AMF Deployments - Point Reyes National Seashore, California
Current time and temperature at Point Reyes National Seashore, California.
Shelters: N38° 5.51' W122° 57.33'
Instrument Field: N38° 5.46' W122° 57.43'
Point Reyes National Seashore, on the California coast north of San Francisco, was the location of the first deployment of the DOE's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Mobile Facility (AMF). The ARM Program collaborated with the U.S. Office of Naval Research and DOE's Aerosol Science Program in the Marine Stratus, Radiation, Aerosol, and Drizzle project. Their objectives are to collect data from cloud/aerosol interactions and to improve understanding of cloud organization that is often associated with patches of drizzle.
Between March and September 2005, the AMF and at least two research aircraft were used to collect data. During the deployment, the AMF contributed significantly to the project's scientific objectives by providing state-of-the-art active and passive remote sensors to measure the detailed microphysical structure of drizzle patches and the associated clouds as they move onshore.
Marine stratus clouds are some of the most prevalent clouds on earth. They exert a large-scale cooling effect on the ocean surface, representing an important component of the earth's total energy budget. In addition, marine stratus clouds are known to be susceptible to the byproducts of fossil fuel consumption. Despite their known importance to the earth-ocean-atmosphere system, relatively few detailed and comprehensive data sets of marine stratus clouds are available.
Point Reyes was chosen due to its marine environment, as well as its availability for scientific research endeavors. The ARM Program greatly appreciates the cooperation of the National Park Service during the preparation and conduct of this field campaign. For more information about the site and contact information, see the site operations page.
Additional Instrumentation
In addition to the standard AMF instruments, the following instruments were used for deployment:
| Instrument | Providing Agency (Principal Investigator) |
| 94-GHz Doppler Radar | University of Miami (Pavlos Kollias) |
| Center for Interdisciplinary Remotely Piloted Aircraft Studies (CIRPA) Twin Otter | Office of Naval Research |
| G1 Aircraft - Atmospheric Science Program | Atmospheric Science Program - Pacific Northwest National Laboratory |
| Micro-Orifice Uniform-Deposit Impactor (MOUDI) | University of California at Davis (Anthony Wexler) |
| Rapid Single Particle Mass Spectrometer (RSMS) | University of California at Davis (Anthony Wexler) |
| Aerodynamic Particle Sizer (APS) | University of California at Davis (Anthony Wexler) |
| Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer | Brookhaven National Laboratory (Jian Wang) |
| Aerosol Observing System (AOS) | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (John Ogren/Pat Sheridan) |
| Cadenza | NASA Ames Research Center (Anthony Strawa) |
| Micropulse Lidar (MPL) | Argonne National Laboratory (Richard Coulter) |
| 915-MHz Radar Wind Profiler | Argonne National Laboratory (Richard Coulter) |
