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At least 19 records

U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Atmospheric System Research (ASR) Program

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Atmospheric System Research (ASR) program seeks to advance process-level understanding of the key interactions among aerosols, clouds, precipitation, radiation, dynamics, and thermodynamics, with the ultimate goal of reducing the uncertainty in global and regional climate simulations and projections.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Department of Energy’s Atmospheric System Research (ASR) Program’s Workshop on the Future of Atmospheric Large Eddy Simulation (LES): Workshop Report

Large-eddy simulation (LES) is used as a tool to understand physical processes such as turbulence, aerosols, clouds, precipitation, radiation, the interactions among all these, and their interactions with the underlying surface. Over the next 10 years, LES will drive fundamental progress in open scientific questions in these areas as LES is increasingly used to gain understanding of complex interacting physical processes involving atmospheric turbulence. This growth will be driven both by scientific demand and the expansion of computational resources needed to conduct LES, and the form that the growth takes will largely be determined by how computational resources are leveraged for scientific gain. In particular, we suggest that computational resources are likely to be leveraged in two separate but not necessarily distinct ways. On one hand, growth in computational resources will allow LES to be made more routine, that is, performed more frequently, while on the other hand, the computational expense (measured in total floating point operations) afforded to individual LES will expand dramatically, allowing simulations to increase in both domain size and resolution as well as physical detail. Current U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) projects such as LES ARM Symbiotic Simulation and Observation Activity (LASSO) are leading the way in conducting routine LES, building large, public databases that are accessible for data science, sensitivity studies, and training for machine learning. LES will also become more routine as it becomes more accessible for individual researchers to address their scientific questions of interest. Scientific questions addressed by LES over the next 10 years are likely to include cloud organization and aggregation; aerosol cloud interactions and atmospheric chemistry (including geo-engineering); urban-scale LES; atmospheric extreme events, ranging from small-scale severe weather to wildfires; and ocean-wave-atmosphere interactions. Further LES-related research will likely grow significantly in areas related to societal impact studies of air quality and extreme weather events, applications to renewable energy forecasting and resource assessment, and aid in decision-making processes. The growth in the use of LES in atmospheric science research will drive the need for better physical process representations (e.g., cloud aerosol microphysics, radiation, and atmospheric chemistry) at the scales resolved by LES. To date, many of the process representations used by LES have been taken directly from coarser-resolution models. Promising methods for LES process representations include superdroplet and quadrature methods for microphysics, 3D approaches for radiation, and better representation of chemistry and aerosol processes. At LES resolution, land-atmosphere interactions for complex terrains, land cover/types, biogeochemistry, and plant canopy models are needed as an improvement beyond traditional and widely used Monin-Obuhkov similarity theory.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Department of Energy’s Atmospheric System Research (ASR) Program’s Workshop on the Future of Atmospheric Large Eddy Simulation (LES) (Workshop Report)

Large-eddy simulation (LES) is used as a tool to understand physical processes such as turbulence, aerosols, clouds, precipitation, radiation, the interactions among all these, and their interactions with the underlying surface. Over the next 10 years, LES will drive fundamental progress in open scientific questions in these areas as LES is increasingly used to gain understanding of complex interacting physical processes involving atmospheric turbulence. This growth will be driven both by scientific demand and the expansion of computational resources needed to conduct LES, and the form that the growth takes will largely be determined by how computational resources are leveraged for scientific gain. In particular, we suggest that computational resources are likely to be leveraged in two separate but not necessarily distinct ways. On one hand, growth in computational resources will allow LES to be made more routine, that is, performed more frequently, while on the other hand, the computational expense (measured in total floating point operations) afforded to individual LES will expand dramatically, allowing simulations to increase in both domain size and resolution as well as physical detail.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Department of Energy’s Atmospheric System Research (ASR) Program’s Workshop on the Future of Atmospheric Large Eddy Simulation (LES) (Workshop Report)

