Climate Scientists Cool Their Heels at Science Team Meeting in Monterey
A spring mix of sunny skies and stormy weather provided an appropriate setting for the Seventeenth Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program Science Team Meeting, held March 26 through March 30 in Monterey, California. Held annually since 1990, this meeting brings together ARM scientists, ACRF infrastructure staff, and user facility researchers to review program progress and plan future activities.
This year’s plenary session featured opening remarks by the new program director for ARM science, Dr. Kiran Alapaty. He described the current and outyear budget outlook, emphasizing the need for patience during the ongoing continuing resolution process. He also summarized the status of the research proposal process for both universities and national laboratories, indicating areas to focus on in the next few years to enable program growth in future research directions.
Dr. Warren Wiscombe, ARM Chief Scientist, then gave a recap of program accomplishments in the past year, including completed field campaigns, the use of new parameterizations in climate models, and the formation of a radar focus group. He also described key plans for the coming year, such as implementing routine research flights via the ARM Aerial Vehicles Program, and investigating the potential for adding tomography capabilities to the ACRF baseline measurement suite.
During the remainder of the meeting, formal presentations and smaller breakout sessions covered results emerging from cloud and radiation measurement and modeling research. Evening poster sessions held on Tuesday and Wednesday provided an informal setting for science team members to review and discuss their research activities in more detail. Next year’s ARM Science Team meeting will be held in Norfolk, Virginia.
