Suffolk Reporter

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.

The observatory will provide data for at least five years to help scientists study the interactions among clouds, vegetation, and aerosols in the atmosphere. This research aims to enhance understanding of aerosol-cloud interactions and improve weather and climate models.

“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 that provides continuous field measurements of atmospheric data globally. Data are collected from three stationary atmospheric observatories in Oklahoma, Alaska, and the Azores. ARM also operates mobile and aerial facilities.

Bankhead is a long-term mobile observatory relocated from Oliktok Point, Alaska, where it operated from 2013 until 2021. Argonne manages these observatories in Alabama and Oklahoma.

Teams from DOE’s Brookhaven and Argonne national laboratories collaborated with other DOE labs as well as federal, state, local agencies, organizations, and individual Alabama landowners. With support from ARM and DOE’s Atmospheric System Research (ASR) program, Kuang’s team developed the BNF science plan. Argonne handled logistics for site preparation, construction, equipment delivery and placement while also managing day-to-day 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 a clearing filled with instruments monitoring various atmospheric conditions like clouds and precipitation. A 140-foot tower measuring forest plant characteristics will be installed in November.

Additional instruments on smaller towers measure trace gases, pollen released by plants throughout different levels of the forest profile along with temperature, humidity at ground level. Supplemental sites forming a triangle around the main area host radars scanning cloud precipitation patterns.

"It's exciting to see the observatory come to life," said Mike Ritsche, site manager for ARM’s Bankhead and Southern Great Plains observatories.

As part of ARM user facility initiative BNF is open to broader research community via approved field campaign proposals allowing collaborating scientists contribute data conduct own research all available near-real time no cost through ARM Data Center expected accommodate guest instrumentation November 2024 earliest researchers lining up use ASR funded initial set projects Kuang lead team using BNF data including tethered balloon system flights understand land-atmosphere interactions control particles air Early Career Research Program supports trio university national lab scientists planning five-year projects using BNF data

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