Large-eddy simulation (LES) is used as a tool to understand physical processes such as turbulence, aerosols, clouds, precipitation, radiation, the interactions among all these, and their interactions with the underlying surface. Over the next 10 years, LES will drive fundamental progress in open scientific questions in these areas as LES is increasingly used to gain understanding of complex interacting physical processes involving atmospheric turbulence. This growth will be driven both by scientific demand and the expansion of computational resources needed to conduct LES, and the form that the growth takes will largely be determined by how computational resources are leveraged for scientific gain. In particular, we suggest that computational resources are likely to be leveraged in two separate but not necessarily distinct ways. On one hand, growth in computational resources will allow LES to be made more routine, that is, performed more frequently, while on the other hand, the computational expense (measured in total floating point operations) afforded to individual LES will expand dramatically, allowing simulations to increase in both domain size and resolution as well as physical detail. Current U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) projects such as LES ARM Symbiotic Simulation and Observation Activity (LASSO) are leading the way in conducting routine LES, building large, public databases that are accessible for data science, sensitivity studies, and training for machine learning. LES will also become more routine as it becomes more accessible for individual researchers to address their scientific questions of interest. Scientific questions addressed by LES over the next 10 years are likely to include cloud organization and aggregation; aerosol cloud interactions and atmospheric chemistry (including geo-engineering); urban-scale LES; atmospheric extreme events, ranging from small-scale severe weather to wildfires; and ocean-wave-atmosphere interactions. Further LES-related research will likely grow significantly in areas related to societal impact studies of air quality and extreme weather events, applications to renewable energy forecasting and resource assessment, and aid in decision-making processes.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Accelerated Climate Modeling for Energy (ACME) – Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility – Atmospheric System Research (ASR) Coordination Workshop, October 21–22, 2015

The Climate and Environmental Sciences Division (CESD) of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Biological and Environmental Research focuses on advancing a robust predictive understanding of Earth’s climate and environmental systems to inform the development of sustainable solutions to the Nation’s energy and environmental challenges. CESD climate activities related to atmospheric processes include: observations through the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility; atmospheric research and model parameterization development through the Atmospheric System Research (ASR) program; climate model development and climate research through the Accelerated Climate Modeling for Energy (ACME) project along with other computationally focused model-development activities within the CESD Earth System Modeling (ESM) program, and development of robust model analytical and testing frameworks at multiple scales through the Regional and Global Climate Modeling program. This workshop focused primarily on improving model treatment of atmospheric processes as a means to focus discussion and did not address research on terrestrial ecosystem and subsurface processes, which are also part of the CESD research portfolio.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Investigating Spatial Variability of Aerosol, Cloud Condensation Nuclei, and Ice Nucleating Particles in Mountainous Terrain Field Campaign Report

The U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric System Research (ASR)-supported Surface Atmosphere Integrated Field Laboratory (SAIL) campaign in the East River Watershed (ERW) of the Upper Colorado River Basin in southwestern Colorado ran from fall 2021 to spring 2023. Two monitoring sites were deployed in the ERW as part of SAIL. The two sites were the Aerosol Observation System (AOS) located on Crested Butte Ski Mountain, and the second ARM Mobile Facility (AMF2), located at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Gothic, Colorado. To gain a more comprehensive understanding of aerosols in complex, mountainous terrain, Handix Scientific deployed SAIL-Net, a distributed network of six measurement nodes spanning the domain of the SAIL research area from October 2021 to July 2023. Each node measured aerosol particles between 140 nm and 3.4 μm in diameter using a small portable optical particle spectrometer (POPS; Gao et al. 2016), cloud condensation nuclei (CNN) using a miniature CCN counter (CloudPuck), and ice nucleating particles (INP) using the time-resolved aerosol filter sampler (TRAPS; Creamean et al. 2018). Our approach was similar to other studies that aimed to better characterize and understand aerosols and gas-phase pollutants using networks of lower-cost sensors (Caubel et al. 2019, Kelly et al. 2021, Asher et al. 2022). Such studies have identified neighborhood-level variations in pollutant concentrations (Schneider et al. 2017, Popoola et al. 2018, Caubel et al. 2019). Small-scale variations such as this are poorly represented in models and poorly measured by a single monitoring system (Caubel et al. 2019). Previous work has shown the representation error (the ability of measurements to represent a larger area) increases with complex orography, leading to decreases in model accuracy (Schutgens et al. 2017). The overall goal of SAIL-Net was to improve our understanding of the variability of aerosol in the ERW, thus increasing our knowledge of aerosol-cloud interactions in this region and informing the usefulness of distributed networks of measurements for future studies. We met this goal by answering the following science questions: 1. What is the aerosol temporal variability, and how does aerosol inhomogeneity vary seasonally? Is there significant seasonal variability in sources, or are short-term meteorological conditions the most important determining factor in sources for cloud nuclei? 2. What is the aerosol spatial variability? What are the aerosol characteristics at cloud base, presumably the particles most representative of those acting as cloud nuclei? 3. How should measurement networks be designed to capture aerosol-cloud interactions, and what do they need to measure? Can a single measurement site accurately represent aerosol properties in regions of complex terrain? SAIL-Net consisted of six measurement nodes spread across the ERW near Crested Butte, Colorado. The primary objective in site placement was to select locations that captured the vertical variation in aerosol properties while also spanning the domain of the SAIL campaign. The elevation of the sites ranged from roughly 2750 m along the valley floor of the ERW to approximately 3500 m near the top of Crested Butte Mountain, which is one of the taller peaks in the ERW. The farthest distance between sites was 14 km, while the closest two sites were approximately 1 km apart. Two of the sites were collocated with the ARM SAIL sites; our instruments sat on top of one of the trailers at AOS and another one of our sites was located in a meadow just above AMF2.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

