increasing emphasis on modeling and parameterization studies to take advantage of the long time series of data now available.
10/25/04 - First Science Board Meeting Held; Mobile Facility Headed to Africa
Board members discuss a topic of mutual interest during a break at the first ACRF Science Board Meeting held in October 2004.
In early October 2004, the ARM Climate Research Facility (ACRF) Science Board met in Alexandria, Virginia, to discuss the goals and management of the ACRF, as well as to review current plans and proposals for deployment of the ARM Mobile Facility. Dr. Christopher Duffy, chair of the Science Board, opened the meeting and led discussions on three proposals for using the Mobile Facility in 2006. Other topics at the meeting included an overview of the ACRF mission (both for ARM and non-ARM research) by Dr. Wanda Ferrell, DOE ARM Program Manager, and a discussion of ACRF management issues, including the proposal process, led by Dr. Sylvia Edgerton. In addition, Dr. Mark Miller discussed plans for the first deployment of the Mobile Facility—the Marine Stratus Radiation, Aerosol and Drizzle-Intensive Observation Period—which will take place on the northern California coast in 2005.
Following the meeting, Dr. Ferrell formally announced a decision to send the Mobile Facility to Africa in 2006 as part of the "Radiative Atmospheric Divergence using ARM Mobile Facility, GERB data and AMMA Stations" project. As part of this project, the Mobile Facility will be deployed beneath the Geostationary Earth Radiation Budget (GERB) instrument on the Meteosat satellite. The deployment will be timed to coincide with field phases of the African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis (AMMA) experiment, in which extensive airborne and surface measurements will be made in the region of the deployment site. This will enable the first direct measurements of the divergence of solar and thermal radiation across the atmosphere, combined with measurements of the corresponding atmospheric structure, using the temporal sampling necessary to address fundamental questions related to radiative forcing of climate.
The objective of the ACRF Science Board is to ensure that the best quality science is conducted at the ACRF. This meeting, the first for the 11-member board, will be held on an annual basis, and serve as the primary forum for recommendations on use of the ACRF and deployment of the Mobile Facility. For more information about the Science Board and its members, see http://www.arm.gov/acrf/science_board.stm.
10/11/04 - Immediate Improvements Seen In Newly Refurbished SGP Raman Lidar
Differences in the random error in the water vapor mixing ratio data (top row) and the aerosol scattering ratio (bottom row) derived from the ARM Raman lidar before (left column) and after (right column) the upgrade to the Raman lidar. The aerosol and water vapor burdens are approximately the same for the days chosen. (Click to view a larger version of the image.)
Following the September completion of a 10-month upgrade activity for the Raman lidar at the Southern Great Plains site, observational data from the instrument are showing a significant increase in sensitivity. With approximately 30 times less random error in aerosol scattering measurements, and a reduction in error for water vapor mixing ratio from 15-30% down to 2-4%, the upgrades now allow ARM researchers to increase the maximum altitude that can be reached when using the lidar for both daytime and nighttime measurements.
The SGP Raman lidar, which began operating at the site in 1996, provides critical data for ARM aerosol, water vapor, and cloud property studies. Upgrades to lidar included refurbishing the telescope mirrors, installing new interference filters, and replacing the detection electronics. For more information on the Raman lidar upgrades, see the Operations Update.
10/4/04 - Arctic Cloud Experiment Underway at the North Slope of Alaska
Like this instrument shelter stationed at Oliktok Point, the four surface based measurement stations for M-PACE contain meteorological instrumentation, broadband and spectral radiometers, and remote sensing instruments.
Mixed-phase clouds are the focus of a complex field campaign that began in late September 2004 at the North Slope of Alaska. During the month-long Mixed-Phase Arctic Cloud Experiment (M-PACE), researchers sponsored by the Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program hope to collect the focused set of data needed to advance scientific understanding of the dynamic processes in arctic mixed-phase clouds, including cloud microphysical processes and radiative transfer through clouds.
"Mixed-phase" refers to clouds composed of both ice and water, as opposed to only ice or water. This cloud type appears to dominate low lying clouds in the arctic, but a comprehensive data set for analyzing their contribution to the arctic climate is currently not available. What is known is that, according to climate models, the impacts of climate change show up first in the sensitive arctic environment. Thanks to advances resulting from ARM instrument development efforts, remote sensing techniques are now at a sufficient stage of maturity that coupling observations with large eddy simulation models of mixed-phase clouds can be exceedingly beneficial to this area of research.
