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Visible and infrared photos obtained by the Mirage 640 were taken during the May 2022 SAIL TBS deployment. Imaging purposes include trying to track the sensible heat flux and surface variabilty in the snowpack.
We deployed a Wideband Integrated Bioaerosol Sensor (WIBS-Neo, DMT) to measure different properties of fluorescent bioaerosol particles (FBAP) during SAIL. Our measurements were collected at the supplementary site on Crested Butte Mountain from inside the ARM Aerosol Observing System (AOS) sampling from the AOS inlet. We had two deployment periods at SAIL during biologically active seasons: summer 2022 (15 June 2022 - 13 September 2022) and spring 2023 (21 March 2023 - 19 June 2023). The WIBS is an online single-particle measurement that detects FBAPs (within a size range of 0.5 - 30 microns in diameter) based on the excitation and emission wavelengths of the individual particles. Using two xenon lamps, the WIBS excites FBAPs at 280 nm and 370 nm. Their emission is detected across two wavebands of 310-400 nm and 420-650 nm. We classified the FBAPs into seven different categories (A, B, C, AB, BC, AC, and ABC) using the classification scheme in Perring et. al. (2015) [1]. Here, we report one-minute averaged number concentration of FBAPs (total and by category) and NFBAPs. We also present one-minute-averaged size distributions and the asymmetry factor (AF, a surrogate for shape) of all FBAPs and NFBAPs. The logarithmic bin width of the size bins is the same as the average bin width of the AOS's optical particle counter (OPC, Grimm) for the range of sizes in which they overlap (26 bins from 0.5 - 30 microns). AF of the particles ranges from 0-100 and is divided into five bins with a linear spacing at increments of 20. The smallest AF bin represents more spherical particles while the largest bin represents more rod-shaped particles. We recommend referring to the readme file for more details of the variables present in the files. [1] Perring, A. E., et al. (2015), Airborne observations of regional variation in fluorescent aerosol across the United States, J. Geophys. Res. Atmos., 120, 1153-1170, doi:10.1002/2014JD022495. Abstract and description of the campaign can be found here: https://www.arm.gov/research/cam
The purpose of the Field Validation of Cloud Properties Sensor – SAIL campaign was to deploy Aerodyne’s extended-wavelength TWST cloud optical properties sensor (TWST-CPS) in an operationally relevant environment with co-located, externally validated sensors. Colocation with The U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility’s deployment of its second Mobile Facility (AMF2) on the Surface Atmosphere Integrated Field Laboratory (SAIL) campaign at Crested Butte, Colorado was ideal because of the variety of operational sensors that can measure some of the same cloud properties using different modalities. While cloud property sensors have long existed, they tend to be costly to produce and maintain. Our sensor measures absolute spectral radiance over 440-1700 nm and retrieves cloud optical depth (COD), droplet effective radius (Reff), and thermodynamic phase (Phase). Our prototype is built predominantly from off-the-shelf components and uses uncooled spectrometers. A low-cost, easy-to-use sensor such as this could allow deployment at many more sites for greater spatial coverage. Instrument deployment to test robust operations and a new stray-light baffle design, and the continued development of analysis and retrieval algorithms using the data from this deployment, are central technical objectives of Aerodyne Research’s U.S. Department of Energy Small Business Innovative Research Phase 2 contract (DE-SC0020473, Low-cost shortwave spectroradiometer for retrieval of cloud properties).
The purpose of the Field Validation of Cloud Properties Sensor – SAIL campaign was to deploy Aerodyne’s extended-wavelength TWST cloud optical properties sensor (TWST-CPS) in an operationally relevant environment with co-located, externally validated sensors. Colocation with The U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility’s deployment of its second Mobile Facility (AMF2) on the Surface Atmosphere Integrated Field Laboratory (SAIL) campaign at Crested Butte, Colorado was ideal because of the variety of operational sensors that can measure some of the same cloud properties using different modalities. While cloud property sensors have long existed, they tend to be costly to produce and maintain. Our sensor measures absolute spectral radiance over 440-1700 nm and retrieves cloud optical depth (COD), droplet effective radius (Reff), and thermodynamic phase (Phase). Our prototype is built predominantly from off-the-shelf components and uses uncooled spectrometers. A low-cost, easy-to-use sensor such as this could allow deployment at many more sites for greater spatial coverage. Instrument deployment to test robust operations and a new stray-light baffle design, and the continued development of analysis and retrieval algorithms using the data from this deployment, are central technical objectives of Aerodyne Research’s U.S. Department of Energy Small Business Innovative Research Phase 2 contract (DE-SC0020473, Low-cost shortwave spectroradiometer for retrieval of cloud properties).
