__NOTOC__ The Air Resources Laboratory (ARL) is an

air quality Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different types ...

and

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologi ...

laboratory in the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) which is an operating unit within the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...

(NOAA) in the United States. It is one of seven NOAA Research Laboratories (RLs). In October 2005, the Surface Radiation Research Branch of the ARL was merged with five other NOAA labs to form the

Earth System Research Laboratory The Earth System Research Laboratories (ESRL) is an alliance of four NOAA scientific labs, all located in the David Skaggs Research Center on the Department of Commerce campus in Boulder, Colorado. Organized under NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and ...

. The ARL studies processes and develops models relating to climate and air quality, including the transport,

dispersion Dispersion may refer to: Economics and finance * Dispersion (finance), a measure for the statistical distribution of portfolio returns * Price dispersion, a variation in prices across sellers of the same item *Wage dispersion, the amount of variat ...

, transformation and removal of pollutants from the ambient atmosphere. The emphasis of the ARL's work is on data interpretation, technology development and transfer. The specific goal of ARL research is to improve and eventually to institutionalize prediction of trends, dispersion of air pollutant plumes, air quality, atmospheric deposition, and related variables. ARL provides scientific and technical advice to elements of NOAA and other Government agencies on atmospheric science, environmental problems, emergency assistance (

Homeland Security Homeland security is an American national security term for "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive" t ...

), and

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

. ARL's stated goal is to improve the Nation's ability to protect human and

ecosystem health Ecosystem health is a metaphor used to describe the condition of an ecosystem.Rapport, David (1998). "Defining ecosystem health." Pages 18-33 in Rapport, D.J. (ed.) (1998). ''Ecosystem Health.'' Blackwell Scientific. Ecosystem condition can vary ...

while also maintaining a vibrant economy.

Organization

ARL's headquarters is located in College Park, Maryland (formerly in Silver Spring, Maryland) and the current Acting Director is Dr. Ariel Stein. The headquarters group develops products to augment the operational product suites of the NOAA service-oriented line offices (particularly the National Weather Service). This includes the research and development of improved dispersion models for emergency response and air quality forecast models. The headquarters group also improves the understanding of climate variability and trends, the exchange of pollutants between the air and land, and the sources of mercury that influence sensitive ecosystems. As depicted in the adjacent organization diagram, the ARL operates with four research divisions in

Idaho Falls, Idaho Idaho Falls (Shoshoni: Dembimbosaage) is a city in and the county seat of Bonneville County, Idaho, United States. It is the state's largest city outside the Boise metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of Idaho Falls was 64,8 ...

; North Las Vegas, Nevada; Oak Ridge, Tennessee; and

Research Triangle Park, North Carolina Research Triangle Park (RTP) is the largest research park in the United States, occupying in North Carolina and hosting more than 300 companies and 65,000 workers. The facility is named for its location relative to the three surrounding cities ...

: * The Atmospheric Turbulence & Diffusion Division (ATDD) is located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. ATDD concentrates on air quality and climate-related research directed toward issues of national and global importance. In their air quality research, ATDD develops better methods for predicting transport, dispersion, and air-surface exchange of air pollutants; applies these methods to increasingly realistic situations including nighttime cases, complex terrain, and non-uniform surfaces; and tests these methods against data to determine the confidence limits and uncertainties which apply. ATDD's climate-related research includes reference-grade measurement of climate change and related physical and chemical processes. * The Field Research Division (FRD) is located in Idaho Falls, Idaho. FRD conducts experiments to better understand atmospheric transport and dispersion, improves both the theory and models of air-surface exchange processes, and develops new technologies and instrumentation to carry out its mission. In a cooperative agreement with the Department of Energy, the Division supports the Idaho National Laboratory with meteorological forecasts and emergency response capabilities. * The Special Operations & Research Division (SORD) is located in Las Vegas, Nevada. SORD conducts basic and applied research in atmospheric dispersion, particle re-suspension, particle deposition, and the effects of airborne particles on atmospheric opacity. The Division supports issues of mutual interest to NOAA and the Department of Energy that relate to the Nevada Test Site, its atmospheric environment, and its emergency preparedness and emergency response activities. * The Atmospheric Sciences Modeling Division (ASMD) develops and evaluates predictive atmospheric models on all spatial and temporal scales for forecasting air quality and for assessing changes in air quality and air pollutant exposures. It was established in 1955 to collaborate with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its predecessor agencies in developing advanced air quality models. The ASMD is currently located in College Park, Maryland (formerly in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina).

References

External links

* '
Air Resources Laboratory
''

{{Authority control Air pollution organizations Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research Environmental organizations based in Maryland Air pollution in the United States

Organization

See also

References

Further reading

External links