ARL Prepares for 2023 AGU Meeting
December 7, 2023
Presentations on arctic amplification of climate change, air quality, and western hydrology during a season of intense atmospheric rivers are just a few of the topics covered by ARL research at the 2023 AGU annual meeting that begins next week. The AGU23 is an influential conference dedicated to the advancement of Earth and space sciences. This year AGU is held in San Francisco, California as well as virtually.
ARL Plays Key Role in U.S. Greenhouse Gas Measurement, Monitoring, and Information System
November 29, 2023
As announced by the White House today, NOAA is a key participant in the development of a national system aiming to monitor greenhouse gas emissions. This system will combine capabilities from NOAA and other federal agencies to better understand the emissions and removals of greenhouse gases (GHGs) from national to regional and urban scales as well as from a range of sources. NOAA’s Air Resources Laboratory’s (ARL) contribution is leading the development of an operational measurement and modeling system that quantifies GHGs emission sources in urban areas.
ARL participates in Key DOE Experiment
October 18, 2023
ARL’s Special Operations and Research Division in Nevada participated in an experiment with NNSA to improve the United States’ ability to detect low-yield nuclear explosions around the world.
AEROMMA – Measuring pollution from megacities to marine areas
This summer, NOAA Air Resources Laboratory (ARL) researchers joined together with experts from numerous other institutions and federal agencies to investigate the causes of poor air quality. Their research campaign will investigate not only anthropogenic, or human caused emissions, but also biological sources of emissions that alter the atmospheric chemistry and composition and impact air quality and climate over North America.
August 2023 Field Notes: U.S. Climate Reference Network Alaskan Site Installations
August 25, 2023 and ongoing updates.
One of ARL’s main programs is to install, maintain and update numerous U.S. Climate Reference Network (USCRN) installations. Most USCRN stations are remote, and that is by design to remove the influence of cities, industry and human activity. Some are deep in wildlife refuges, and traveling to each site annually often presents unexpected challenges.
The USCRN site expansion in Alaska has been planned for some time, but COVID travel restrictions have slowed the rate of installation, which is best done in the summer due to the rugged terrain of Alaska. Even so, conditions are still pretty rugged in August, as you will see.
West Coast Fires Test Air Quality Forecasting Capabilities
August 23, 2023
NOAA’s National Air Quality Forecast Capability (NAQFC) continues to track and forecast air quality impacts of wildfires across the Nation. The 2023 wildfire season in both Canada and the US has brought smoke and other fire emissions to the Pacific Northwest in recent weeks.
The August 20-24 events are useful to evaluate the model performance. This version of NAQFC picks up spatial patterns and transport of high PM2.5 very well in the series of 24-hr forecasts over four days. The data from AirNow ground stations (shown in circles) allows for model developers to assess accuracy of the forecast over time.
For fire and smoke information, AirNow captures real time data with forecasts for general use.
Saharan Dust Storm Moves Across the Atlantic
July 7, 2023
Visualizations from the NOAA-developed Global Ensemble Forecast System – Aerosol (GEFS-Aerosol) demonstrates the size and intensity of a Saharan dust storm as it migrates across the Atlantic. As these dust clouds move towards the US continent, they have the potential to reduce air quality across the southeastern US in the coming days.
Wildfire Smoke Continues Across US
June 29, 2023
NOAA’s National Air Quality Forecast Capability (NAQFC) continues to track and forecast air quality impacts of Canadian wildfires across the US. The 2023 wildfire season for Canada has brought smoke and other fire emissions to the US, covering a large portion of the nation. The Canadian wildfires affected states from Chicago to Maryland.
Canadian Wildfire Smoke Seen Across the US
June 2, 2023
NOAA’s National Air Quality Forecast Capability (NAQFC) performed well in predicting air quality impacts of Canadian wildfires across the US. A busy wildfire season for Canada has brought smoke and other fire emissions to the US, covering a large portion of the nation. The Canadian wildfires affected states along the East coast from Maine to Washington DC, with New Jersey issuing a code orange alert for May 31.
