Measurements at the Mauna Loa Observatory stopped after the 2022 eruption of the Mauna Loa volcano, when lava flow crossed the access road and took out power lines to the facility. The observatory remains inaccessible by vehicle and without power from the local utility company.
Observatory staff has established limited solar power in four observatory buildings and restored approximately 33 percent of the measurements onsite, including the Global Monitoring Laboratory and Scripps critical CO2 records and other atmospheric measurements.
Media can contact: Theo Stein (303) 819-7409 (theo.stein@noaa.gov) or Karin Vergoth 303-632-6413 (karin.vergoth@noaa.gov)
Meteorological Research
Institute (MRI)
The solar direct irradiance , sky brightness (relative value), and optical thickness.
We estimate the amount of aerosol in the atmosphere from the attenuation of the solar direct irradiance and sky brightness.
We would like to know the aerosol amount in the atmosphere (aerosols are small particles in the air).
We don’t check trends of our data.
Aerosols in the atmosphere directly and indirectly change the earth's radiation budget. Therefore, they change climate.
We have a network to measure aerosol amount in the area of Japan and China. We must regularly calibrate the instruments to measure the solar radiation. The MLO is one of the best place to get the data for the calibration in the world.
Akihiro Uchiyama
+81-29-853-8605
Dr. John E Barnes
808-933-6965
http://www.aeoliandust.com/users/uchiyama/index-e.html
http://www.mri-jma.jp/Dep/cl/cl3.html
1994
see inset photos