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 in 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	Aerosol scattering	Ozone
Aerosol backscattered radiation	Backscattered radiation	Ozone Concentration
Aerosol concentration	Cloud condensation nuclei	Particle number concentration
Aerosol particle size	Hygroscopic growth
Aerosol particle size distribution	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

Active Instrument Locations

Facility Name	Instrument Start Date
External Data (satellites and others)	1998-01-01
Oliktok Point, Alaska; AMF3	2016-06-21
Lamont, OK (Extended and Co-located with C1)	2016-10-24
Graciosa Island, Azores, Portugal	2013-08-15

Related Publications

2019

Shen Y, A Virkkula, A Ding, K Luoma, H Keskinen, P Aalto, X Chi, X Qi, W Nie, X Huang, T Petäjä, M Kulmala, and V Kerminen. 2019. "Estimating cloud condensation nuclei number concentrations using aerosol optical properties: role of particle number size distribution and parameterization." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 19(24), 10.5194/acp-19-15483-2019.

Uin J, A Aiken, M Dubey, C Kuang, M Pekour, C Salwen, A Sedlacek, G Senum, S Smith, J Wang, T Watson, and S Springston. 2019. "Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Aerosol Observing Systems (AOS) for Surface-Based In-Situ Atmospheric Aerosol and Trace Gas Measurements." Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, 36(12), 10.1175/JTECH-D-19-0077.1.
Research Highlight

Li J, H Chen, Z Li, P Wang, X Fan, W He, and J Zhang. 2019. "Analysis of Low-level Temperature Inversions and Their Effects on Aerosols in the Lower Atmosphere." Advances in Atmospheric Sciences, 36(11), 10.1007/s00376-019-9018-9.

Glicker H, M Lawler, J Ortega, S de Sá, S Martin, P Artaxo, O Vega Bustillos, R de Souza, J Tota, A Carlton, and J Smith. 2019. "Chemical composition of ultrafine aerosol particles in central Amazonia during the wet season." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 19(20), 10.5194/acp-19-13053-2019.

Aiken AC, F Gallo, J Uin, SR Springston, J Wang, G Zheng, C Kuang, A McComiskey, R Wood, C Flynn, A Theisen, E Azevedo, P Ortega, and H Powers. 2019. Eastern North Atlantic (ENA) Aerosol Supplementary Site (S1) Data Analysis Report. Ed. by Robert Stafford, ARM user facility. DOE/SC-ARM-TR-229.

Liu J and Z Li. 2019. "Aerosol properties and their influences on low warm clouds during the Two-Column Aerosol Project." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 19(14), 10.5194/acp-19-9515-2019.

Jensen M, E Bruning, D Collins, A Fridlind, P Kollias, C Kuang, D Rosenfeld, A Ryzhkov, A Varble, SD Brooks, S Collis, E Defer, J Fan, J Flynn, S Giangrande, R Griffin, J Hu, R Jackson, M Kumjian, T Logan, T Matsui, G McFarquhar, C Nowotarski, J Quaas, M Oue, R Sheesley, J Snyder, P Stier, S Usenko, S van den Heever, M van Lier Walqui, Y Wang, Y Xu, and G Zhang. 2019. Tracking Aerosol Convection Interactions ExpeRiment (TRACER) Science Plan. Ed. by Robert Stafford, DOE/SC-ARM-19-017.

McFarquhar G, R Marchand, C Bretherton, S Alexander, A Protat, S Siems, R Wood, and P DeMott. 2019. Measurements of Aerosols, Radiation, and Clouds over the Southern Ocean (MARCUS) Field Campaign Report. Ed. by Robert Stafford, ARM user facility. DOE/SC-ARM-19-008.

Zheng X, B Xi, X Dong, T Logan, Y Wang, and P Wu. 2019. "Investigation of Aerosol-Cloud Interactions under Different Absorptive Aerosol Regimes using ARM SGP Ground-Based Measurements." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, , 10.5194/acp-2019-478.

Schiro K and J Neelin. 2019. "Deep Convective Organization, Moisture Vertical Structure and Convective Transition using Deep-Inflow Mixing." Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 76(4), 10.1175/JAS-D-18-0122.1.

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