AMF 1 Site Science

This report documents progress on DOE Grant# DE-FG02-08ER64531 funded by the Department of Energy’s Atmospheric Systems Research (ASR) program covering the period between its inception in 2008 and its conclusion in 2014. The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program’s Mobile Facility #1 (AMF#1) is a collection of state-of-the art atmospheric sensing systems including remote and in situ instrumentation designed to characterize the atmospheric column above and in the immediate vicinity of the deployment location. The grant discussed in this report funded the activities of the AMF#1 Site Scientist Team. Broad responsibilities of this team included examining new deployment sites and recommending instrument deployment configurations; data quality control during the early stages of deployments and for certain instruments through the course of the deployment; scientific outreach in the host country or location (particularly international deployments); scientific research oriented toward basic questions about cloud physics and radiation transfer in the deployment region; and training of Ph.D. students to conduct future research relevant to the Atmospheric Systems Research (ASR) program.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Determination of Cloud Base Height, Wind Velocity, and Short-Range Cloud Structure Using Multiple Sky Imagers Field Campaign Report

Clouds are a central focus of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Atmospheric System Research (ASR) program and Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility, and more broadly are the subject of much investigation because of their important effects on atmospheric radiation and, through feedbacks, on climate sensitivity. Significant progress has been made by moving from a vertically pointing (“soda-straw”) to a three-dimensional (3D) view of clouds by investing in scanning cloud radars through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Yet, because of the physical nature of radars, there are key gaps in ARM's cloud observational capabilities. For example, cloud radars often fail to detect small shallow cumulus and thin cirrus clouds that are nonetheless radiatively important. Furthermore, it takes five to twenty minutes for a cloud radar to complete a 3D volume scan and clouds can evolve substantially during this period. Ground-based stereo-imaging is a promising technique to complement existing ARM cloud observation capabilities. It enables the estimation of cloud coverage, height, horizontal motion, morphology, and spatial arrangement over an extended area of up to 30 by 30 km at refresh rates greater than 1 Hz (Peng et al. 2015). With fine spatial and temporal resolution of modern sky cameras, the stereo-imaging technique allows for the tracking of a small cumulus cloud or a thin cirrus cloud that cannot be detected by a cloud radar. With support from the DOE SunShot Initiative, the Principal Investigator (PI)’s team at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) has developed some initial capability for cloud tracking using multiple distinctly located hemispheric cameras (Peng et al. 2015). To validate the ground-based cloud stereo-imaging technique, the cloud stereo-imaging field campaign was conducted at the ARM Facility’s Southern Great Plains (SGP) site in Oklahoma from July 15 to December 24. As shown in Figure 1, the cloud stereo-imaging system consisted of two inexpensive high-definition (HD) hemispheric cameras (each cost less than $1,500) and ARM’s Total Sky Imager (TSI). Together with other co-located ARM instrumentation, the campaign provides a promising opportunity to validate stereo-imaging-based cloud base height and, more importantly, to examine the feasibility of cloud thickness retrieval for low-view-angle clouds.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE-NOAA Marine Cloud Brightening (Workshop Report 2022)

Marine Cloud Brightening (MCB) refers to the deliberate injection of aerosol particles into marine clouds to increase their reflection of solar radiation to temporarily cool the planet while decarbonization efforts are pursued. A workshop was conducted to assess the state of knowledge in the field of MCB, and to provide a possible research path toward reducing unknowns in key components of the underlying physical science. This three-day workshop took place in April 2022 and was jointly sponsored by Department of Energy (DOE)’s Atmospheric System Research (ASR) program and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The workshop focused on identifying key physical science knowledge gaps necessary to answer the following driving questions: 1) Is MCB feasible over sufficiently large regions and is implementation practicable for long-enough durations to avert the worst impacts of global warming? 2) If practicable, what will be the regional impacts of such MCB interventions? 3) Do we have adequate systems in place to detect and quantify the effects of such interventions? 4) What physical and engineering science challenges must be resolved satisfactorily before we can consider embarking on MCB?

