In fiscal year 2021, the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility added a seventh channel to its multifilter rotating shadowband radiometers, multifilter radiometers, and normal incidence multifilter radiometers. To support the addition of the 1625 nm channel, ARM recently updated the Surface Spectral Albedo value-added product (SURFSPECALB VAP) for its North Slope of Alaska (NSA) and Southern Great Plains (SGP) atmospheric observatories.
SURFSPECALB produces a near-continuous best estimate of spectral albedo using measurements from surface- and tower-based multifilter spectral shortwave radiometers. The new 7-channel product includes narrowband irradiance albedo measurements for the 1625 nm channel.
The SURFSPECALB algorithm previously required broadband irradiance to estimate albedo values during periods when measurements were unavailable. As part of the upgrade to add the 1625 nm channel, ARM removed the broadband channel from the multifilter spectral shortwave radiometers. As a result, the 7-channel product does not include any broadband irradiance values or make albedo estimates for missing or bad data.
NSA 7-channel data are available from June 23, 2021, through August 16, 2023. SGP 7-channel data are available from January 13, 2021, through July 31, 2023.
Also, additional data from the original 6-channel SURFSPECALB product are now available for the SGP from August 5, 2020, through January 3, 2021. This is expected to be the final release of new data from the 6-channel product.
More information about SURFSPECALB can be found on the VAP web page.
Scientists can use the new data now. Access the data in the ARM Data Center. (To download the data, first create an ARM account.)
Please send questions or feedback on the data to ARM translator Damao Zhang.
To cite the 7-channel product, please use doi:10.5439/1959212. The 6-channel product can be referenced as doi:10.5439/1095394.
# # #ARM is a DOE Office of Science user facility operated by nine DOE national laboratories.