DOE national user facility in the Tropical Western Pacific.

Conference · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 2004

OSTI ID:977756

Jones, L A ^[1]; Porch, W M ^[2]; Sisterson, Doug L; Mather, J H ^[3]; Long, C N ^[4]

---

1. Larry A.
2. William M.
3. James H.
4. Charles N.

In July 2003, the Department of Energy's Office of Biological and Environmental Research designated the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement sites as National User Facilities and renamed them the ARM Climate Research Facility (ACRF). As a result, the former ARM Cloud and Radiation Test bed (CART) sites are now collectively called Climate Research Sites. Part of the conditions associated with funding for ACRF is that the ARM program must attract new users. Located in Australia, and the island nations of Papua New Guinea and the Republic of Nauru, the three Tropical Western Pacific (TWP) research facilities offer unique scientific opportunities to prospective users. Although the locations of the facilities pose significant logistical challenges, particularly the two island sites, the TWP Office addresses these issues so that prospective users can focus on their research. The TWP Office oversees the operation of these sites by collaborating with the governments of Australia, Papua New Guinea, and the Republic of Nauru. Local observers are trained to effectively operate and maintain the facilities, and the state-side TWP Office offers supporting resources including daily instrument monitoring; equipment shipping, inventory tracking; customs coordination; and a readily deployable technical maintenance team at relatively minimal cost to prospective users. Satellite communications allow continuous, near-real time data from all three stations. The TWP Office also works diligently to maintain good local government and community relations with active outreach programs. This paper presents the TWP research facilities as the valuable resources they are to the scientific community.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos National Laboratory
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE
• OSTI ID: 977756
• Report Number(s): LA-UR-04-4737
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AUSTRALIA
CLIMATES
CLOUDS
DATA TRANSMISSION
LABORATORIES
MONITORING
NAURU
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
US DOE