two new arm sites: oliktok, alaska, and the azores
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Two New ARM Sites: Oliktok, Alaska, and the Azores
• Radars:zenithcloudradar,scanningcloudradar,scanningprecipitationradar,andradarwindprofiler
• Lidars:micropulselidar,Dopplerlidar,andhighspectralresolutionlidar
• Atmospheric and boundary state:surfacemeteorologicalinstrumentation,boundarylayercloudsystem,totalskyimager,weighingbucketraingauge,totalprecipitationsensor,eddycorrelationfluxmeasurementsystem,disdrometer,sunphotometry,andballoon-borneradiosondes
• Aerosol observation system: morethanadozeninstrumentsformeasuringaerosolsize,composition,andtracegases
• Radiometry:atmosphericemittedradianceinterferometer,microwaveradiometer,3-channelmicrowaveradiometer,multifilterrotatingshadowbandradiometer,broadbandshortwaveandlongwavemeasurements,andspectralalbedomeasurements
OliktokTheOliktoksite,anextendedmobilefacilitydeployment,islocatedapproximately300kilometerssoutheastofthefixedARMsiteinBarrow.MeasurementsintheArcticarevitalbecausedramaticchangesareoccurringatratesgreaterthanpredictedbyanymodel.OneofthemostpressingremainingquestionsiswhytheArcticseaiceismeltingsomuchfasterthanthemodelspredict.AnsweringthatquestionrequiresdataacquiredfromovertheArcticseaice.
Aspartofthe2004Mixed-PhaseArcticCloudExperiment(M-PACE),theFederalAviationAuthority(FAA)grantedanareaof“restrictedairspace,”allowingtetheredballoonoperationstobeconductedatOliktok.TheDepartmentofEnergycurrentlyhasarequestpendingwiththeFAAtodeclareastripofairspaceasa“warningarea,”beginningoffshoreof
In2012,theAtmosphericRadiationMeasurement(ARM)ClimateResearchFacilitybegandevelopingtwonewobservationsites:anewARMMobileFacilityforanextendeddeploymentatOliktok,Alaska,andanewfixedsiteonGraciosaIslandintheAzores.Thenewsitesarescheduledtobeoperationalbytheendof2013,andtheywilljoinARM’sexistingsuiteofpermanentclimateobservationfacilitiesaroundtheworld—inBarrow,Alaska;Oklahoma;Darwin,Australia;andManusIsland,PapuaNewGuinea—aswellasitsmobileandaerialresearchfacilities.Eachfacilityincludesnearlytwodozendifferentinstrumentsthatmonitorvariouselementsoftheclimate,suchasclouds,aerosols,precipitation,solarandthermalenergy,andbasicweathercomponents.Proposedinstrumentationforthetwositesincludes:
OliktokandheadingseveralhundredmilestowardstheNorthPole.WarningareasoverinternationalwatersaretheroughequivalentofrestrictedairspaceoverU.S.territory.
ThecombinationofrestrictedairspaceandwarningareaprovidesthepotentialfordifferenttypesofoperationsfromOliktok,includingmannedandunmannedaircraftoperationsoutovertheseaice,droppinginstrumentprobes,andoperatinginstrumentedtetheredballoonsoutovertheseaice.Thisprovidesauniqueopportunitytocoupleatmosphericobservationswithground-basedmeasurementsandmeasurementsfromovertheArcticOcean.ThissitewillbeoperatedfortheARMFacilitythroughSandiaNationalLaboratories.
The Oliktok Point site provides an opportunity to link coastal conditions from the standard ARM measurement suite with near-coast conditions using an Umanned Aerial System over the Arctic Ocean and sea ice.
ContactsJim Mather ARM Technical Director (509) 375-4533 [email protected]
DOE/SC-ARM-12-005
Kim Nitschke Facility Operations Manager (ENA) (505) 667-1186 [email protected]
Mark IveyFacility Operations Manager (NSA)(505) [email protected]
Location for the new Azores site (left) and the original AMF1 deployment site (right).
Azores
TheAzoresisanislandgrouplocatedinthenortheasternAtlanticOcean,aregioncharacterizedbymarinestratocumulusclouds.Theresponseoftheselowcloudstochangesinatmosphericgreenhousegasesandaerosolsisamajorsourceofuncertaintyinglobalclimatemodels.
TheClouds,Aerosol,andPrecipitationintheMarineBoundaryLayer(CAP-MBL)fieldcampaign,adeploymentoftheARMMobileFacility,tookplaceonGraciosaIslandintheAzoresduring2009–2010.ResultsfromthiscampaignconfirmedthattheAzoreshavetherightmixofconditionstostudyhowclouds,aerosols,andprecipitationinteract.TheAzorestypicallyexperiencesrelativelycleanconditionswithnortherlywindflow,butwithperiodicepisodesofcontinentallyinfluencedpollutedairmasses.Itslocationisthereforeidealforcapturingawiderangeofaerosolconditions.
SignificantenhancementstoinstrumentspreviouslydeployedtotheAzoresincludeKa-/W-bandscanningcloudradars,precipitationradars,highspectralresolutionlidar,andDopplerlidars.
ThenewfixedsiteintheAzoreswillbeidentifiedastheEasternNorthAtlantic(ENA)site,andithasthefullsupportoftheAzoreangovernmentandcollaboratorsattheUniversityoftheAzores.ItwillbeoperatedfortheARMFacilitythroughLosAlamosNationalLaboratory.
Graciosa Island is small enough (4 x 8 kilometers) and low enough (elevation less than 400 meters) that clouds are not expected to be strongly influenced by the island’s presence.