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Climate & Atmosphere Processes

Biosphere-Atmosphere Interactions

Atmospheric System Research

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Highlights
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lightening strike in Great Plains Oklahoma
A lightning strike captured by one of the LBNL stereo cameras at the ARM Southern Great Plains site in Oklahoma. (Photo Credit: David Romps, Berkeley Lab.)

The Earth and Environmental Sciences Area's, Atmospheric System Research Program advances fundamental understanding of atmospheric radiation, clouds, and precipitation, and their interactions with Earth's surface and climate.

Highlights

Project

Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Carbon Project (ARM Carbon)

In ARM's Carbon Project, we aim to improve our ability to predict exchanges of carbon, water, and energy at the landscape scale. As we develop these models, we can better understand how the fluxes of carbon, water and energy link to land use and climate. The mixture of land uses and simple topography in the Southern Great Plains make this an ideal region to test methods of scaling flux predictions from plot to regional scales. There, we are measuring stocks and fluxes of carbon, water, and energy at various spatial and temporal scales.

Land Atmosphere-Interactions schematic
Project

Land-Atmosphere Interactions and Surface Radiative Forcing (ASR)

This project advances understanding and prediction of land-atmosphere interactions and greenhouse gas radiative forcing at Earth’s surface. We use observations to model the processes linking Earth's carbon, water, and energy cycles—from soil moisture and vegetation to clouds, radiation, and precipitation. We also observe the direct radiative effects of CO2 and CH4 on climate, using ARM spectroscopic measurements. Our research is yielding new insights into processes governing the water cycle over land, and is enabling rigorous testing of radiative transfer in climate models.

Stereo Photogrammetry of clouds
Project

Stereo Photogrammetry of Clouds at the ARM sites

This project characterizes the life-cycle dynamics of moist convection using stereo photogrammetry in combination with other instruments at Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) sites, and using large-eddy simulations to help interpret those observations. Stereo cameras are used to characterize the sizes, speeds, circulations, and ascent distances of individual convective bubbles through their life cycle. These data on cloud life cycles are difficult, if not impossible, to obtain with other ARM instruments.

Program Overview

The Earth and Environmental Sciences Area’s, Atmospheric System Research Program advances fundamental understanding of atmospheric radiation, clouds, and precipitation, and their interactions with Earth’s surface and climate. Researchers in this program develop process-scale knowledge for predictive models of the coupled Earth system.

Featured Projects

Project

Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Carbon Project (ARM Carbon)

In ARM's Carbon Project, we aim to improve our ability to predict exchanges of carbon, water, and energy at the landscape scale. As we develop these models, we can better understand how the fluxes of carbon, water and energy link to land use and climate. The mixture of land uses and simple topography in the Southern Great Plains make this an ideal region to test methods of scaling flux predictions from plot to regional scales. There, we are measuring stocks and fluxes of carbon, water, and energy at various spatial and temporal scales.

Land Atmosphere-Interactions schematic
Project

Land-Atmosphere Interactions and Surface Radiative Forcing (ASR)

This project advances understanding and prediction of land-atmosphere interactions and greenhouse gas radiative forcing at Earth’s surface. We use observations to model the processes linking Earth's carbon, water, and energy cycles—from soil moisture and vegetation to clouds, radiation, and precipitation. We also observe the direct radiative effects of CO2 and CH4 on climate, using ARM spectroscopic measurements. Our research is yielding new insights into processes governing the water cycle over land, and is enabling rigorous testing of radiative transfer in climate models.

Stereo Photogrammetry of clouds
Project

Stereo Photogrammetry of Clouds at the ARM sites

This project characterizes the life-cycle dynamics of moist convection using stereo photogrammetry in combination with other instruments at Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) sites, and using large-eddy simulations to help interpret those observations. Stereo cameras are used to characterize the sizes, speeds, circulations, and ascent distances of individual convective bubbles through their life cycle. These data on cloud life cycles are difficult, if not impossible, to obtain with other ARM instruments.

