Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program

Knowledge graph centered on Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program with 72 nodes and 150 connections. Top connected: precipitation, East River, Colorado River, thermal constraints, fractional snow cover area.

Method synopsis

Comprehensive ground-based cloud property retrieval using Ka-band radar for cloud boundaries, multifilter radiometry and sun photometry for optical thickness, and thermodynamic profiling for phase determination. Provides reference validation data for satellite retrievals.

Synthesized from method descriptions across 2 papers using this protocol.

Procedure as described in the canonical source

Steps below were extracted from the paper that introduces this protocol — Seasonality and albedo dependence of cloud radiative forcing in the Upper Colorado River Basin (2025), Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. Implementations in other papers (listed below) may differ.

1. Deploy ARM Mobile Facility instrumentation
   Set up the ARM Mobile Facility (AMF2) at the SAIL M1 site (2,880 m a.s.l.) as the primary observing site with comprehensive radiation and meteorological measurements. Install radiometers, ceilometer, radar, lidar, and microwave radiometer systems.
   Quantities: One primary site (M1) and one secondary site (S2) spanning 5 km horizontal distanceDuration: September 2021 to June 2023 (21 months)Conditions: High elevation subalpine environment with seasonal snow cover, temperatures ranging from -35°C to 25-30°C
   Equipment: ARM Mobile Facility (AMF2), SkyRad instrument collection, Eppley radiometers, pyrgeometers, ceilometer, Ka-Band radar, micropulse lidar, microwave radiometer
2. Collect radiation measurements
   Measure broadband shortwave (295-3000 nm) and longwave (3.5-50 μm) radiation fluxes using ARM SkyRad instrument collection. Apply QCRAD quality control procedure for shortwave infrared loss and data flagging. Record upwelling and downwelling components every minute.
   Quantities: 1-minute temporal resolution for all radiation measurementsDuration: Continuous measurements throughout the 21-month deploymentConditions: All weather conditions, with manual checks for snow accumulation on radiometer domes
   Equipment: Eppley radiometers, pyrgeometers, QCRAD quality control system
3. Calculate clear-sky radiation

Typical Equipment

• Ka Band ARM Zenith Radars
• MFRSR
• Sun photometer
• THERMOCLOUDPHASE VAP

Output Measurements

• cloud top height
• cloud optical thickness
• cloud phase

Papers Using This Protocol (3)

Species Studied With This Protocol

Places Where Used