Collaborations

ARM is managed by the Earth and Environmental Systems Sciences Division (EESSD) within DOE’s Biological and Environmental Research (BER) program. ARM maintains strong ties with many of EESSD’s programs, including Atmospheric System Research (ASR). Principal investigators funded by ASR provide 75% of the scientific publications resulting from ARM data.

Through the Facilities Integrating Collaborations for User Science (FICUS) program, scientists can apply to use capabilities of ARM and another EESSD-managed scientific user facility, the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL).

Outside of DOE, ARM works with several other U.S. government agencies, such as NOAA, NASA, and the National Science Foundation (NSF). Examples of collaborations include ARM providing data or instrument support and partners leading field campaigns or sitting on advisory boards.

Scientists use ARM data to better represent processes in earth system models, but challenges remain in applying ARM data to these models, both because of the different spatial scales they represent and differences in perspective between observational and modeling studies. Explicit partnerships between ARM and modeling groups within DOE and other organizations lead to strategies that address these challenges.

An obvious opportunity to provide spatial context to ARM’s ground-based measurements is through satellite observations. ARM hosts products from satellite partners to provide spatial context over and around its sites and during field campaigns. ARM also works with specific satellite programs using ARM measurements for the evaluation and development of satellite retrievals.

While ARM Data Discovery is the primary place to find and access ARM’s freely available data, ARM contributes specific data sets to archives managed by other measurement networks. ARM is a part of several networks that regularly review and update their data standards to ensure that member organizations are collecting the highest-quality measurements in a particular area of scientific interest. In addition, ARM data (or links to ARM data) are available from partners focused on science in a specific region.

Looking to better serve the global research community, ARM and other entities are working together to make data more similar across their networks. Currently, ARM is collaborating with the pan-European Aerosol, Clouds and Trace Gases Research Infrastructure (ACTRIS) to harmonize data sets to support global modeling and satellite projects. To achieve this, ARM and ACTRIS have entered into a joint project called CARGO-ACT to harmonize data sets, best measurement practices, and facility governance, such as how users access sites.

ARM maintains connections with a number of universities and educational organizations in the United States and around the world. In addition to working with researchers who hold academic positions, ARM provides access and training to the next generation of atmospheric scientists, including through summer schools and DOE-sponsored workforce development programs.