Science

The goal of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program is to improve the treatment of clouds and radiation processes in global climate models. One of the major goals of DOE is to develop global climate models capable of simulating the timing and magnitude of greenhouse gas-induced global warming and the regional effects of such warming. Previous research has shown that cloud radiative forcing and feedbacks are one of the major sources of uncertainty in simulations of climate change over the next century. It is imperative, therefore, that their treatment in global models be improved.

ARM's goal is addressed through a combination of continuous ground-based observations, data analysis, modeling of local and regional physics, and development of parameterizations for global models. The two principal questions addressed by the Program are 1) how accurate are both longwave and shortwave radiative transfer calculations for any given column of the atmosphere and 2) how well can cloud properties in a column of the atmosphere be predicted from knowledge of larger scale atmospheric properties? Plans and progress made in seeking the answers to these questions can be found in various publications.