A Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH)
Arctic Atmospheric Observatories
The NOAA Atmospheric Observatory program is establishing long-term,
intensive measurements of clouds, radiation, aerosols, surface energy
fluxes and chemistry in Eureka/Alert Canada and Tiksi, Russia. These
measurements will allow comparison with similar observatory measurements in
Barrow, Alaska. The three sites in combination encompass 3 different major
Arctic climate regimes. The locations and measurement suite has been
carefully designed so that the collected data can be used to determine the
mechanisms that drive climate change through a combination of process
studies, satellite validation and modeling work. It is anticipated that
the Atmospheric Observatory sites will also be the focus of a number of
interdisciplinary measurements of regional hydrology, permafrost,
ecosystems and the cryosphere that will link the atmospheric measurements
into the broader Arctic system. The program is heavily leveraged against
Canadian and Russian programs, and has a vigorous interagency cooperation
with NSF and DOE.
An integral part of this program is the support of international networks for
observing the earth's atmosphere including:
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