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.
The ASR-supported Surface Atmosphere Integrated field Laboratory (SAIL) 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 East River Watershed as part of SAIL. The two sites were the Aerosol Observation System (AOS) located on Crested Butte Ski Mountain, and the ARM Mobile Facility (AMF-2), 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 particle counter (POPS, (Gao et al., 2016)), CNN using a miniature CCN counter (CloudPuck), and 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 ERW, thus increasing our knowledge of aerosol-cloud interactions in this region and informing the usefulness of distributed networks of measurements for future studies.
Blowing snow research at high-latitude U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility observatories and mobile campaigns demonstrated the need for ground truth during falling and blowing snow events. The purpose of the Targeted Observations of Blowing Snow during SAIL (SAIL-TOBS) field campaign was to affordably deploy additional instruments to observe mixed-phase and frozen hydrometeors, including falling and blowing snow, during the second winter of the Surface Atmosphere Integrated Field Laboratory (SAIL) campaign. Instruments included two installations of the Open Snowflake Camera for Research and Education (OSCRE), one at the Gothic, Colorado main site (second ARM Mobile Facility [AMF2]) and a second at the Kettle Ponds external field site in support of the Study of Precipitation, the Lower Atmosphere and Surface for Hydrometeorology (SPLASH) campaign. Two FlowCapt FC4 acoustic mass flux sensors were also deployed at AMF2 in proximity to OSCRE on top of the instrumented hill (Figure 1).
Between March 20, 1000, 2022 and March 23 0700, 2022, the SnowPixel was deployed at the U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility’s Surface Atmosphere Integrated Field Laboratory (SAIL) site in Gothic, Colorado. These dates were chosen for deployment based on a forecasted 6” of snow at nearby Crested Butte mountain resort. The SnowPixel was mounted atop a shipping container ~3m above the ground as shown in Figure 1. The field conditions during deployment were primarily sunny and clear, with episodes of light intermittent snow. By the time SnowPixel was taken down, approximately ¼” of snow had fallen. Logistical and travel difficulties between the University of Utah and Gothic prevented any further attempts at field data collection in Gothic.
We deployed another PM sensor (Modulair-PM, QuantAQ) to measure the mass concentration of particulate matter (PM) for three size cuts at both the main site (M1) and supplementary site (S2) of the SAIL from 14 June 2022 to 14 June 2023. The instruments provide the mass concentration of PM1, PM2.5 and PM10. Mass concentrations were calculated based on measurements made with a nephelometer and an OPC. We used Quant-AQ's algorithm [please see their documentation here and the references within] to determine the mass concentrations reported. Here, we present the time series of sample relative humidity, temperature, pressure, and the mass concentration of PM1, PM2.5 and PM10. We also present the size distribution of the aerosol particles within a diameter range of 0.35 - 40 micron, measured by the OPC of the pm-modulair. However, we encourage caution while using the size distribution data, since it is operated only with the factory calibration. Abstract and description of the campaign can be found here : https://www.arm.gov/research/campaigns/amf2022ssb.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility deployed the second ARM Mobile Facility (AMF2) near Crested Butte, Colorado for the Surface Atmosphere Integrated Field Laboratory (SAIL) campaign. The SAIL campaign occurred from September 1, 2021, to June 15 2023. To study the water cycle in the East River Watershed, ARM deployed a vertically pointing Ka-band ARM Zenith radar (KAZR) and a scanning X-band precipitation radar managed by Colorado State University (CSU XPRECIP), as shown in Figure 1.
The dataset presents the time tags of individual particle samples collected on microscopy substrates during the Surface Atmosphere Integrated Field Laboratory (SAIL) campaign in Gothic, CO. A Time Resolved Aerosol Collector was deployed at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, 200 m north of AMF2 to collect ambient particles. The instrument inlet was placed 5 m above ground level. Particles are deposited on 400 mesh copper carbon-B film TEM grids (Ted Pella 01814-F). Samples are sealed and currently stored at Purdue University. A subset of the samples can be shared. Please contact dataset authors for more information. The dataset reports the sample start times in UTC and MST along with the sample ID, used to guide its location and retrieval from the storage plate. TRAC sampling started on June 17, 2023, and ended on July 31, 2023.