Cloud properties within the M-PACE experimental domain will be measured by both surface and airborne instruments.
Using ARM Climate Research Facility instrumented sites in Barrow and Atqasuk, plus two more surface-based measurement stations established at Oliktok Point and Toolik Lake, the M-PACE science team will collect measurements of cloud microphysical properties. Two different aircraft, equipped with downward looking sensors, will fly between the four ground stations to complement the surface-based measurements. Combined, these observations will document the full breadth of cloud and radiative transfer processes in mixed-phase arctic clouds in the study area. These data sets can be used in computer models that simulate the arctic climate.
10/4/04 - Myra Selan Joins the TWP Manus Facility Staff
Myra Selan, On-Site Observer at the TWP Manus facility.
We are happy to welcome Myra Selan, a new On-site Observer, to the TWP Manus facility. Originally from Manus Island, Myra joined the Manus staff in August, following her service at the Papua New Guinea National Weather Service Headquarters as a Meteorological Observer. Myra is taking over for Mary John, who relocated to the National Weather Service Headquarters after five years at the Manus facility. Myra is quickly grasping the intricacies of facility operations and has already proven that she has the background and skills to become an asset to the Manus operations.
In mid-September, TWP Operations Manager Kim Nitschke traveled to Manus and took Myra through the TWP New Observer Orientation. This augmented the training already provided by senior Observer James Pepa on the instrument systems, balloon launching, daily rounds activities, and safety issues.
Events
12/28/04 - ARM Cloud Properties Working Group to Meet January 5-7 in Reston, Virginia
The ARM Cloud Properties Working Group will meet at the Hyatt Regency in Reston, Virginia, on January 5-7. Members of the Clouds with Low Optical [Water] Depths (CLOWD) Working Group will also attend. The broad goal of the Cloud Properties Working Group is to develop and implement algorithms that characterize the physical state of the cloudy atmosphere, including cloud occurrence, cloud condensed water amount, and cloud optical properties. Refer to the meeting logistics (PDF, 31K) for more information.
12/28/04 - Abstracts Due January 16 for the 5th International Scientific Conference on the Global Energy and Water Cycle
The World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX) will host their 5th International Conference on the Global Energy and Water Cycle in Orange County, California, on June 20-24, 2005. Abstracts are being sought related to the conference theme of Observing and Predicting the Earth's Water and Energy Cycle: Current State of Knowledge and Future Research Requirements. The deadline for abstract submittal is January 16, 2005. See the Call for Papers for more information.
12/28/04 - ARM Aerosol Working Group Meeting Met December 8-10 in Boulder, Colorado
The ARM Aerosol Working Group Meeting was hosted by members John Ogren and Joe Michalsky at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) offices in Boulder, Colorado. The two primary objectives of ARM's aerosol research are to: (1) relate observations of radiative fluxes and radiances to atmospheric composition, and (2) use these relationships to develop and test parameterizations to predict accurately atmospheric radiative properties. A draft agenda (PDF) is available for review.
11/10/04 - ARM Instantaneous Radiative Flux Working Group Meeting to be Held November 30-December 2
The ARM Instantaneous Radiative Flux Working Group Meeting will be held November 30-December 2 at Fess Parker's Doubletree Resort in Santa Barbara, California. A workshop outline (PDF) is available for review. This Working Group tests radiation parameterizations at the accuracy required for climate studies.
10/14/04 - ARM Cloud Parameterization and Modeling Working Group Meeting Set for November 2-4
The ARM Cloud Parameterization and Modeling Working Group meeting will be held November 2-4, at the Williamsburg Hospitality House in Williamsburg, Virginia. This Working Group addresses the critical issue of relating observations and data analysis to climate model development and evaluation.
10/4/04 - Deadline Has Passed for Submitting Abstracts to the OSA Hyperspectral Imaging and Sounding of the Environment Topical Meeting
The deadline has passed for submitting abstracts to the Optical Society of America (OSA) Hyperspectral Imaging and Sounding of the Environment (HISE) topical meeting. The meeting will be held January 31 - February 2 in Alexandria, Virginia. More information is available on the OSA website.
Employment Opportunities
12/09/04 - Operations Position 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.
