Visitors gather in a conference room for a crash course on ARM.
Asmeret Berhe helps launch a weather balloon.
Attendees get a high-level view of the SGP observatory from on top of the radiometer calibration facility.
ARM deploys profiling instruments such as radars and lidars like those shown in the forefront of the image to obtain information on cloud and aerosol properties above the site. The new guest instrument facility (back left) provides a resource for scientists to deploy their own instruments.
Michael Ritsche, SGP manager, describes how instrumentation in the field operates to collect valuable data for the scientific community. The Solar and Infrared Radiation Station measures solar radiation.
Newswise — The observatory is part of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement user facility and is the world’s largest climate research facility.
Nestled on 160 acres of cattle pasture and wheat fields sits the heart of the Southern Great Plains (SGP) atmospheric observatory, the first field measurement site established by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility. Nine DOE national laboratories collaborate to manage ARM’s work and DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory is responsible for the SGP and third ARM Mobile Facility (AMF3) sites.
The SGP, centered near Lamont, Oklahoma, is the world’s largest and most extensive climate research facility. Established in 1992, it currently operates around 90 ARM instruments, with year-round support for guest researchers’ instrumentation. Radars, surface meteorological instrumentation and many other instruments make high-quality data available for atmospheric scientists worldwide through the ARM Data Center.
On a muddy, overcast day in January, Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, director of DOE’s Office of Science, joined other DOE officials, representatives from Argonne and several other national laboratories and ARM leaders for a tour of instrumentation at the SGP site.
“Overall, this was a great opportunity to showcase the effort it takes to operate ARM’s largest and longest-serving atmospheric observatory and the dedication of the staff to ARM’s mission. … We were happy to have DOE and Laboratory management involved to tour this one-of-a-kind facility.” — Adam Theisen, Argonne, ARM instrument operations manager
Their day began with a crash course in ARM and the six ARM observatories, their instrumentation, how data is collected and how data is disseminated to users. They also learned more about what activities occur at the SGP and how it supports other ARM sites, as well as the way it supports users and field campaigns.
“Overall, this was a great opportunity to showcase the effort it takes to operate ARM’s largest and longest-serving atmospheric observatory and the dedication of the staff to ARM’s mission,” said Argonne’s Adam Theisen, ARM instrument operations manager. “This was a truly unique experience, and we were happy to have DOE and Laboratory management involved to tour this one-of-a-kind facility.”
After learning about ARM, the visitors were given a muddy walking tour of SGP. They learned about the challenges of operating the site in a remote location, and they saw firsthand the difficulties staff have in getting to work on rural dirt and gravel roads. On the tour, they discussed instrumentation and how the larger ARM user facility operates. The group was able to get up close with instruments such as the 2D video disdrometer, which measures the size and shape of rain drops. Berhe was even able to launch a weather balloon that measures profiles of temperature, humidity and wind.
“ARM is a lot more than just operating instrumentation for a temporary period of time,” said Nicki Hickmon, ARM associate director for operations. “Through our complex user facility, we bring together ARM and scientist observations from significant climate regimes to any interested person free of charge. Currently, we host over four petabytes of data available to users.”
The visitors wanted to learn more about how ARM partners and collaborates with universities and colleges. The service-oriented nature of DOE user facilities lends natural support to outreach opportunities by making data freely available, explained Hickmon. ARM brings together not only instrument experts, but also data scientists, data analysts and scientists from diverse disciplines, such as agriculture, aerospace engineering, soil and atmospheric chemistry, and many more.
“Our cutting-edge work at SGP and ARM will provide the needed data for better weather models,” said Sean L. Jones, Argonne deputy laboratory director for science and technology. “Visiting SGP was a remarkable experience, providing an insightful glimpse into the pivotal role it plays in advancing climate research.”
Berhe emphasized the value of the SGP’s Central Facility for DOE’s mission.
The ARM user facility is funded by the DOE Office of Science’s Biological and Environmental Research Program.
Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology. The nation’s first national laboratory, Argonne conducts leading-edge basic and applied scientific research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne researchers work closely with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities, and federal, state and municipal agencies to help them solve their specific problems, advance America’s scientific leadership and prepare the nation for a better future. With employees from more than 60 nations, Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit https://energy.gov/science.
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