SAIL-Net is a DOE funded project in the East River Watershed near Crested Butte, Colorado with the goal of advancing our understanding of aerosol-cloud interactions in complex, mountainous regions. Through the deployment of a network of six low cost microphysics nodes in Fall 2021 in the same domain at the SAIL campaign, SAIL-Net provides data on aerosol size distributions, cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), and ice nucleations particles (INP). This network enables the investigation of small-scale variations in complex terrain. This specific dataset provides the cleaned data recorded from the CloudPuck, an in house instrument made by Handix Scientific that counts CCN concentrations. The CloudPuck was deployed at the sites for the summer/fall of 2022 before winter conditions were too harsh to maintain the instrument. For more information on the the CloudPuck or how the raw data are processed, see the read me.
SAIL-Net is a DOE funded project in the East River Watershed near Crested Butte, Colorado with the goal of advancing our understanding of aerosol-cloud interactions in complex, mountainous regions. Through the deployment of a network of six low cost microphysics nodes in Fall 2021 in the same domain at the SAIL campaign, SAIL-Net provides data on aerosol size distributions, cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), and ice nucleation particles (INP). This network enables the investigation of small-scale variations in complex terrain. Two datasets are provided - one containing raw data and the other containing post-corrected data. The raw dataset provides the raw data recorded from the POPS which were deployed at each of the six sites. These data are organized by site and broken down into daily data files. The six site names used here are: “gothic”, “irwin”, “cbtop”, “cbmid”, “pumphouse”, and “snodgrass”. These data are not cleaned or post-corrected, but some flags have been added. The data are reported at 1 second time resolution. The post-corrected dataset provides the post-corrected and cleaned data recorded from the POPS which were deployed at each of the six sites. This data are also organized by site (same as those found in the raw data) and broken down into daily data files. Unlike the raw POPS data, these data have already been cleaned to remove what we believe are bad values. These data should be ready to use with no cleaning. For a full description of the cleaning and post-correction process, see the readme.
For the Surface Atmosphere Integrated Field Laboratory (SAIL) campaign, a scanning X-Band dual-polarimetric radar provided by Colorado State University (CSU) was deployed to estimate precipitation within the Upper Colorado River Basin. In order to evaluate precipitation estimates from the CSU X-Band Radar (XPRECIPRADAR), Surface QUantitatIve pRecipitation Estimation (SQUIRE) was created to provide the SAIL community with a gridded dataset of precipitation estimates for comparison with hydrology and atmospheric models.
For the Surface Atmosphere Integrated Field Laboratory (SAIL) campaign, a scanning X-Band dual-polarimetric radar provided by Colorado State University (CSU) was deployed to estimate precipitation within the Upper Colorado River Basin. In order to evaluate precipitation estimates from the CSU X-Band Radar (XPRECIPRADAR), radar columns are extracted above field sites of interest to the SAIL campaign. These radar columns are then matched to in-situ sensors at these locations.
Abstract Despite the crucial role of bioaerosol particles (BAP) in our climate system, local ecosystems, and human health, our grasp on their atmospheric interactions is hampered by a lack of high‐resolution and long‐term data, which is essential for understanding their abundance and variability in response to meteorological conditions. To discern these relationships in a high‐altitude mountainous terrain is even less well‐studied. Therefore, we deployed a Wideband Integrated Bioaerosol Sensor (WIBS‐Neo) for three months during the first biologically active season of the Surface Atmosphere Integrated Field Laboratory (SAIL) campaign in summer 2022 on Mt. Crested Butte in Colorado (elevation 3,140 m ASL). Here, we report real‐time fluorescent BAP (FBAP) data collected from 15 June to 13 September 2022, sampled from within the ARM Aerosol Observing System (AOS). To our knowledge, these are the first high altitude (>3,000 m ASL) continuous measurements of FBAP made in North America. During this deployment, we observed on average 21% and as many as 48% (hourly maximum) of particles within the detection size range ( to ) of the WIBS as FBAP. Our analysis presents the diurnal cycles for seven distinct types of FBAP, showing unique patterns and, in some cases, correlations with temperature and solar radiation cycles. Abundance and composition of FBAP varied with relative humidity and precipitation. Precipitation events appeared to both cause emission and removal of FBAP, whereas dust and smoke events had no significant effect, highlighting the critical role of meteorology on FBAP at high altitudes.
