ARMTRAJ: a set of multipurpose trajectory datasets augmenting the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility measurements

<p>Ground-based instruments offer unique capabilities such as detailed atmospheric, thermodynamic, cloud, and aerosol profiling at a high temporal sampling rate. The U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility provides comprehensive datasets from key locatio...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: I. Silber, J. M. Comstock, M. R. Kieburtz, L. M. Russell
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Copernicus Publications 2025-01-01
Series:Earth System Science Data
Online Access:https://essd.copernicus.org/articles/17/29/2025/essd-17-29-2025.pdf
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Summary:<p>Ground-based instruments offer unique capabilities such as detailed atmospheric, thermodynamic, cloud, and aerosol profiling at a high temporal sampling rate. The U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility provides comprehensive datasets from key locations around the globe, facilitating long-term characterization and process-level understanding of clouds, aerosol, and aerosol–cloud interactions. However, as with other ground-based datasets, the fixed (Eulerian) nature of these measurements often introduces a knowledge gap in relating those observations with air-mass hysteresis. Here, we describe ARMTRAJ (<span class="uri">https://doi.org/10.5439/2309851</span>, Silber, 2024a; <span class="uri">https://doi.org/10.5439/2309849</span>, Silber, 2024b; <span class="uri">https://doi.org/10.5439/2309850</span>, Silber, 2024c; <span class="uri">https://doi.org/10.5439/2309848</span>, Silber, 2024d), a set of multipurpose trajectory datasets that helps close this gap in ARM deployments. Each dataset targets a different aspect of atmospheric research, including the analysis of surface, planetary boundary layer, distinct liquid-bearing cloud layers, and (primary) cloud decks. Trajectories are calculated using the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model informed by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts ERA5 reanalysis dataset at its highest spatial resolution (0.25°) and are initialized using ARM datasets. The trajectory datasets include information about air-mass coordinates and state variables extracted from ERA5 before and after the ARM site overpass. Ensemble runs generated for each model initialization enhance trajectory consistency, while ensemble variability serves as a valuable uncertainty metric for those reported air-mass coordinates and state variables. Following the description of dataset processing and structure, we demonstrate applications of ARMTRAJ to a case study and a few bulk analyses of observations collected during ARM's Eastern Pacific Cloud Aerosol Precipitation Experiment (EPCAPE) field deployment. ARMTRAJ will soon become a near real-time product accompanying new ARM deployments and an augmenting product to ongoing and previous deployments, promoting reaching science goals of research relying on ARM observations.</p>
ISSN:1866-3508
1866-3516