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE-NOAA Marine Cloud Brightening Workshop

Marine Cloud Brightening (MCB) refers to the deliberate injection of aerosol particles into marine clouds to increase their reflection of solar radiation to temporarily cool the planet while decarbonization efforts are pursued. A workshop was conducted to assess the state of knowledge in the field of MCB, and to provide a possible research path toward reducing unknowns in key components of the underlying physical science. This three-day workshop took place in April 2022 and was jointly sponsored by Department of Energy (DOE)’s Atmospheric System Research (ASR) program and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The workshop focused on identifying key physical science knowledge gaps necessary to answer the following driving questions: 1. Is MCB feasible over sufficiently large regions and is implementation practicable for long-enough durations to avert the worst impacts of global warming? 2. If practicable, what will be the regional impacts of such MCB interventions? 3. Do we have adequate systems in place to detect and quantify the effects of such interventions? 4. What physical and engineering science challenges must be resolved satisfactorily before we can consider embarking on MCB?

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Chapter 5: Climate Science

Biological and Environmental Research (BER) conducts climate science research activities under three programs: the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility, the Atmospheric System Research (ASR) program, ad the Earth and Environmental Systems Modeling (EESM) program. This document provides key findings and recommendations from the Biological and Environmental Research Advisory Committee (BERAC) Climate Science Working Group.

Biological and Environmental Research Advisory Com↗

Atmospheric Research Measurement Climate Research Facility - Atmospheric System Research High-Resolution Modeling Workshop, May 19-20, 2014

The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility is a scientific user facility within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Climate and Environmental Sciences Division (CESD) of the Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER). ARM is an observation facility whose purpose is to provide ground-based observations of the atmosphere to support climate research and to support the improvement of global climate models. ARM is closely affiliated with the Atmospheric System Research (ASR) program, which uses ARM data to address key atmospheric science issues and improve the parameterization of physical processes in climate models. A common methodology for using ARM data to improve climate models has been to carry out multi-model evaluation projects, typically in conjunction with field campaigns in which intensive radiosonde launches support the development of model forcing data sets. These exercises have yielded important insights. However, in recent years, there has been a growing interest in supporting high-resolution model simulations on a more routine basis. An important aspect of ARM sites is the continuous collection of high-resolution data over long periods of time. More routine model simulations would take better advantage of these long-term data sets. Nevertheless, accomplishing this will require careful attention to the requirements for running and evaluating these models together with a research program that maximizes the benefit of the model output.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

TRACER-MAP Field Campaign Report

During July-August 2022, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric System Research (ASR)-funded Tracking Aerosol Convection Interactions Experiment (TRACER)-MAP campaign completed an Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility field study to measure and map aerosol, volatile organic compounds (VOC), trace gas, and select meteorological observations across Houston, Texas. That ASR project and ARM field campaign, TRACER-MAP, was designed to complement measurements made at the first ARM Mobile Facility (AMF1) by the Aerosol Observing System (AOS) during the TRACER campaign. In this manner, TRACER-MAP effectively extended aerosol measurements from the TRACER AMF deployment, increasing the spatial coverage across the Houston metropolitan area, characterizing a greater diversity of source mixtures (e.g., industrial, traffic, residential, and biogenic) and capturing air masses with differential aging of urban source emissions (e.g., downtown versus downwind). That rich data set now offers many possibilities for in-depth analysis that align with the ASR mission to “research aerosol processes that affect Earth’s radiative balance and hydrological cycle.”

