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Jason Tomlinson, PhD
Director of engineering, Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Aerial Facility
Jason Tomlinson, PhD
Director of engineering, Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Aerial Facility
Biography
To understand the repercussions of energy use that emits greenhouse gases, the U.S. Department of Energy maintains a research program to study the atmosphere. But taking samples of clouds is not something easily done from the ground. DOE's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Aerial Facility operates aircraft that can be outfitted with specialized instruments for aerial sampling. In 2018, ARM has retired its G-1 airplane. Atmospheric scientist Jason Tomlinson is in charge of getting the next one—a Bombardier Challenger 850—ready for service.
"This aircraft is going to give us more space. We'll have easier access to instrumentation when we have to work in the field. It's going to hold more instruments, and it can fly at a higher altitude than the G-1," Tomlinson said. "Atmospheric scientists really need to study cirrus clouds, which have a big impact on the environment and tend to warm the atmosphere, and they are typically found about 30,000 feet or higher."
Tomlinson has joined many ARM campaigns, from Argentina to the Arctic. In the Amazon, they sampled the sky over the city and the jungle. They found that urban pollution changes the properties of the clouds, making cloud droplets smaller, which ultimately reduced the amount of rainfall. Tomlinson foresees advances in technology to help researchers address problems such as biological impacts on clouds, and the push to miniaturize instruments will make unmanned vehicles more useful. "Unmanned platforms can fly longer and more precise profiles. And they don't tire or wear out," he said, "which is perfect for really dull missions, like routine sampling."
ARM honored Tomlinson with a service award for his leadership on the new ARM aircraft. He is a former chairperson and current member of the National Science Foundation's Interagency Coordinating Committee for Airborne Geosciences Research and Applications and is on the editorial board of the journal Atmosphere. In addition to the mentoring Tomlinson provides in his role as engineering director, he also spends time training future scientists.