| Summary: | Atmospheric aerosols are the subject of a significant component of research within DOE`s environmental research activities, mainly under two programs within the Department`s Environmental Sciences Division, the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program and the Atmospheric Chemistry Program (ACP). Research activities conducted under these programs include laboratory experiments, field measurements, and theoretical and modeling studies. The objectives and scope of these programs are briefly summarized. The ARM Program is the Department`s major research activity focusing on atmospheric processes pertinent to understanding global climate and developing the capability of predicting global climate change in response to energy related activities. The ARM approach consists mainly of testing and improving models using long-term measurements of atmospheric radiation and controlling variables at highly instrumented sites in north central Oklahoma, in the Tropical Western Pacific, and on the North Slope of Alaska. Atmospheric chemistry research within DOE addresses primarily the issue of atmospheric response to emissions from energy-generation sources. As such this program deals with the broad topic known commonly as the atmospheric source-receptor sequence. This sequence consists of all aspects of energy-related pollutants from the time they are emitted from their sources to the time they are redeposited at the Earth`s surface.
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