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Evaluating and Improving Convective Parameterization for GCMs Using ARM Observations. Final report

This technical report summarizes the achievements during the project period funded by the Atmospheric System Research (ASR) program. The general goal of the project is to improve the representation of atmospheric deep convection in global climate models. By using DOE Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program observations and a hierarchy of models from cloud-resolving to global climate models, we evaluated and improved many aspects of convection parameterization schemes, such as the trigger function for convection and closure condition to determine the amount of convection. We also incorporated the stochasticity of convection into a convection scheme. These improvements, when implemented into the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Community Earth System Model (CESM) and the DOE Exascale Energy Earth System Model (E3SM), led to improved simulation of precipitation characteristics, including precipitation intensity, Intertropical Convergence Zone, and Madden-Julian oscillation. The project also improved the representation of microphysical processes in convective clouds. It enables the interaction of cloud microphysics with aerosols in weather and climate models.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

ACAPEX – Ship-Based Ice Nuclei Collections Field Campaign Report

Measurements were sought to evaluate a hypotheses that sea-spray-sourced ice-nucleating particles (INPs) are of biological origin and represent a distinctly different INP population in comparison to long-range-transported desert or urban and regional land-sourced INP, and that the layering of marine within other aerosol layers feeding orographic storms over the mountains of California and the Western United States thereby leads to common and quantifiable scenarios that influence precipitation over the region. Aerosol collections on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) research vessel (RV) Ronald H. Brown, for subsequent processing of INP immersion freezing activation temperature spectra and composition analyses, added a valuable measurement component to the ARM Cloud Aerosol Precipitation Experiment (ACAPEX) and related CalWater2 (NOAA) studies for use in parameterizing and modeling the impacts of marine boundary layer and other aerosols on climate and radiation via aerosol indirect effects on mixed-phase clouds. Twenty-five nominally 24-hour collections were made and have been processed for immersion freezing INP number concentrations versus temperature in the mixed-phase cloud temperature regime from -10 to -27°C. The similarity of INP number concentrations compared to typical marine boundary layer values attributed to sea-spray aerosols was noted. Nevertheless, variability of INP concentrations of up to 50 times was noted at individual temperatures over the course of the study. A particular analysis possible with this data set is to examine INP budgets over oceans inside versus outside of atmospheric river conditions. These INP measurements supplemented multiple airborne INP measurements on the ARM Aerial Facility (AAF), and others on the ground during ACAPEX and CalWater2, to provide extensive spatial and temporal analyses of INP immersion freezing spectra during winter storm periods. Future analyses will use thermal sensitivity to examine INP compositions as organic versus inorganic in these marine boundary layer samples. Data set integration is occurring under funding from an Atmospheric System Research (ASR) proposal.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

NSA Site Science: Use of ARM Observations from Northern Alaska to Evaluate and Improve Prediction Capabilities

The Arctic is warming at a rate nearly double that of the rest of the planet, leading to profound changes in atmospheric, oceanic, and ice processes. The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility has played a significant role in Arctic research, operating observatories in Alaska's North Slope for over 25 years. These observatories provide a rich, and wide-reaching dataset that offers insight into atmospheric processes in northern Alaska. This report details the results of a nine-year research project (2015–2024) supported by the DOE Atmospheric Systems Research (ASR) program, that leverages data from ARM’s deployment of observing facilities at Utqiaġvik (known as the North Slope of Alaska, or NSA, site) and Oliktok Point, Alaska. The project was conducted in two phases: - Phase 1 (2015–2019): Focused on understanding key atmospheric processes at Oliktok Point, including cloud formation, high-latitude precipitation, aerosol-cloud interactions, and cloud properties. - Phase 2 (2019–2024): Extended the research to the broader North Slope region, using data from both Oliktok Point and Utqiaġvik. Topics explored included surface energy budgets, atmospheric stability, ice nucleation processes, and microphysics in Arctic clouds. The project resulted in numerous research products, including 50 peer-reviewed publications and dissertations, 169 presentations, and 10 data products. These products cover a variety of topics, including: - Cloud Macro- and Microphysical Properties: Arctic clouds play a crucial role in energy transfer, and accurate representation in models is critical. The study explored cloud transitions, ice crystal shapes, and dual-wavelength radar data to understand ice crystal habits and size distributions. - Aerosol Properties and Processes: The team examined aerosol sources in the Arctic, including industrial emissions and natural sources. Observations showed significant spatial gradients in aerosol concentrations due to human activities and wildfire smoke. The influence of aerosols on cloud formation and the surface energy budget was also assessed. - Aerosol-Cloud Interactions: Research revealed that aerosols might suppress cloud ice production, affecting cloud radiative forcing and precipitation. The impact of local industrial emissions on cloud properties was also investigated. - Contextualizing the North Slope of Alaska in the context of the broader Arctic: To understand broader trends, the project evaluated large-scale circulation patterns and the influence of weather systems on the Arctic. Studies indicated that large-scale processes play a significant role in temperature patterns and the timing of snowmelt. - Advancing ARM Observational and Modeling Capabilities: The project developed new radar data products and advanced measurement techniques, including clutter mitigation and drizzle detection. Uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) and tethered balloon systems (TBS) were deployed to gather detailed atmospheric data. Additionally, the project supported 10 early career scientists, providing training and mentorship to undergraduate interns, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and early career researchers. These efforts contributed to the advancement of ARM research capabilities and fostered a new generation of scientists skilled in Arctic atmospheric research. Ultimately, this ASR-supported project has provided valuable insights into Arctic atmospheric processes and their broader climate implications. Recommendations for future work include continuing support for long-term observing at Arctic locations to foster additional research, further exploration of aerosol-cloud interactions and the potential impacts of enhanced industrialization of the Arctic, and expanded use of uncrewed systems to gather data in this remote and harsh environment. Additionally, the data products developed by this work, and the data products developed through the ARM infrastructure, leave a treasure-trove of additional information that should be explored for many years to come to gain additional insight into physical processes in the Arctic atmosphere that drive the rapid changes occurring in at high latitudes and their global impact.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Atmospheric testbed workshop, August 5-6, 2013

