ATD MISSION AND GOALS

     The main mission of the Atmospheric Technology Division (ATD) is to support atmospheric sciences field research through the development and field operation of state-of-the-art airborne and ground-based measurement systems; through the development of associated data processing, display and analysis software; and through assisting users with hardware development, data archival and interpretation. All ATD systems are capable of deployment to locations worldwide in support of national and international weather and climate field research programs. To maintain ATD's leadership role, ATD's scientific and engineering staff engage in research and development activities that are closely related to ATD's mission.

    ATD manages the following systems:

    Innsbruck airport under dense, early morning cloud coverage

    • a Lockheed Electra
    • a Lockheed C-130
    • four fixed GPS/LORAN Atmospheric Sounding Systems (GLASS) and one mobile GLASS
    • four Integrated Sounding Systems (ISS)
    • six Integrated Surface Flux Facilities (ISFF)
    • two four-channel GPS Dropsonde systems
    • the Electra Doppler Radar (ELDORA)
    • the portable, ground-based S-band Doppler Polarization Radar (S-Pol)
    • and the Scanning Aerosol Backscatter Lidar (SABL)

    These systems are maintained and operated by ATD's three operational facilities: the Research Aviation Facility (RAF), the Surface and Sounding Systems Facility (SSSF) and the Remote Sensing Facility (RSF). ATD's two other programs, the Research Data Program (RDP) and the Design and Fabrication Services (DFS) group, provide data services to the user community and mechanical design and machine shop services respectively.

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