The Characterization of Orography-Influenced Riming and Secondary Ice Production and Their Effects on Precipitation Rates Using Radar Polarimetry and Doppler Spectra (CORSIPP) project was conducted to help improve the understanding of precipitation formation in orographically influenced terrain. Special focus is put on the two processes of riming and secondary ice production and their external drivers. Two instruments, a polarimetric W-band simultaneous transmission simultaneous reception (STSR) Doppler cloud radar manufactured by Radiometer Physics GmbH (RPG, instrument type RPG-FMCW-94-DP), from now on named LIMRAD94, and the video in situ snowfall sensor (VISSS), were deployed at the U. S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility’s Surface Atmosphere Integrated Field Laboratory (SAIL) site in Gothic, Colorado between November 2022 and June 2023 during the second SAIL winter. Note that the exact dates of data availability differ between the instruments. Both instruments arrived at Gothic on November 2, 2022, 09:20 local time. VISSS, described by Maahn et al., is equipped with two camera systems with telecentric lenses. The two cameras are at a 90° angle to each other. This configuration allows for size-independent measurements by capturing images of hydrometeors from two sides at a high frame rate of 250 Hz. With a minimum detection size of 200 μm, VISSS provides valuable insights into particle size, number, shape, complexity, and fall velocity. The VISSS was deployed on the grassland next to the ARM facility with the amazing help of the ARM employees on site. The setup started on November 2, 2022, and was finished on November 5, 2022, without major problems. VISSS measurements were started on November 6, 2022. LIMRAD94 was installed on a scaffolding platform near Orehouse (Gothic) on November 9, 2022, with the great help of RMBL staff. LIMRAD94 was mounted on a cold temperature scanner prototype. After a short test of the setup on November 9, 2022, the digital control of the scanner elevation stopped working for (at that time) unknown reasons. All attempts to resolve the problem failed. This malfunction made it impossible to operate LIMRAD94 in scanning mode. The scanner was then manually moved to zenith pointing mode and between November 10 and November 15, 2022, vertical observations for polarimetric calibration were performed. On November 15, 2022, after the polarimetric calibration was applied, the scanner was manually moved to 40° elevation with azimuthal view towards the Ka-band ARM Zenith Radar (KAZR) and measurements were continued at constant elevation. Investigation of the scanner malfunction on February 6, 2023, by Benn Schmatz revealed a disengagement between the cogwheel of the elevation motor and the cogwheel moving the scanner in elevation. This mechanical issue was temporarily solved by re-engaging the cogwheels. This made the scanner operational again for about four weeks, until mechanical force disengaged the cogwheels again on March 15, 2023. This repeated scanner failure remained undetected for about three weeks until April 8, 2023; during this time the scanner was stuck at 72° elevation. However, the radar software continued to produce data files falsely indicating that the scanner was still operational. After the scanner failure was noticed, scanning was stopped again, and we returned to constant elevation measurements. On May 15, 2023, the cogwheels of the elevation motor were secured with additional screws sent by the manufacturer. At some point in May, the cogwheels of the azimuth motor were also disengaged by mechanical force, which still allowed for range height indicator (RHI) but no plan position indicator (PPI) scans in the last weeks of the campaign. The azimuth motor was repaired in Germany after the end of the campaign. Throughout the campaign, RMBL and ARM staff kept the radar and the VISSS free of snow.
Aerosols are central to understanding the water cycle within mountainous regions, but a complete understanding of this role cannot be provided without vertically resolved observations, particularly for aerosol-cloud interactions, since we simultaneously need to know aerosol information and meteorology near cloud bases. The goal of SAIL Aerosol Vertical Profiles (SAIL-AVP) was to perform tethered balloon system (TBS) measurements during different seasons to elucidate process-level understanding of the aerosols and associated meteorological conditions within complex mountainous terrain. Measurements were conducted during the deployment of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility’s second Mobile Facility (AMF2) as part of the Surface Atmosphere Integrated Field Laboratory (SAIL) campaign in the East River Watershed of the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB) in southwestern Colorado. In mid-latitude continental interior mountain ranges, and especially at SAIL, aerosol vertical profiles and their relationships with meteorology are, almost without exception, inferred from a combination of ground-based and remote-sensing data. These flights provided many more dimensions to aerosol-cloud interactions that are unavailable to those inferential approaches: the TBS collected in situ information in the vertical, optical, chemical, and biological dimensions for aerosol-cloud interactions. Furthermore, the collocation of these flights with longstanding collaborative resources in the region, including the ongoing surface and subsurface hydrologic observations from the DOE’s Watershed Function Science Focus Area (SFA), produced a unique set of atmospheric observations that are complemented by existing land-surface and subsurface (e.g., groundwater) observations.