Search for: All records

Storm Peak Laboratory, located on the Steamboat Springs Ski Resort in Colorado on the west summit of Mount Werner at 10 532 ft (3220 m) MSL, is an internationally recognized high-elevation atmospheric research station that has been in use for over 40 years. This article provides a brief history of the Storm Peak Laboratory and the major research themes it has supported and discusses opportunities to leverage mountain observatory measurements to advance our understanding of the atmospheric processes. This facility provides long-term measurements of meteorology, clouds, aerosols, snow hydrology, and atmospheric gases, and it serves as a “proving ground” for instrument development and testing. Storm Peak Laboratory is part of multiple national and international observational networks. Due to the unique capabilities of Storm Peak Laboratory, there is a long history of targeted field campaigns primarily within the following research areas: mixed-phase cloud microphysics; atmospheric chemistry pertaining to the formation, characterization, and hygroscopicity of aerosols; and the transport and transformation of atmospheric mercury. Research training has been central to the mission of Storm Peak Laboratory (SPL) over the last 40 years. Currently, SPL hosts both undergraduate- and graduate-level courses in atmospheric science and snow hydrology organized by numerous institutions. Examples of these unique research training opportunities are provided. 

Abstract. New particle formation (NPF) events are defined as asudden burst of aerosols followed by growth and can impact climate bygrowing to larger sizes and under proper conditions, potentially formingcloud condensation nuclei (CCN). Field measurements relating NPF and CCN arecrucial in expanding regional understanding of how aerosols impactclimate. To quantify the possible impact of NPF on CCN formation, it isimportant to not only maintain consistency when classifying NPF events butalso consider the proper timeframe for particle growth to CCN-relevantsizes. Here, we analyze 15 years of direct measurements of both aerosol sizedistributions and CCN concentrations and combine them with novel methods toquantify the impact of NPF on CCN formation at Storm Peak Laboratory (SPL),a remote, mountaintop observatory in Colorado. Using the new automaticmethod to classify NPF, we find that NPF occurs on 50 % of all daysconsidered in the study from 2006 to 2021, demonstrating consistency withprevious work at SPL. NPF significantly enhances CCN during the winter by afactor of 1.36 and during the spring by a factor of 1.54, which, when combined withprevious work at SPL, suggests the enhancement of CCN by NPF occurs on aregional scale. We confirm that events with persistent growth are common inthe spring and winter, while burst events are more common in the summer andfall. A visual validation of the automatic method was performed in thestudy. For the first time, results clearly demonstrate the significantimpact of NPF on CCN in montane North American regions and the potential forwidespread impact of NPF on CCN. 

Abstract. A new inlet for studying the aerosol particles andhydrometeor residuals that compose mixed-phase clouds – the phaSeseParation Inlet for Droplets icE residuals and inteRstitial aerosolparticles (SPIDER) – is described here. SPIDER combines a large pumpedcounterflow virtual impactor (L-PCVI), a flow tube evaporation chamber, anda pumped counterflow virtual impactor (PCVI) to separate droplets, icecrystals (∼3–25 µm), and interstitial aerosolparticles for simultaneous sampling. Laboratory verification tests of eachindividual component and the composite SPIDER system were conducted.Transmission efficiency, evaporation, and ice crystals' survival weredetermined to show the capability of the system. The experiments show theSPIDER system can separate distinct cloud elements and interstitial aerosolparticles for subsequent analysis. As a field instrument, SPIDER will helpexplore the properties of different cloud elements and interstitial aerosolparticles in mixed-phase clouds.