A primary goal of the Climate and Environmental Sciences Division (CESD) is to improve the predictive ability of regional and global climate models (GCMs). One set of tools used for evaluating and improving model predictions and projections are testbeds that combine data derived from observations and model simulations. In these testbeds, outputs of model simulations can be compared to observations of the climate system in order to identify errors and/or biases in the model simulations and determine the specific model processes that need improvements. Testbeds can also be used to provide scientific insights into dominant processes and process interactions as well as increase our understanding of the role of various physical processes involved in a particular case study or meteorological event. CESD currently funds multiple activities, which are developing testbeds to evaluate and improve atmospheric model parameterizations across a range of models, scales, and processes. For each of these testbeds, the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility represents a primary source of observational data for evaluating the models. The Atmospheric System Research (ASR), Earth System Modeling (ESM), Regional and Global Climate Modeling (RGCM), and ARM program managers co-sponsored a workshop on atmospheric testbed activities across CESD. The workshop was held August 5-6, 2013, at the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) Germantown facility. The principal objectives of the workshop were to survey the CESD testbed portfolios; identify the distinctive capabilities of each testbed as well as commonalities between the testbeds; identify areas for coordination and collaboration among testbeds; improve linkages between testbed activities and the ARM facility; identify gaps in testbed activities; and identify ways to improve coordination and communication among the testbeds and between the testbeds and the broader scientific community.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Microphysical-macrophysical interactions in low cloud systems over the Eastern North Atlantic

How low clouds over the oceans respond to changes in atmospheric greenhouse gases and aerosol particles is poorly understood. Climate model disagreement in these responses limits the accuracy of predictions of future climate. Processes governing the behavior of marine low cloud need to be improved in models and comprehensive long-term observations provide important constraints. Cloud structure and impacts on climate are shaped by processes operating on a wide range of time and space scales, which interact to modulate cloud dynamics, boundary layer structure, and precipitation. The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Eastern North Atlantic (ENA) site at Graciosa Island (Azores, 28°W 39°N) began taking measurements in late 2013 to address the need for comprehensive cloud, aerosol, and meteorological observations in a remote marine low cloud environment. The site straddles the boundary between the subtropical and midlatitude climate zones in the eastern North Atlantic and experiences a great diversity of meteorological and cloud conditions. In addition, the ENA site is downwind of the North American continent and is periodically impacted by continental aerosol particles transported there on the prevailing winds. In response to a 2014 proposal call, our team (ENA Site Science Team) laid out a strategy to accelerate research focused on understanding the multi-scale interactions that shape cloud properties by maximizing the utility of the observational capabilities of the ENA site. The proposed work aligned with the scientific directions of the ASR Working Groups. The team, together with collaborators, conducted a program of research focused upon multi-scale cloud processes. The team worked with scientists both within and outside the Atmospheric System Research (ASR) program, and with the ARM infrastructure to ensure that the full potential of the ENA site is realized. The suite of instruments at the ENA site has been increasing since the site’s inception and is now essentially complete. In 2019, we laid out a two-year extension of the research, and were granted an extension of the Site Science award.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