University Corporation for Atmospheric Research Campuses

The Center Green Campus houses the High Altitude Observatory (HAO), focusing on solar physics, space weather, and heliophysics research essential for understanding solar influences on earth's atmosphere.

• High Altitude Observatory (HAO): Solar magnetic fields, coronal mass ejections, solar dynamo theory.
• Space Weather Prediction Center collaborations: Ionospheric modeling, magnetospheric dynamics.
• Advanced Technology Center: Instrument development for solar telescopes and space missions.

Research at this campus emphasizes solar-terrestrial connections, with programs in helioseismology and space weather forecasting. It supports graduate-level training in solar observations using ground-based and space-borne instruments, tailored to predicting geomagnetic storms and radio blackouts.

The Foothills Laboratory Campus specializes in applied atmospheric research, observation technologies, and laboratory experiments, supporting field campaigns and instrument development for real-world weather and climate studies.

• Earth Observing Laboratory (EOL): Manages aircraft and ground-based observing systems for field projects.
• Research Applications Laboratory (RAL): Applies research to societal challenges like aviation weather, hydrology, fire weather.
• Atmospheric Chemistry Observations & Modeling (ACOM): Studies air quality, trace gases, chemistry-climate interactions.

This campus is central to NSF lower atmosphere facilities, providing training in radar, lidar, and in-situ measurement techniques. Key programs include development of next-generation weather radars and chemical transport models, with emphasis on regional forecasting and environmental impacts specific to the Rocky Mountain region.

The Mauna Loa Solar Observatory (MLSO) is a high-altitude specialist site for continuous solar corona and chromosphere observations, ideal for studying solar eruptions and space weather drivers.

• Solar Instruments: COR1 coronagraphs, POLIS spectrograph, white-light coronameters.
• Heliophysics Research: Prominence dynamics, coronal holes, solar wind origins.
• Data Archive: Real-time solar imagery for space weather forecasting.

Research emphasizes remote sensing of the solar atmosphere, with training in solar spectroscopy and image processing for predicting solar events impacting earth's upper atmosphere and technology.

The Mesa Laboratory Campus is the iconic headquarters of NCAR, renowned for its I.M. Pei-designed architecture and focus on core atmospheric and earth system sciences research. This campus hosts key laboratories dedicated to advancing understanding of weather, climate dynamics, and geophysical fluid dynamics.

• Climate and Global Dynamics Laboratory (CGD): Models climate variability, earth system modeling, ocean-atmosphere interactions.
• Computational and Information Systems Laboratory (CISL): Develops high-performance computing for atmospheric simulations.
• Earth System Laboratory: Integrates observations and models for earth system science.
• Physical Sciences Laboratory: Focuses on mesoscale and microscale processes, boundary layer meteorology.

Research here emphasizes numerical weather prediction, climate projection, and fundamental fluid dynamics, supporting NSF-sponsored programs with cutting-edge supercomputing and visualization tools. The campus facilitates collaborative research training for graduate students and postdocs from member universities, offering hands-on experience in model development and data analysis specific to mountainous terrain influences on atmosphere.

The NCAR-Wyoming Supercomputing Center (NWSC) is a regional high-performance computing facility dedicated to petascale simulations for atmospheric and earth system modeling.

• Supercomputing Resources: Derecho system, data storage, visualization clusters.
• Modeling Support: WRF, CESM, MPAS for weather and climate simulations.
• Workforce Development: Training workshops on HPC for atmospheric scientists.

This campus focuses on computational science training, offering programs in parallel programming, large-scale data analysis, and ensemble modeling specific to high-resolution regional climate studies over the US West.

The Research Aviation Facility (RAF) campus specializes in airborne atmospheric research, operating research aircraft for in-situ and remote sensing observations worldwide.

• Aircraft Operations: NSF/NCAR C-130, Gulfstream V-HIAPER for global field campaigns.
• Instrumentation Lab: Cloud physics probes, aerosol spectrometers, radar systems.
• Data Systems: Telemetry, flight planning, post-mission data processing.

This facility provides specialized training in airborne science, including instrument calibration and flight experiment design, focusing on convective storms, air chemistry, and boundary layer processes observed from aircraft platforms.