A Personal Note to Nauru

Message from the ARM Tropical Western Pacific Site Scientist, Chuck Long:

I first arrived on Nauru in late 1998 to help install the ARM site. Yes, I had a shovel in hand, digging the trenches to bury the grounding grid beneath the soil, and helping weld the grid joints together. I also spent almost two months on Nauru in mid-1999 as the island principle investigator for the Nauru99 Campaign. Though I have managed occasional brief visits since then, unfortunately the demands on my time have not allowed me to visit nearly as often nor as long as I would have liked. To me, being there in person where our surface observations are being made is a valuable part of gaining understanding, in essence being able to personally experience the climate regime being studied. And unfortunately again, my schedule has precluded my attending this ceremony in person.

Nevertheless, I have imposed on Kim to convey this message: I am quite pleased, honored for the opportunity, and speaking for the scientific community, grateful to the Nauruan government and especially those who have served as our Observers through the years. I have provided Kim with a few “science bullets” as examples of the type of scientific understanding that the Nauru data has been instrumental in our acquiring. But it is the nature of what we do that not all the possible science has been accomplished yet, and that results and understanding often do not come quickly. On the contrary, the well over a decade of observations from Nauru will play a significant role for many years to come as we work to refine our understanding of the tropical regime.

But none of this would be possible without the gracious welcome and cooperation that we have experienced here on Nauru. This all started prior to 1998 with the initial discussions and negotiations to establish an ongoing U.S. scientific presence on the island. The agreement included training and employment of local individuals to operate and maintain the site (Observers), launching of meteorological balloons, and open sharing of the data. The subsequent collaboration has not only benefited the scientific community, but also the sondes helped fulfill Nauru’s obligation to the World Meteorological Organization to provide soundings for world-wide weather forecast model initialization.

The essence of the science research we have aimed to accomplish on Nauru depends on long-term, high quality, continuous data. I myself am an observationalist, meaning that I am involved in making and analyzing the observations we use in our research. I know the type of dedication and diligence that it takes, especially over the long haul, to be as successful as we have been here on Nauru. It takes a large number of people with many different types of knowledge and expertise all working together for a site like this Nauru site to be successful for well over a decade, and to produce the high level of quality and continuity we have achieved. But it all has ultimately depended on you: the Observers for doing their jobs every day, the Nauruan government for their support and cooperation in allowing us to be your neighbors here, and all Nauruans for being such gracious and welcoming neighbors. In all this time we have always felt welcome here. And it would not have been economically feasible without the dedication of the trained Observer crew. None of the rest would matter without the special collaboration we have enjoyed with you all.

And for that I wish to sincerely thank you, for myself personally, for the ARM and ASR Program scientists, and for the atmospheric science community as a whole who all will continue to use the Nauru data for years to come. We owe you a great debt for all that you have done, and you can be very proud of this lasting accomplishment.

My sincere gratitude,

Chuck Long
ARM TWP Site Scientist