GMD Projects

    Observatory Operations

    • Observatory Operations
      NOAA/ESRL/GMD operates 5 staffed atmospheric baseline observatories at Barrow, Alaska; Trinidad Head, California; Mauna Loa, Hawaii; Samoa; and the South Pole from which numerous in situ and remote atmospheric and solar measurements are conducted.

    Carbon Cycle Greenhouse Gases

    Halocarbons

    • Airborne
      Measurments of important trace gases in the upper troposphere and stratosphere on aircraft and balloons, and Unpiloted Airborne Vehicles (UAVs).
    • Flasks
      Weekly to monthly flasks samples collected worldwide, used to determine trends, distributions and budgets of trace gases and OH.
    • Instrumentation
      Custom state-of-the-air instrumentation for measuring greenhouse gases, halocarbons, substitute halocarbons, and hydrocarbons.
    • In Situ Sustainable Measurements
      In situ observations at NOAA/ESRL baseline observatories, WMO GAW stations, and tower sites provide information on transport, emissions, and trends.
    • Ocean
      The oceans play an important role as sources and sinks for atmospheric trace species. The determination of fluxes between the surface seawater and the marine air require knowledge of the saturation anomaly with air and the gas exchange rate.
    • Standards
      Research is conducted for developing and maintaining standard gas mixtures of atmospheric gases to calibrate instrumentation.

    Ozone and Water Vapor

    • Aircraft Measurements
      Aircraft based in-situ Tropospheric ozone measurements provide data relevant to: pollution events, lower atmosphere mixing dynamics, boundary layer stability, ozone trend studies, and the validity of other samples collected in-flight.
    • Ozonesondes
      Ozone profiles are obtained routinely at eight sites using balloon-borne, electrochemical (ECC) ozonesondes. The profiles provide ozone, temperature, and humidity information from the surface to approximately 32 km.
    • Stratospheric Aerosols
      LIDARS at Mauna Loa and Boulder measure profiles of particles in the troposphere and stratosphere.
    • Surface Ozone
      Near ground level ozone is currently monitored using ultraviolet absorption photometers at eight sites that are generally representative of background conditions.
    • Total Ozone
      Column measurements of ozone are made at locations that are part of a global network for detecting and understanding atmospheric ozone change.
    • Water Vapor
      Balloon-borne, chilled mirror hygrometers are flown monthly at Boulder, Colorado and as part of campaigns at other locations to obtain water vapor profiles in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (to ~28 km).

    Aerosols

    • Research
      GMD's measurements of aerosol optical properties provide information about the trends and factors that influence the climate forcing effect of aerosol particles.
    • Instruments and Measurements
      In situ measurements of aerosol optical properties such as light absorption, total scattering and backscattering enables calculation of direct aerosol climate forcing.

    GMD Radiation (G-Rad)

    Modeling