Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program Facilities Newsletter, February 2002 PDF Download
Are you looking for read ebook online? Search for your book and save it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Download Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program Facilities Newsletter, February 2002 PDF full book. Access full book title Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program Facilities Newsletter, February 2002 by . Download full books in PDF and EPUB format.
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Get Book Here
Book Description
Abstract not provided.
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Get Book Here
Book Description
Abstract not provided.
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 5
Get Book Here
Book Description
This Atmospheric radiation measurement program facilities newsletter covers the following topics: The Raman lidar at the SGP central facility is receiving upgrades to its environmental controls; The instrument tower at Okmulgee State Park is receiving upgrades to prevent Turkey Vultures from roosting on the booms.
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 2
Get Book Here
Book Description
ARM Participating in Off-site Intensive Operational Period--The ARM Program is playing a role in the Cirrus Regional Study of Tropical Anvils and Cirrus Layers-Florida Area Cirrus Experiment (CRYSTAL-FACE) intensive operational period (IOP), under way through July in South Florida. The objective of CRYSTAL-FACE is to investigate the physical properties and formation processes of tropical cirrus clouds. The ARM Program has deployed a suite of ground-based instruments in Florida for CRYSTAL-FACE. In addition, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration provides six research aircraft equipped with state-of-the-art instruments to measure characteristics of cirrus clouds and their ability to alter the temperature of the atmosphere. The reliability of climate predictions depends on the accuracy of computer models of climate. Interactions between clouds and solar radiation are a major source of current uncertainty in the models, hindering accurate climate prediction. A goal of CRYSTAL-FACE is to improve on the way clouds are represented in and integrated into the models and thus achieve more reliable climate predictions. CRYSTAL-FACE will be followed in 2004 by CRYSTAL-TWP, to be held at ARM's Tropical Western Pacific (TWP) location on Manus and Nauru Islands. New Storage Building Proposed for Central Facility--Now in the design phase is a new storage building to be erected at the central facility, west of the shipping and receiving trailer. The added storage is needed because shipping needs for the TWP are now being handled by the SGP site. New Seminole Extended Facility Location Approved--The extended facility formerly on the property of the Seminole Industrial Foundation had to be removed from service in April, after the land was sold to a new owner. Both the foundation and the new land owner offered options for new extended facility locations in the area. An Environmental Evaluation Notification Form has now been approved by the USDOE (ARM Program sponsor), as required by the National Environmental Policy Act, for a newly leased site 1.5 miles north of the old site. DigiCORA-III Transition IOP Scheduled--A July IOP at the central facility completed the transition from the DigiCORA-II to the DigiCORA-III radiosonde sounding system. The DigiCORA, the computer ''brains'' behind the radiosonde (weather balloon) system used at the SGP, retrieves signals from the radiosonde as it travels upward into the sky, collecting and processing the data in real time. Radiometer Calibration Exercise Under Way--The second Broadband Outdoor Radiometer Calibration (BORCAL) exercise of the year is currently calibrating the pyranometers from the SGP extended facilities. Half of the SGP pyranometers are calibrated during each of two annual BORCAL events. This schedule ensures that at least half of the deployed instruments are operating optimally at any time.
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Get Book Here
Book Description
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 3
Get Book Here
Book Description
ARM in Australia--The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has launched its newest Atmospheric Radiation and Cloud Station (ARCS) in Darwin, Australia. This is the fifth research site established since ARM Program inception in 1989. The new Darwin site and two other ARCS sites--on Manus Island and the island of Nauru--are in the Tropical Western Pacific region. The North American sites in the U.S. Southern Great Plains and on the North Slope of Alaska represent two different climate regions. A goal of the ARM Program is to improve understanding of (1) the ways clouds and atmospheric moisture interact with solar radiation and (2) the effects of these interactions on both a local and global climate. Years of collected data are being used to improve computer climate models so that their predictions are more accurate. The new Darwin site is at the Darwin International Airport, adjacent to the Darwin Airport Meteorological Office. The site features state-of-the-art instrumentation used to measure solar radiation and surface radiation balance; cloud parameters; and standard meteorological variables such as temperature, wind speed and direction, atmospheric moisture, precipitation rates, and barometric pressure. A data management system (DMS) consisting of two computer workstations collects, stores, processes, and backs up data from each of the ARCS instruments. Data are transmitted via the Internet to the United States for further processing and archiving with data from the other ARM sites. All ARM data are freely available via the Internet to the public and the worldwide scientific community (http://www.arm.gov/). Operational since April 2002, the Darwin site was officially dedicated on July 30, 2002, by dignitaries from both the United States and Australia. The site is a collaborative effort between DOE and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology's Special Services Unit--the equivalent of the U.S. National Weather Service--which will handle daily operation. U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham remarked, ''Our collaboration with Australia in the establishment of this site represents an exciting expansion of the ARM Program and our ongoing quest to understand and predict the earth's climate.'' The five ARM Program research locations were chosen because of their varying and abundant cloud formations. More cloud types mean a more complete investigation. To the ARM collection, the Darwin site adds data sets detailing interactions between a unique type of cloud and solar radiation. This addition represents another step toward the ARM goal of more accurate predictions from computer climate models.
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 5
Get Book Here
Book Description
This issue of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program (ARM Program) monthly newsletter is about the ARM Program goal to improve scientific understanding of the interactions of sunlight (solar radiation) with the atmosphere, then incorporate this understanding into computer models of climate change. To model climate accurately all around the globe, a variety of data must be collected from many locations on Earth. For its Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) sites, ARM chose locations in the US Southern Great Plains, the North Slope of Alaska, and the Tropical Western Pacific Ocean to represent different climate types around the world. In this newsletter they consider the North Slope of Alaska site, with locations at Barrow and Atqasuk, Alaska.
