Bankhead National Forest Observatory
We play an active role in the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility atmospheric observatory in the William Bankhead National Forest in northwestern Alabama. Measurements commenced on October 1, 2024 and will continue for at least five years. The observatory will employ the third ARM Mobile Facility, AMF3, to make measurements that will provide data for scientists to investigate the complex interactions among clouds, aerosols, and vegetation. By exploring critical feedback between these areas, the observatory will contribute valuable insights into cloud-aerosol-surface interactions and will help scientists make more accurate predictions about 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. The data collected will also advance weather and climate models for a more comprehensive understanding of Earth's atmospheric dynamics.
Watch this video from ARM to learn more about the new BNF sites and what they will measure.
Left: Scott Giangrande, a topical lead on the site science team for ARM's Southeastern U.S. deployment, observes an area near Alabama's Bankhead National Forest for potential ARM radar siting during a November 2021 site visit. (Photo courtesy of Chongai Kuang, Brookhaven National Laboratory) Right: This site at Courtland, Alabama, is one of three supplemental sites that will provide regional context for the measurements coming from the main site. (Photo by David Swank, ARM).
Images courtesy of the U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility.
