About

The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) User Facility is a multi-laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) scientific user facility and a key contributor to atmospheric research efforts.

Mission Statement

ARM, a DOE Office of Science user facility managed by the Biological and Environmental Research program, provides the research community with strategically located atmospheric observatories to improve the understanding and representation of cloud, aerosol, and precipitation processes in earth system models in support of DOE’s science, energy, and national security missions.

Vision Statement

To provide the research community with extended-term and adaptable, multi-scale atmospheric field observations, state-of-the-art data analytics, purpose-driven data products, and scalable computing infrastructure to address fundamental basic science challenges to ensure that our nation achieves sustained global leadership in energy innovation and national security.

Supporting DOE's Mission

For more than 30 years, ARM has supported the DOE and Office of Science missions by providing atmospheric observations to enable scientific discovery, transform our understanding of the atmosphere, and evaluate and improve the accuracy of atmospheric models.

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The Origin of ARM

DOE established ARM in 1989 at a time when it was recognized there were deficiencies in earth system models and observations of the atmosphere were needed to understand and describe atmospheric processes.

ARM's History

ARM Observatories

The heart of ARM is a network of six extensively instrumented, continuously operating ground-based atmospheric observatories. ARM deploys a combination of long-term, fixed-location observatories in Oklahoma, Alaska, and the eastern Atlantic Ocean to understand weather changes from year to year and short-term, mobile observatories to observe a broader set of weather conditions and locations, many of them in the United States. In addition, ARM offers aerial capabilities that provide detailed information about the lower atmosphere.

Atmospheric Observatories

ARM Data & the Pursuit of Gold Standard Science

Using best practices aligned with FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) principles, ARM routinely processes data to a standard format, conducts quality control reviews on data, tags data files with Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs), and makes them available to scientists in near-real time. Data are managed by the ARM Data Center, a designated DOE Office of Science Public Reusable Research (PuRe) Data Resource and World Data System member. The use of DOIs supports the reproducibility of scientific results based on ARM data. If data quality issues are discovered, data are flagged, providing scientists guidance for data use. This adherence to FAIR principles combined with attention to data quality supports the pursuit of gold standard science by ARM users.

ARM Leadership & Organization

ARM is managed and operated by approximately 300 staff at nine DOE laboratories along with several universities. In addition, ARM has constituent groups that help provide scientific guidance and develop ARM priorities. ARM also collaborates with many partners in gathering and sharing data.

Future Directions

ARM is continually changing in response to evolving science, user needs, and available technology. Through community engagement, ARM in 2020 developed a new Decadal Vision document to address increasingly complex science challenges related to the facility’s mission over the next five to 10 years. As part of its priorities, ARM is applying advanced techniques in data, computing, and artificial intelligence/machine learning to support operational efficiency and the effective use of ARM measurements.