With the support of scientists from U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories, DOE’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility has launched an advanced atmospheric observatory in Alabama's William Bankhead National Forest. The Bankhead National Forest (BNF) observatory officially begins operations on October 1, 2024.
For at least five years, the observatory will provide data for scientists to study the interactions among clouds, vegetation, and aerosols in the atmosphere. This research aims to offer valuable insights into aerosol-cloud interactions and enhance weather and climate models for a better understanding of Earth's atmospheric dynamics.
“Our goal in selecting this site and the configuration of instruments is to enable studies from the canopy to the clouds,” said Chongai Kuang, an atmospheric scientist from DOE’s Brookhaven National Laboratory who led the development of the science plan for BNF. “By introducing state-of-the-art tower facilities, campaign-driven aerial assets, targeted intensive operational periods, and surface-distributed sites within the forested environment and over the larger domain around BNF, we’ll be breaking new ground for interactive land-atmosphere studies.”
ARM is a multi-laboratory user facility sponsored by DOE’s Office of Science. It provides continuous field measurements of atmospheric data globally, contributing significantly to climate research efforts. Data are collected from three stationary atmospheric observatories in Oklahoma, Alaska, and the Azores; ARM also operates mobile and aerial facilities.
The Bankhead site is a long-term mobile observatory relocated from Oliktok Point, Alaska where it operated from 2013 until 2021. Argonne manages both Alabama's and Oklahoma's observatories.
Teams from DOE’s Brookhaven and Argonne national laboratories collaborated with other DOE labs and federal, state, local agencies and organizations—including individual Alabama landowners—to establish this facility. With support from ARM and DOE’s Atmospheric System Research (ASR) program, Kuang’s team developed the BNF science plan while Argonne managed logistics such as site preparation and equipment placement. Argonne also oversees daily operations through a contract with IntegriWard LLC.
“The complexities of the atmospheric system cannot be understood through isolated research efforts. Collaboration is critical, and we’re grateful to our partners for their support in establishing this state-of-the-art research facility," said Nicki Hickmon, ARM associate director for operations at Argonne.
The main observatory site includes a building equipped for managing communications and data collection. Nearby is an area filled with instruments monitoring clouds, precipitation, solar energy (sunlight and heat), among other atmospheric conditions. A 140-foot walk-up tower outfitted with instruments for measuring detailed characteristics of forest plants and soil will be installed in November about half a mile away.
Additional instruments on this tower will measure trace gases like pollen released by plants throughout different vertical levels of the forest. Smaller towers closer to ground level will measure similar variables along with temperature, humidity, and soil properties.
Supplemental sites positioned at three locations about 30 miles apart form a triangle around the main data collection area. Two additional sites under construction will host radars: a Ka/X-band scanning cloud radar and a C-band scanning precipitation radar.
"It's exciting to see the observatory come to life," said Mike Ritsche, site manager for ARM’s Bankhead and Southern Great Plains observatories. "We look forward to the insights our data will provide into aerosol-cloud interactions and local weather patterns in Southeastern U.S."
As part of ARM's user facility network open to broader research communities worldwide through approved proposals by ARM field campaigns scientists can bring their own instruments contributing further data collection efforts conducting their own research which all available near-real-time no cost via ARM Data Center expected accommodate guest instrumentation earliest November 2024
Researchers are already lining up use BNF ASR funded initial set projects Kuang lead team using BNF data including measurements collected tethered balloon system flights understand how land-atmosphere interactions control particles air DOE Early Career Research Program support trio university national lab scientists planning work five-year projects using BNF data