Approximately 40 individual research projects are supported annually at the Barrow Arctic Research Center. Operated by the U.S. Naval Arctic Research Laboratory (NARL), much of the work at Barrow involves atmospheric chemistry, ecosystem dynamics, plant/animal phenology studies, and climate change monitoring.
Barrow has a long research history starting with the establishment of an observation station during the First International Polar Year (1882- 1883)—hosting near-continuous measurements since then. The Arctic Research Laboratory was established in 1947 and has supported a vast number of atmospheric, biological, oceanic, and terrestrial research activities, including hosting the ARM Facility x-band precipitation radar.