Description of GN FacilitiesGlobal NetworkGN_8034f97a-3eda-11e4-a81e-b2c582db4d5c_8034fb6e-3eda-11e4-a81e-b2c582db4d5c_8034fc36-3eda-11e4-a81e-b2c582db4d5cAtmospheric Radiation Measure atmospheric radiation in the Eastern North Atlantic._8034fcd6-3eda-11e4-a81e-b2c582db4d5c1Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Climate Research Facility (ARM) - Eastern North AtlanticThe latest site to join the ARM Climate Research Facility suite of observations began operations in September 2013. Identified broadly as the Eastern North Atlantic (ENA), this facility is located on Graciosa Island in the Azores. The Azores are an island group located in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, a region characterized by marine stratocumulus clouds. Response of these low clouds to changes in atmospheric greenhouse gases and aerosols is a major source of uncertainty in global climate models. A baseline suite of instrumentation came online quickly after the sonde launch with data available beginning September 30._8034fd76-3eda-11e4-a81e-b2c582db4d5cClouds & Radiative ProcessesProvide data about cloud and radiative processes at high latitudes._8034fe20-3eda-11e4-a81e-b2c582db4d5c2Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Climate Research Facility (ARM) - North Slope of AlaskaThe North Slope of Alaska (NSA) site is providing data about cloud and radiative processes at high latitudes. Centered at Barrow and extending to the south (to the vicinity of Atqasuk), west (to the vicinity of Wainwright), and east (towards Oliktok), the NSA site has become a focal point for atmospheric and ecological research activity on the North Slope. The principal instrumented facility was installed near Barrow in 1997, followed by a smaller remote site in Atqasuk in 1999, which operated through 2010.High latitude data are being used to refine models and parameterizations as they relate to the Arctic and are receiving increasing attention as the interactions of the atmosphere-ocean climate system become better understood. In addition, other compelling scientific reasons to study climatic change at high latitudes are listed below:Ice (including snow) is the predominant form of condensed water most of the year, both in the air and on the surface. Ice and snow scatter, transmit, and absorb sunlight and radiant heat much differently than waterThere is very little water vapor in the atmosphere, changing the impact of the atmosphere on the propagation of radiant energy, particularly radiant energy propagating upwards from the surface, and on the performance of some atmospheric remote sensing instruments.The major "pumps" for the global ocean currents are at high latitudes, and there is good reason to believe that those pumps will be affected by climate-related changes in the atmosphere.High latitude atmospheric processes over both land and sea must be characterized for incorporation into global climate models._8034fec0-3eda-11e4-a81e-b2c582db4d5cCloud & Radiative Models & ParameterizationsImprove cloud and radiative models and parameterizations and, thereby, the performance of atmospheric general circulation models used for climate research._8034ff74-3eda-11e4-a81e-b2c582db4d5c3Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Climate Research Facility (ARM) - Southern Great PlainsThe Southern Great Plains (SGP) site was the first field measurement site established by DOE's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program. Scientists are using the information obtained from the SGP to Deployment of the first instrumentation to the SGP site occurred in the spring of 1992, just 24 months after the ARM Program was established. The site was dedicated in November 1992. Additional instrumentation and data processing capabilities have been incrementally added in the succeeding years. In 2001, the site was rededicated in the name of Dr. Frederick Luther (1943-1986), who made outstanding contributions to the field of atmospheric research and furthering our understanding of atmospheric radiation and its interactions with clouds, aerosols, and gases. The SGP site consists of in situ and remote-sensing instrument clusters arrayed across approximately 55,000 square miles (143,000 square kilometers) in north-central Oklahoma. The SGP site is the largest and most extensive climate research field site in the world and can be viewed as a real "laboratory without walls."The heart of the SGP site is the heavily instrumented central facility located on 160 acres of cattle pasture and wheat fields southeast of Lamont, Oklahoma. A staff of 30 scientists and technicians collect and monitor data from the central facility instruments and from smaller, unstaffed facilities throughout the site.The instruments throughout the site automatically collect data on surface and atmospheric properties, routinely providing data to the Site Data System, which is linked by high-speed communications to the ARM Archive and Data Center. The External Data Center acquires additional data from other sources, such as National Weather Service satellite and surface data, and provides tailored data packages to ARM Science Team members.More than 30 instrument clusters have been placed around the SGP site, at the Central Facility and at Boundary, Extended, and Intermediate Facilities. The locations for the instruments were chosen so that the measurements reflect conditions over the typical distribution of land uses within the site.The continuous observations at the SGP site are supplemented by intensive observation periods, when the frequency of measurements is increased and special measurements are added to address specific research questions. During such periods, approximately 2 gigabytes or more of data (two billion bytes) is generated daily. Both during intensive observation periods and at other times, scientists bring their own specialized instruments to the SGP site, typically for several weeks.The SGP was chosen as the first ARM field measurement site for several reasons including its relatively homogeneous geography and easy accessibility, wide variability of climate cloud type and surface flux properties, and large seasonal variation in temperature and specific humidity. It also already had a large, existing network of weather and climate research and instrumentation.DOE Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program_8035001e-3eda-11e4-a81e-b2c582db4d5cClouds & EnergyCollect continuous climatic data that will help better understand the interactions between clouds and incoming and outgoing energy. _803500d2-3eda-11e4-a81e-b2c582db4d5c4Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Climate Research Facility (ARM)The Tropical Western Pacific (TWP) locale was established in 1996 as the second ARM Climate Research Facility site. Operated by the Tropical Western Pacific Office (TWPO) at Los Alamos National Laboratory, the TWP site consists of three climate research facilities: the Manus facility on Los Negros Island in Manus, Papua New Guinea (established in 1996); the Nauru facility on Nauru Island, Republic of Nauru (1998); and the Darwin facility in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia (2002). The operations are supported by government agencies in each host country. Covering the area roughly between 10° N and 10° S of the equator and from 130° E to 167° E, the TWP locale includes a region that plays a large role in the interannual variability observed in the global climate system. For example, a phenomenon called the El Niño/Southern Oscillation, or ENSO, has far-reaching implications for weather patterns over much of the Northern Hemisphere and perhaps the entire planet. In addition, the TWP region consistently has the warmest sea-surface temperatures and is often called the Pacific "warm pool." This warm body of water supplies heat and moisture to the atmosphere above it, causing the formation of deep convective cloud systems that produce high-altitude cirrus clouds. These cloud systems affect the amount of solar energy reaching the surface of the Earth as well as the amount of heat energy that can escape into space.The Manus, Nauru, and Darwin facilities collect continuous climatic data that will help better understand the interactions between clouds and incoming and outgoing energy. Those data will ultimately help improve the general circulation models used in climate studies.ARM Manus Climate Research StationARM Nauru Climate Research StationDarwin ARM Site OfficeTropical Western Pacific Office (TWPO)_80350190-3eda-11e4-a81e-b2c582db4d5c2014-09-17https://www.data.gov/app/uploads/2014/06/DOE-Inventory.csvOwenAmburOwen.Ambur@verizon.net