The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility provides state-of-the-art infrastructure to conduct atmospheric and climate science in strategic locations around the world using fixed, mobile, and aircraft facilities. Researchers can use ARM’s facilities and data in several ways:
There is no “fee” for taking advantage of the ARM infrastructure. In lieu of costs, users are expected to give referential credit to ARM in publications, submit related data products, and provide a summary report of the activity.
The ARM Data Center supports the continuous operations and scientific field experiments of ARM by storing and distributing the large quantities of data collected. These data are used to research atmospheric radiation balance, cloud feedback processes, and to initialize and evaluate model performance, which are critical to the understanding of global climate change.
To access data stored in the ARM Data Center, you must create an account through our user registration service.
ARM’s research sites represent different climatic regimes from the plains of Oklahoma to the Atlantic Ocean and Alaskan tundra. These atmospheric observatories, known as the Southern Great Plains (SGP), North Slope of Alaska (NSA), and Eastern North Atlantic (ENA), address a range of climatic conditions:
In addition, ARM operates three ARM mobile facilities, known as the first, second, and third AMF, which were designed to operate in any environment for campaigns lasting at least six months. The ARM Aerial Facility (AAF) is operated to augment ground-based and remote-sensing instruments by providing in situ measurements of the atmosphere.
“Virtual” site access involves connecting a computer, instrument, or other device to an ARM site network. The advantage to remote access is the ability to obtain near-real-time data without being physically located at the site. In addition, users can also virtually tour the sites to learn more about instruments and capabilities.
To visit a site, whether in person or via a network, you must fill out and submit a request form in the Access Request System.
A field campaign is an intensive operational period that requires an augmentation of routine data acquisition operation at a site, even for a short period of time. For example, the support of guest instrumentation at an ARM atmospheric observatory is considered a field campaign. At the other end of the scale, deployment of the ARM mobile facilities and ARM aerial facility are also considered field campaigns but require much more extensive planning of a year or more. For information and guidelines about proposing a field campaign, see the campaigns page.