propose

The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility is a multi-laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science user facility and a key contributor to national and international climate research efforts.

ARM provides observation data to improve the understanding of atmospheric processes and the representation of those processes in earth system models. Its mission is fulfilled by operating atmospheric observatories around the world that collect massive amounts of atmospheric measurements to provide data products that help scientists study the effects and interactions of clouds and aerosols and their impact on the Earth’s energy balance.

In addition, computing resources and analytical tools are provided to facilitate the application of ARM measurements to pressing science issues.

ARM is now accepting proposals from scientists to use ARM’s fixed observatories in Oklahoma, Alaska, and the Azores, as well as ARM’s mobile facility in the Bankhead National Forest in Alabama. Field campaigns are encouraged to support the DOE Biological and Environmental Research (BER) program’s interests in advancing the fundamental understanding of atmospheric processes to improve regional and global earth system models.

ARM accepts proposals for small campaigns (i.e., cost to ARM is less than $300K) at any time with proposal reviews happening monthly. Small campaigns may include activities, such as:

• deployment of principal investigator instrumentation at an ARM fixed or mobile observatory;
• special scanning of an ARM radar or lidar;
• enhanced radiosonde launches;
• deployment of investigator-owned small uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) at an ARM observatory;
• collection of aerosol or precipitation samples at an ARM observatory;
• use of ARM instrumentation for an offsite campaign*; or
• request for special data products.

NOTE: There will not be an open call for an ARM Mobile Facility deployment in FY2025. A call for campaigns using ARM’s ArcticShark UAS is expected to open in early spring 2025.

(*Regarding the use of ARM instrumentation for an offsite campaign, ARM will only consider deployment of unneeded instrument spares, which are very limited.)

Submit preproposals online through the field campaign preproposal form. Before submitting, please read the ARM Field Campaign Guidelines for an overview of processes and requirements.

In fiscal year 2026, ARM plans to conduct approximately six to eight tethered balloon system (TBS) missions using ARM TBS baseline instruments, with missions taking place over two-week periods. Missions are being planned to take place at ARM’s observatories in Oklahoma, Bankhead, and an upcoming 2026 deployment in Phoenix, Arizona.

The ARM TBS call is now open for fiscal year 2026. ARM is accepting preliminary proposals for TBS missions. The joint TBS call with DOE’s Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) will open in 2025.

For the ARM TBS call, a preproposal is required to facilitate the planning of the peer-review process, ensure alignment of proposals to ARM’s mission and capabilities, and assist users in building strong proposals. Preproposals can be submitted through ARM’s field campaign form.

The due date to submit preproposals for ARM TBS missions is Tuesday, February 4.

The ARM Data Center offers a public software development space that provides a mechanism to work with large volumes of ARM data without having to download them. ARM’s heterogeneous and flexible computing architecture provides resources for data analysis and machine learning.

ARM users may request use of the Cumulus cluster by submitting a high performance computing request (HPCR), a short proposal describing the activities that will make use of the Cumulus cluster. Proposals to use the ARM high performance computing resources should focus on science activities that meet one or more of the following criteria:

• involve large volumes of ARM data, which would be prohibitive to download to other computer systems
• require parallel processing using computationally intensive code applied to ARM data sets
• analyze voluminous outputs of ARM’s LASSO—Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) ARM Symbiotic Simulation and Observation activity.

ARM also offers JupyterHub resources as part of the ARM Data Workbench, a new ecosystem for interacting with ARM data. Currently in development, the workbench will provide a set of tools for users to select data, retrieve measurement values, visualize data, perform data analysis, and even create their own data bundles. Any user with an active ARM account can explore JupyterHub and ARM Data Workbench capabilities by requesting elevated access via email.

As a DOE Office of Science user facility, ARM provides state-of-the-art infrastructure to conduct atmospheric research in strategic locations around the world using fixed, mobile, and aerial facilities. Researchers can use ARM’s facilities and data in several ways:

• Access data gathered during normal operations or field campaigns.
• Make an in-person or virtual visit to a site.
• Propose and conduct a field campaign.

For more information on the Bankhead deployment and the field campaign proposal process, potential principal investigators and co-investigators can watch this recording of ARM’s October 2024 Bankhead National Forest capabilities webinar.

Researchers interested in proposing for either TBS call are invited to view this recording of ARM’s January 2024 TBS webinar. In addition to providing an overview of TBS baseline instrumentation and datastreams, the webinar included a discussion on current ARM TBS proposal calls and operating locations.

Please note that for successful proposals, ARM provides the operational and logistical resources to conduct the proposed campaign/mission; however, ARM does not provide research funding associated with the campaign/mission.