Research

Since its establishment in 1932, the Observatory has contributed to landmark research efforts in short-wave radio propagation, ice physics, the constitution of clouds, and the composition of the atmosphere. Current research projects address summit weather and climate, regional air quality and global tropospheric chemistry.

Current Projects
Instrument Siting and Operation
Previous Projects

Current Projects

Climatology and Regional Air Quality

The Observatory maintains a continuous record of the weather atop the Northeast's highest peak stretching back to the 1930s. This unique record allows investigation of climate parameters in the Alpine zone of New England through two current projects. In the late 1990s the AIRMAP program established an air quality monitoring site on the summit.

AIRMAP – The primary mission of AIRMAP is to develop a detailed understanding of climate variability and the source of persistent air pollutants in New England. The goal is to identify the causes of climate variability, predict air quality changes as an addition to daily weather forecasts, and to demonstrate new forecasting technologies.
Alpine Zone Climate and Air Quality Impacts – Observatory researchers, in collaboration with the Appalachian Mountain Club and the University of New Hampshire's Climate Change Research Center, are assessing climate and air pollutant trends and their influence on New England's high-elevation alpine ecosystems. Also supported by NOAA's Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, this work builds on the Observatory's summit climate record and new observational systems, the AMC's long-term air quality and alpine ecosystem monitoring, and UNH's advanced pollutant measurement technologies.

Global Tropospheric Chemistry

The Observatory's current research in this area is an outgrowth of studies of the chemistry of the marine atmosphere begun by Chief Scientist Alex Pszenny as a graduate student at the University of Rhode Island's Graduate School of Oceanography in the late 1970s. The importance of the marine atmosphere is illustrated by two simple facts: It covers all of the world's oceans (more than 70% of Earth's total surface) and more than 40% of humans live within 60 miles of a coastline. Thus, chemical processes in the marine atmosphere can affect the chemistry and biology of the ocean as well as directly impact the health and well-being of a large fraction of the human population. The Observatory's current work in this area relates mainly to halogen chemistry and is conducted within the general framework of the Halogens in the Troposphere (HitT) task of the International Global Atmospheric Chemistry Project.

NH Space Grant Consortium Research Internships

Instrument Siting and Operation

Since early in its history the Observatory has operated and maintained equipment for research, testing and environmental monitoring purposes at its facility on the summit and in Bartlett, NH in the Mt. Washington Valley. We also have access to sites elsewhere in the White Mountain region through cooperative agreements with various federal and state agencies and private entities.

Mount Washington Auto Road Vertical Profile (ARVP)

GPS-IPW – A Global Positioning System (GPS) antenna in a fixed position measures the delay in the reception of signals from a network of GPS satellites in orbit. The analysis of the time delay in the reception of the signals from space can determine the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere.

Instrumentation

Previous Projects

Cosmo – A long-term neutron measurement project, under the tutelage of the late Dr. Jack Lockwood and Dr. Jim Ryan of UNH's Physics Department, Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space. This was the longest running research project at the observatory, having run from 1955-2006.

Groundwinds – This wind measurement system measured winds from the ground up to 40,000 feet by using a laser beam and some very sophisticated optical techniques.

New England Air Quality Study (NEAQS) 2002 – The primary goal of the New England Air Quality Study is an improved understanding of the atmospheric processes that control the production and distribution of air pollutants in the New England region.

Polarstern Cruise – During the months of October and November 2003 the Observatory's Chief Scientist Alex Pszenny and former Staff Scientist Andy Wall participated in a research cruise aboard the German vessel Polarstern. Read the expedition with daily journal updates, photos from onboard, and information from the ship's meteorological service.

Snow Gauge Project – During the winter of 2000 two electronic devices that measure "liquid equivalent precipitation rate" were tested on the summit. The testing was one element of the FAA's Aviation Weather Research Program (AWRP); to increase the scientific understanding of atmospheric processes that cause the development of hazardous weather, which in turn, impacts aviation.

Sonic Anemometer – A new style of anemometer based on using sonics (sound waves) is being tested and evaluated on the summit for measuring wind speeds under adverse conditions.

Visibility Meter – An instrument on the summit currently being evaluated for ASOS (Auto Surface Obs System) that can determine visibility.

Mount Washington Icing Sensor Project (MWISP) – An April 1999 research project that evaluated remote sensing technologies for sensing icing conditions ahead of aircraft for avoidance and escape.