This chart shows the spectral and height dependence of the infrared cooling rates for a mid-latitude summer profile. Note that the majority of the infrared cooling in the middle and upper tropsphere occurs in spectral regions that RHUBC will investigate. (Larger image.)

In conjunction with other scientific activities taking place during International Polar Year 2007-2008, today (February 26) an international research team begins a three-week field campaign in Barrow, Alaska. The Radiative Heating in Unexplored Bands Campaign (RHUBC), which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility, uses a new suite of sophisticated instruments to provide the first simultaneous high-resolution dataset of Arctic clear sky and cirrus cloud properties in the far-infrared. This information will provide more accurate measurements about atmospheric properties in the Arctic to improve computer models that simulate Arctic climate. See the full story.