Aerosol Measurement Science Group Completes Strategic Planning Report

 
Published: 16 March 2018

Priorities Include Enhanced Coordination of ARM Aerosol, Trace Gas Observations With User Needs

The ARM Aerosol Measurement Science Group Strategic Planning Workshop 2017 report prioritized recommendations for ARM activities that will continue to support high-quality measurements and science-ready data products relevant to the atmospheric science community.

In February 2017, the ARM Climate Research Facility’s Aerosol Measurement Science Group (AMSG) held a strategic planning workshop at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) to hammer out priorities for future directions. Now, a comprehensive report on that session is available on the ARM website.

At the workshop, the AMSG was tasked with evaluating the status of ARM’s existing aerosol instrumentation, measurement strategies, and data products in the context of ARM and Atmospheric System Research (ASR) science directions and the needs of ARM data users.

With those marching orders, the 13 AMSG members, as well as external aerosol measurement experts, rolled up their sleeves and convened for three days to agree on specific measurements and data product developments that would best align ARM’s aerosol program investments with the needs of the scientific community.

Topics discussed included:

  • priority measurements and instrumentation to be deployed at ARM sites
  • physical system configurations that impact the character of observables and quality of observations
  • calibration strategies
  • deployment strategies for aerosol observing systems
  • communication about and accessibility of data.

This report—authored by AMSG science co-chair Allison McComiskey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and AMSG infrastructure co-chair Doug Sisterson, ANL—provides an account of workshop discussions and prioritized recommendations for ARM activities that will continue to support high-quality measurements and science-ready data products relevant to the atmospheric science community.

With the Joint ARM User Facility/ASR Principal Investigators Meeting from March 19 to 23 including a breakout session on aerosol measurement, this report offers a complementary and timely milestone on ARM’s plans.

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The ARM Climate Research Facility is a DOE Office of Science user facility. The ARM Facility is operated by nine DOE national laboratories.