AOS

aos: Aerosol Observing System

The aerosol observing system (AOS) is the primary platform for in situ aerosol measurements at Earth’s surface. Each AOS has a different complement of instruments, which are selected to ensure the best measurements at each deployment site.

The AOS measures aerosol optical properties to better understand how particles interact with solar radiation and influence the earth’s radiation balance. These measurements are useful for calculating parameters used in radiative forcing calculations, such as the aerosol single scattering albedo, asymmetry parameter, mass scattering efficiency, and hygroscopic growth. Measurements made with the AOS form a long-term record at the ARM fixed sites. Shorter measurement records are available from mobile deployments at a wide variety of geographical regions. These measurements are valuable for:

identifying long-term changes in aerosol properties
identifying atmospheric processes controlling aerosol life cycle and their influence on clouds
providing experimental data for developing and testing atmospheric climate models.

View AOS Core Configuration Learn AOS History Discover AOS Future

Measurements

Aerosol absorption	Atmospheric moisture	Methane concentration
Aerosol backscattered radiation	Backscattered radiation	Ozone
Aerosol concentration	Carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration	Ozone Concentration
Aerosol particle size	Cloud condensation nuclei	Particle number concentration
Aerosol particle size distribution	Hygroscopic growth	Particle size distribution
Aerosol scattering	Inorganic chemical composition

Locations

Fixed
AMF1
AMF2
AMF3

Components

acsm: Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor	aeth: Aethalometer
aosmet: Meteorological Measurements associated with the Aerosol Observing System	aps: Aerodynamic Particle Sizer
caps-pmex: Cavity Attenuated Phase Shift Extinction Monitor	ccn: Cloud Condensation Nuclei Particle Counter
clap: Continuous Light Absorption Photometer	co-analyzer: Carbon Monoxide Analyzer
cpc: Condensation Particle Counter	ghg: Greenhouse Gas Monitor
htdma: Humidified Tandem Differential Mobility Analyzer	nephelometer: Nephelometer
nox: Nitrogen Oxides Monitor	ozone: Ozone Monitor
pass: Photoacoustic Soot Spectrometer	pils: Particle Into Liquid Sampler
psap: Particle Soot Absorption Photometer	ptr-ms: Proton Transfer Reaction Mass Spectrometer
smps: Scanning mobility particle sizer	so2: Sulfur Dioxide Monitor
sp2: Single Particle Soot Photometer	tap: Tricolor Absorption Photometer
tracegas: Trace gas concentrations	uhsas: Ultra-High Sensitivity Aerosol Spectrometer

Related Publications

2018

Liu Y, R Seco, S Kim, A Guenther, A Goldstein, F Keutsch, S Springston, T Watson, P Artaxo, R Souza, K McKinney, and S Martin. 2018. "Isoprene photo-oxidation products quantify the effect of pollution on hydroxyl radicals over Amazonia." Science Advances, 4(4), eaar2547, 10.1126/sciadv.aar2547.

Varble A. 2018. "Erroneous attribution of deep convective invigoration to aerosol concentration." Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, , 10.1175/JAS-D-17-0217.1. ONLINE.

2017

Creamean JM. 2017. Exploratory Ice Nucleation Measurements at Oliktok Field Campaign Report. Ed. by Robert Stafford, ARM Climate Research Facility. DOE/SC-ARM-17-034.

Pennypacker S and R Wood. 2017. "A Case Study in Low Aerosol Number Concentrations Over the Eastern North Atlantic: Implications for Pristine Conditions in the Remote Marine Boundary Layer." Journal of Geophysical Research – Atmospheres, 122(22), doi:10.1002/2017JD027493.

Goss H. 2017. Cloud, Aerosol, and Complex Terrain Interactions (CACTI) Backgrounder. Ed. by Rolanda Jundt, ARM Climate Research Facility. DOE/SC-ARM-17-032.

Jefferson A, D Hageman, H Morrow, F Mei, and T Watson. 2017. "Seven years of aerosol scattering hygroscopic growth measurements from SGP: Factors influencing water uptake." Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 122(17), 10.1002/2017JD026804.

Bullard RL, C Kuang, J Uin, S Smith, and SR Springston. 2017. Aerosol Inlet Characterization Experiment Report. Ed. by Robert Stafford, ARM Climate Research Facility. DOE/SC-ARM-TR-191.

Sedlacek AJ. 2017. Single-Particle Soot Photometer (SP2) Instrument Handbook. Ed. by Robert Stafford, ARM Climate Research Facility. DOE/SC-ARM-TR-169.

2016

Kourtchev I, C Giorio, A Manninen, E Wilson, B Mahon, J Aalto, M Kajos, D Venables, T Ruuskanen, J Levula, M Loponen, S Connors, N Harris, D Zhao, A Kiendler-Scharr, T Mentel, Y Rudich, M Hallquist, J Doussin, W Maenhaut, J Bäck, T Petäjä, J Wenger, M Kulmala, and M Kalberer. 2016. "Enhanced Volatile Organic Compounds emissions and organic aerosol mass increase the oligomer content of atmospheric aerosols." Scientific Reports, 6(1), 10.1038/srep35038.

Kyrouac J. 2016. Aerosol Observing System Surface Meteorology Instrument Handbook. Ed. by Robert Stafford, DOE/SC-ARM-TR-184. DOE/SC-ARM-TR-184.

View All Related Publications

Contact

View Instrument Mentors

AOS