Andrew Moyes

Senior Scientific Engineering Associate

Phone: 510-486-6246
abmoyes@lbl.gov

Cristina Castanha

Principal Research Associate

Phone: 510-486-7500
ccastanha@lbl.gov

Da Yang

Faculty Scientist

Phone: 510-486-5618
dayang@lbl.gov

Daniel Feldman

Staff Scientist

Phone: 510-495-2171
Fax: 510-486-7775
drfeldman@lbl.gov

David Romps

Faculty Scientist

Phone: 510-486-7175
Fax: 510-486-5686
dromps@lbl.gov

Ian N. Williams

Faculty

Affiliate

Phone: 510-495-8048
inwilliams@lbl.gov

Jovan Milan Tadic

Guest Scientist

Affiliate

Phone: 510-486-4865
jtadic@lbl.gov

Ken Reichl

Senior Scientific Engineering Associate

Phone: 805-813-1488
kreichl@lbl.gov

Lara Kueppers

Faculty Scientist

Phone: 510-486-5813
Fax: 510-486-5686
lmkueppers@lbl.gov

Margaret Torn

Margaret S. Torn

Ecologist & Biogeochemist

Senior Scientist

Phone: 510-495-2223
Fax: 510-486-7775
mstorn@lbl.gov

Sebastien Biraud - portrait

Sébastien Biraud

Staff Scientist

Climate Sciences Department Head

Phone: 510-486-6084
scbiraud@lbl.gov

Wai-Yin Stephen Chan

Senior Scientific Engineering Associate

Phone: 510-486-4194
swchan@lbl.gov

William J. Riley

Director (Acting), Climate & Ecosystem Sciences Division;

Senior Scientist

Phone: 510-486-5036
Fax: 510-486-7070
wjriley@lbl.gov

Primary Sponsors

Program Contacts

Margaret Torn

Margaret S. Torn
Senior Scientist

Christin Buechner
Program Manager

News & Events

New Look at Climate Data Shows Substantially Wetter Rain and Snow Days Ahead

April 24, 2023

Research shows that by the end of the century the biggest rain and snow days will be 20 to 30% wetter than they are today

EESA Scientists Investigate How Tropical Soil Microbes Might Respond to Future Droughts

March 14, 2023

As the most biologically diverse terrestrial ecosystems on Earth, tropical rainforests are just as critical to sustaining environmental and human systems as they are beautiful. Their unique climate with high temperatures, humidity, and precipitation promotes high primary productivity, which offsets high respiration, resulting in these ecosystems being one of the largest carbon sinks on Earth,…

Doubling Protected Lands for Biodiversity Could Require Tradeoffs With Other Land Uses, Study Finds

March 3, 2023

This article first appeared on lbl.gov. Scientists show how 30% protected land targets may not safeguard biodiversity hotspots and may negatively affect other sectors – and how data and analysis can support effective conservation and land use planning Although more than half the world’s countries have committed to protecting at least 30% of land and oceans…

A Q&A With Rachel Ward

February 13, 2023

After witnessing tropical deforestation in Honduras and collaborating with farmers impacted by the degradation in these forests, Ph.D. candidate Rachel Ward knew what she wanted to study next–tropical forest regeneration. Ward’s passion to study the impact of tropical forests on both communities and the global carbon cycle led her to pursuing a Ph.D. with the…

A Q&A With Jessica Needham

After being immersed in the Bornean rainforest and surrounded by Dipterocarp trees–large tropical trees with winged seeds–during a field trip in Borneo, Research Scientist Jessica Needham’s life was changed. Since then, her passion to study forests has only grown stronger–and has even led her to modeling tree growth patterns all over the world.  Question: What…

A Q&A With Barbara Bomfim

Growing up in Brasilia, Postdoctoral Research Fellow Barbara Bomfim experienced the transformation of the savannas and rainforests that surrounded her. Now studying wind disturbance and nutrient cycling on the NGEE-Tropics project, Bomfim is passionate about tropical forest response to disturbances in the hopes of advancing science necessary for well-informed and effective forest management.  Question: What…

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