ARMTRAJ: A Set of Multi-Purpose Trajectory Datasets Augmenting the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) User Facility Measurements

Abstract

Abstract. Ground-based instruments offer unique capabilities such as detailed atmospheric thermodynamic, cloud, and aerosol profiling at a high temporal sampling rate. The U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility provides comprehensive datasets from key locations around the globe, facilitating long-term characterization and process-level understanding of clouds, aerosol, and aerosol-cloud interactions. However, as with other ground-based datasets, the fixed (Eulerian) nature of these measurements often introduces a knowledge gap in relating those observations with airmass hysteresis. Here, we describe ARMTRAJ, a set of multi-purpose trajectory datasets that helps close this gap in ARM deployments. Each dataset targets a different aspect of atmospheric research, including the analysis of surface, planetary boundary layer, distinct liquid-bearing cloud layers, and (primary) cloud decks. Trajectories are calculated using the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model informed by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts ERA5 reanalysis dataset at its highest spatial resolution (0.25 degrees) and are initialized using ARM datasets. The trajectory datasets include information about airmass coordinates and state variables extracted from ERA5 before and after the ARM site overpass. Ensemble runs generated for each model initialization enhance trajectory consistency, while ensemble variability serves as a valuable uncertainty metric for those reported airmass coordinates and state variables. Following the description of dataset processing and structure, we demonstrate applications of ARMTRAJ to a case study and a few bulk analyses of observations collected during ARM’s Eastern Pacific Cloud Aerosol Precipitation Experiment (EPCAPE) field deployment. ARMTRAJ is expected to become a near real-time product accompanying new ARM deployments and an augmenting product to ongoing and previous deployments, promoting reaching science goals of research relying on ARM observations.