Documentation

Order Data

Comments?

We would love to hear from you! Send us a note below or call us at 1-888-ARM-DATA.

Send

Instrument : Aerosol Observing System (AOS)

Beneficiary of Recovery Act funding.

Instrument Categories
Aerosols

General Overview

The aerosol observing system (AOS) is the primary Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) platform for in situ aerosol measurements at the surface. The principal measurements are those of the aerosol absorption and scattering coefficients as a function of the particle size and radiation wavelength. Additional measurements include those of the particle number concentration, size distribution, hygroscopic growth, and inorganic chemical composition. The AOS measures aerosol optical properties to better understand how particles interact with solar radiation and influence the earth's radiation balance. The measurements are useful for calculating parameters used in radiative forcing calculations such as the aerosol single scattering albedo, asymmetry parameter, mass scattering efficiency, and hygroscopic growth. To learn more, see the preliminary data plots.

The first AOS is located at the Southern Great Plains (SGP) site in Oklahoma and has been operational since the beginning of April 1996. In 2005, a second AOS joined the first ARM Mobile Facility (AMF); the third AOS became operational with the second AMF. With funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, another mobile AOS joined the ARM Facility and is available for deployments with either ARM Mobile Facility and/or the ARM fixed sites and capable of being deployed independently. For a list of instruments included in the AOS, see the Mobile AOS web page.

In March 2000, a long-term vertical profiling campaign began over the SGP site using a light aircraft. The measurements from the vertical profiles complement the surface measurements because the instrumentation on the airplane is similar to that at the SGP surface site. The aircraft measurements provide information on the aerosol vertical mixing.For more information and data, see the In-situ Aerosol Profiles (IAP) instrument page.

Output Datastreams

aos : Aerosol Observing System (AOS): aerosol data, 1-min
aosacsm : AOS: aerosol chemical speciation monitor
aosccn : Aerosol Observing System (AOS): cloud condensation nuclei data
aosccn100 : Aerosol Observing System (AOS): cloud condensation nuclei data
aosccn200 : AOS: Dual Column Cloud Condensation Nuclei Counter
aosclap3w : AOS: 3 wavelength Continous Light Absorption Photometer
aosco : AOS: Carbon Monoxide Analyzer
aoscpc : AOS: condensation particle counter
aoscpcf : AOS: Condensation Particle Counter
aoscpcu : AOS: Ultrafine Condensation Particle Counter
aosmet : AOS: aerosol-based meteorology data
aosnephdry : AOS: ambient nephelometer measurements
aosnephwet : AOS: humidified nephelometer measurements
aosnox : AOS: Oxides of Nitrogen Analyzer
aosozone : AOS: O3 measurements
aospass3w : AOS: 3 wavelength Photoacoustic Soot Spectrometer
aospsap3w : AOS: 3 wavelength Particle Soot Absorption Photometer
aossmps : AOS: Scanning-Mobility Particle Sizer
aossmpstrh : AOS: Scanning-Mobility Particle Sizer; temperature and RH output
aosso2 : AOS: Sulfur Dioxide Analyzer
aosuhsas : AOS: Ultra-High Sensitivity Aerosol Spectrometer
noaaaos : Aerosol Observing System (AOS): aerosol data, 1-min, mentor-QC applied

Primary Measurements

The following measurements are those considered scientifically relevant.

Locations

Southern Great Plains (SGP)
- Central Facility, Lamont, OK (C1)
ARM Mobile Facility (FKB)
- Black Forest, Germany (M1)
ARM Mobile Facility (GRW)
- Graciosa Island, Azores, Portugal (M1)
ARM Mobile Facility (HFE)
- Shouxian, Anhui, China (M1)
ARM Mobile Facility (NIM)
- Niamey, Niger (M1)
ARM Mobile Facility (PGH)
- ARIES Observatory, Nainital, Uttarkhand, India (M1)
ARM Mobile Facility (PVC)
- Highland Center, Cape Cod MA; AMF 1 (M1)
- Highland Center, Cape Cod MA; MAOS (S1)
ARM Mobile Facility (PYE)
- Point Reyes, CA (M1)
ARM Mobile Facility (SBS)
- Steamboat Springs CO, Christie Peak (S2)