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 3
Get Book Here
Book Description
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently announced the development of El Nino conditions in the tropical Pacific Ocean near the South American coastline. Scientists detected a 4 F increase in the sea-surface temperatures during February. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, NOAA administrator and Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, indicated that this warming is a sign that the Pacific Ocean is heading toward an El Nino condition. Although it is too early to predict how strong the El Nino will become or the conditions it will bring to the United States, Lautenbacher said that the country is likely to feel the effects as soon as midsummer (Figure 1). During the last El Nino in 1997-1998, the United States experienced strong weather impacts. Even though researchers don't understand what causes the onset of El Nino, they do recognize what to expect once development has begun. Scientists can monitor the development of El Nino through NOAA's advanced global climate monitoring system of polar-orbiting satellites and 72 ocean buoys moored across the equator in the Pacific Ocean. The resulting measurements of surface meteorological parameters and upper ocean temperatures are made available to scientists on a real-time basis, allowing for timely monitoring and predictions. This complex monitoring array enabled NOAA to predict the 1997-1998 El Nino six months in advance.
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 4
Get Book Here
Book Description
This issue continues the discussion on lightning begun with the last issue. It reviews briefly what lightning is, then discusses protecting buildings and structures, personal protection, and protecting ARM structures. Five sources for more information are listed.
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 2
Get Book Here
Book Description
Central Facility Benefits from Improvements--Three current projects are improving the ARM SGP central facility near Lamont, Oklahoma: construction of an instrument maintenance facility, installation of an instrument to measure carbon dioxide flux, and construction of a platform to accommodate instruments brought to the site by visiting scientists. Instrument Maintenance Facility--Construction of the instrument maintenance facility began on November 26, 2001. Being assembled from three mobile trailer units rescued from Argonne National Laboratory's excess equipment pool, this facility will add almost 2,400 square feet of space and will allow significant expansion of the onsite electronics laboratory that repairs and troubleshoots malfunctioning equipment. The facility will also consolidate instrument parts and repairs and provide much-needed office space and indoor restroom facilities for the field and electronics technicians who work at the central facility. New Carbon Dioxide Flux Measurements--In mid-December, scientists from Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory and the University of Nebraska installed an instrument that measures carbon dioxide flux in a wheat field near the 60-meter tower at the central facility. Measurements of carbon dioxide flux during the winter wheat growing season will be used to validate measurements taken by similar equipment mounted on the nearby tower. Several similar systems may be installed in surrounding fields during January. All equipment will be removed before the May wheat harvest. New Platform for Guest Instruments--The guest instrument facility will be receiving an addition soon, in the form of an elevated deck on the north side of the building. The deck, measuring 15 feet by 30 feet, will accommodate instrumentation brought to the CART site by visiting scientists. The SGP CART site hosts an increasing number of guest instruments each year. The addition will provide adequate space for the temporary instrument installations.
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 2
Get Book Here
Book Description
Fall 2002 Intensive Operation Periods: Single Column Model and Unmanned Aerospace Vehicle--In an Intensive Operation Period (IOP) on November 3-23, 2002, researchers at the SGP CART site are collecting a detailed data set for use in improving the Single Column Model (SCM), a scaled-down climate model. The SCM represents one vertical column of air above Earth's surface and requires less computation time than a full-scale global climate model. Researchers first use the SCM to efficiently improve submodels of clouds, solar radiation transfer, and atmosphere-surface interactions, then implement the results in large-scale global models. With measured values for a starting point, the SCM predicts atmospheric variables during prescribed time periods. A computer calculates values for such quantities as the amount of solar radiation reaching the surface and predicts how clouds will evolve and interact with incoming light from the sun. Researchers compare the SCM's predictions with actual measurements made during the IOP, then adjust the submodels to make predictions more reliable. A second IOP conducted concurrently with the SCM IOP involves high-altitude, long-duration aircraft flights. The original plan was to use an unmanned aerospace vehicle (UAV), but the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) aircraft Proteus will be substituted because all UAVs have been deployed elsewhere. The UAV is a small, instrument-equipped, remote-control plane that is operated from the ground by a computer. The Proteus is a manned aircraft, originally designed to carry telecommunications relay equipment, that can be reconfigured for uses such as reconnaissance and surveillance, commercial imaging, launching of small space satellites, and atmospheric research. The plane is designed for two on-board pilots in a pressurized cabin, flying to altitudes up to 65,000 feet for as long as 18 hours. The Proteus has a variable wingspan of 77-92 feet and is 56 feet long. The plane can carry up to 7,260 pounds of equipment, making it a versatile research tool. The Proteus is making measurements at the very top of the cirrus cloud layer to characterize structures of these clouds. These new measurements will provide more accurate, more abundant data for use in improving the representation of clouds in the SCM. 2002-2003 Winter Weather Forecast--Top climate forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) Climate Prediction Center say that an El Nino condition in the tropical Pacific Ocean will influence our winter weather this year. Although this El Nino is not as strong as the event of the 1997-1998 winter season, the United States will nevertheless experience some atypical weather. Strong impacts could be felt in several areas. Nationally, forecasters are predicting warmer-than-average temperatures over the northern tier of states and wetter-than-average conditions in the southern tier of states during the 2002-2003 winter season. Kansas residents should expect warmer and wetter conditions, while Oklahoma will be wetter than average.