Maryland Day Event Includes Air Resources Car
May 1, 2023
NOAA’s Air Resources Car was on display at the University of Maryland’s annual event on Saturday, April 29, 2023 at the McKeldin Mall during Maryland Day at the University of Maryland College Park. Maryland Day invites local agencies to participate in the outreach opportunity which can attract up to 50,000 visitors, although soggy conditions probably kept that number lower this year.
Rep. Glenn Ivey (D‐MD) Tours ARL and Air Resources Car
April 26, 2023
On April 24, 2023, Congressman Glenn Ivey (D‐MD) from Maryland’s 4th Congressional District made a visit to the NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction (NCWCP) in College Park, MD.
UrbanNet Upgrades and Expands DC area Stations
April 13, 2023
Wind lidar and meteorological tower atop the Dept. of Commerce building. ARL team members recently completed the installation of the two UrbanNet sites, meteorological stations designed for an urban environment, atop the Herbert C. Hoover (HCHB) Department of Commerce building in Washington DC.
How Deadly are Dust Storms?
April 5, 2023
A new research paper from NOAA’s Air Resources Laboratory published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society finds that dust storms – previously assumed to be rather rare and isolated to particular regions – are contributing to a larger number of U.S. traffic fatalities than are recorded. This research also proposes modifications to the current reporting classifications to more accurately capture dust storm impact.
HYSPLIT Prescribed Burn Capability Upgraded
March 24, 2023
The prescribed burn capability employing BlueSky 4 from the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) was upgraded this week to several online HYSPLIT applications. ARL’s HYSPLIT model can be used to estimate the spatial and temporal evolution of smoke (as PM2.5) that originates from a prescribed burn. The location and the area of the burn are the only required inputs.
Game Day Also Calls for Meteorology Skills
February 10, 2023
When Super Bowl LVII kicks off on Sunday, February 12, 2023, a number of emergency management centers around Glendale, Arizona, will support the event with NOAA meteorologists from the Weather Forecasting Office in Phoenix, using tools such as ARL’s HYSPLIT.
ARL Research Presented at 2023 AMS Annual Meeting
December 29, 2022
A number of presentations at the 2023 AMS Annual Meeting will feature NOAA’s Air Resources Lab work on the boundary layer and air quality modeling products. The development and evolution of our NOAA’s air quality forecasting methods and models is discussed at several AMS presentations.
Major HYSPLIT Update Improves the Nation’s Public Safety
December 8, 2022
On December 6, 2022, a major new version of HYSPLIT was fully implemented at NOAA. HYSPLIT is the pre-eminent model, developed and updated by NOAA’s Air Resources Laboratory, for tracking hazardous and toxic emissions from industrial, transportation, and nuclear accidents, smoke from wildfires and prescribed fires, ash from volcanic eruptions and dust from dust storms. Among its new capabilities is an expanded and enhanced capability for volcanic ash modeling.
ARL Prepares for AGU Fall Meeting
December 5, 2022
A number of presentations and invited talks at AGU cover a range of research from NOAA’s Air Resources Lab on the boundary layer. The AGU fall meeting is an influential conference dedicated to the advancement of Earth and space sciences. This year’s AGU is held in Chicago, IL.
Mauna Loa Erupts
November 29, 2022
Mauna Loa, the largest active volcano on Earth, erupted on November 28, 2022. During this active period, NOAA’s National Weather Service and other offices continually monitor a number of conditions in real time. The current volcanic ash status for Mauna Loa, along with other volcanos in North America, is updated four times daily.
Myles Appointed ARL Deputy Director
October 11, 2022
LaToya Myles has been appointed the permanent Deputy Director of NOAA’s Air Resources Laboratory effective September 23, 2022. Dr. Myles is the first woman and the first Black person to hold this position in ARL’s 74-year history.