Atmospheric observatory opens for operation in Bankhead National Forest

With help from scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories, the DOE’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility has established a cutting-edge atmospheric observatory in Alabama’s William Bankhead National Forest. The Bankhead National Forest (BNF) observatory officially opened for operation on Oct. 1.

For at least five years, the observatory will provide data for scientists to investigate the complex interactions among clouds, vegetation and aerosols suspended in the atmosphere. By exploring critical feedback between these areas, the observatory will contribute valuable insights into aerosol-cloud interactions. The data collected will also advance weather and climate models for a more comprehensive understanding of Earth’s atmospheric dynamics.

Overall, data gained from the BNF observatory will help scientists understand and improve numerical model simulations of the impacts of climate change on local weather patterns in the Southeastern United States and gain a better understanding of how forests influence both weather and climate.

“Our goal in selecting this site and the configuration of instruments is to enable studies from the canopy to the clouds,” said Chongai Kuang, an atmospheric scientist from DOE’s Brookhaven National Laboratory who led the development of the science plan for the BNF. ​“We’ll be breaking new ground for interactive land-atmosphere studies by introducing state-of-the-art tower facilities, campaign-driven aerial assets, targeted intensive operational periods and surface-distributed sites within the forested environment and over the larger domain around BNF.”

ARM is a multi-laboratory user facility sponsored by DOE’s Office of Science. It provides continuous field measurements of atmospheric data from around the world, serving as a key contributor to national and international climate research efforts.

Data are collected from three stationary atmospheric observatories in Oklahoma, Alaska and the Azores; these observatories sample from a broad range of global climate conditions. ARM also has mobile and aerial facilities.

Bankhead is a long-term mobile observatory that was relocated from Oliktok Point, Alaska, where it operated from 2013 until 2021. DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory manages the observatories in Alabama and Oklahoma.

Teams from Brookhaven and Argonne national laboratories collaborated with other DOE labs and federal, state and local agencies and organizations — right down to individual Alabama landowners. With support from ARM and DOE’s Atmospheric System Research (ASR) program, Kuang’s team developed the BNF science plan, collaborating with many others to identify the study sites and work out the logistics of getting the equipment in place. Argonne led logistics of site preparation, construction and equipment delivery and placement. Argonne also manages the day-to-day operations, instrument maintenance and hosts visitors at the research sites through a contract with IntegriWard, LLC.

“The complexities of the atmospheric system cannot be understood through isolated research efforts. Collaboration is critical, and we’re grateful to our partners for their support in establishing this state-of-the-art research facility,” said Argonne’s Nicki Hickmon, ARM associate director for operations.

The main observatory site includes a building with equipment for managing communications and data. An adjacent clearing the size of a football field is filled with instruments for monitoring clouds, precipitation, solar energy (sunlight and heat) and other atmospheric conditions. And just over half a mile (1 kilometer) away a 140-foot (43-meter) walk-up tower outfitted with instruments for measuring detailed characteristics of the forest plants and soil is scheduled for installation in November.

The additional instruments on the tower measure trace gases, pollen and other aerosols released by plants throughout the vertical profile of the forest. Smaller towers installed closer to the forest floor measure many of these same variables at ground level, along with temperature, humidity and soil properties.

Supplemental sites positioned at three locations about 30 miles (50 kilometers) from one another form a triangle around the main data collection area. Two additional sites beginning construction now will host radars: a Ka/X-band scanning cloud radar and a C-band scanning precipitation radar.

“It’s exciting to see the observatory come to life, and we look forward to the insights our data will provide into aerosol-cloud interactions and local weather patterns in the Southeastern U.S. region,” said Argonne’s Mike Ritsche, site manager for ARM’s Bankhead and Southern Great Plains observatories.

As part of the ARM user facility, the BNF is open for use by the broader research community. Through approved ARM field campaign proposals, collaborating scientists from agencies and universities will bring their own instruments to contribute to the data collection effort and conduct their own research. All the data will be available to the international research community in near-real time at no cost through the ARM Data Center.

For scientists eager to start fieldwork, ARM expects to be able to accommodate guest instrumentation in November at the earliest.

Researchers are already lining up to use the observatory, and ASR has funded an initial set of research projects. Kuang will lead a team using BNF data, including measurements collected on ARM tethered balloon system flights, to understand how land-atmosphere interactions control particles in the air. Also, DOE’s Early Career Research Program will support a trio of university and national lab scientists planning to work on five-year projects using BNF data.

ARM is a DOE Office of Science scientific user facility operated by nine DOE national laboratories, including Argonne.

Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology by conducting leading-edge basic and applied research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit https://​ener​gy​.gov/​s​c​ience.