View source for National Center for Atmospheric Research

{{Short description|US federally funded research and development center}}
{{redirect-distinguish|NCAR|Norwegian Centre Against Racism}}
{{Infobox research institute
| name             =  NCAR<br />National Center for Atmospheric Research
| native_name      =
| image            = File:National Center for Atmospheric Research - Boulder, Colorado.jpg
| caption          = NCAR [[Mesa Laboratory]], [[Boulder, Colorado]]
| latin_name       =
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| established      =  1960
| type             =  <!-- Research type (basic, applied, classified, unclassified, ...)-->
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| director         = Everette Joseph<ref>{{Cite web |title=Leadership {{!}} University Corporation for Atmospheric Research |url=https://www.ucar.edu/who-we-are/leadership |access-date=2024-04-26 |website=www.ucar.edu}}</ref>
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| staff            =Nearly 1,400<ref>{{Cite web |title=Staff {{!}} University Corporation for Atmospheric Research |url=https://www.ucar.edu/who-we-are/staff |access-date=2024-04-26 |website=www.ucar.edu}}</ref>
| students         =
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| address          =
| city             = [[Boulder, Colorado|Boulder]]
| state            = [[Colorado]]
| province         =
| country          = United States
| coor             = {{Coord|39.97815|N|105.27492|W|source:placeopedia|display=inline, title}}
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| nobel_laureates  =  <!--Number and/or names of Nobel laureates associated with the laboratory/institute-->
| website          =  {{Official URL}}
| logo             = File:NCAR logo.png
| footnotes        =
}}

The US '''National Center for Atmospheric Research''' ('''NCAR''' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɛ|n|k|ɑːr}})<ref name=quickfacts>[https://www2.ucar.edu/about-us/quick-facts Quick Facts about NCAR & UCAR]</ref> is a US [[federally funded research and development center]] (FFRDC) managed by the nonprofit [[University Corporation for Atmospheric Research]] (UCAR) and funded by the [[National Science Foundation]] (NSF).<ref name="Director">{{cite web|url=http://news.sciencemag.org/2013/07/new-director-u.s.-national-center-atmospheric-research-rose-through-ranks|title=New Director of the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research Rose Through the Ranks|date=July 31, 2013}}</ref> NCAR has multiple facilities, including the [[I. M. Pei]]-designed [[Mesa Laboratory]] headquarters in [[Boulder, Colorado]]. Studies include [[meteorology]], [[climate science]], [[atmospheric chemistry]], solar-terrestrial interactions, [[Environmental impacts|environmental]] and societal impacts.

== Tools and technologies ==
[[File:NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory aircraft.jpg|thumb|NSF/NCAR Gulfstream V research aircraft.]]
NCAR was instrumental in developing [[lidar]], light radar, now a key archaeological tool, as well as providing a broad array of tools and technologies to the scientific community for studying [[Earth's atmosphere]], including,<ref name=research-resources>[https://www2.ucar.edu/research-resources NCAR Research & Resources]</ref><ref>[https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=12809&org=AGS&more=Y#more National Center for Atmospheric Research (NSF Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences)]</ref>
* Specialized instruments to measure atmospheric processes
* Research aircraft
* High-performance computing and cyberinfrastructure, including [[supercomputers]]
* [[Mauna Loa Solar Observatory]]
* Cooperative field campaigns
* [[Atmospheric model]]s of weather, chemical, solar, and climate processes, including cooperatively developed models such as:
** [[Community Earth System Model]] (CESM)
** [[Weather Research and Forecasting model]] (WRF)
** [[Upper Atmospheric Models|Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model]] (WACCM)
* Technology transfer to support societal needs
* Data sets, data services, and other resources
* NCAR Command Language (NCL), a programming language designed for use with climate and model data<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ncl.ucar.edu/ |title=CISL's NCAR Command Language (NCL) |website=[[University Corporation for Atmospheric Research|UCAR]]}}</ref>

==Staffing areas and notable past and present scientists==

The center is staffed by scientists, engineers, technicians, and support personnel.<ref name="Director" /> Key research areas include:<ref>[https://ncar.ucar.edu/research/ Atmospheric & Earth System Research: NCAR research topics], 2008, accessed 2010-06-22. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100725205515/http://www.ncar.ucar.edu/research/ |date=2010-07-25 }}</ref>
* [[Climatology|Climate]] (Earth's past, present, and future climate; the [[greenhouse effect]], [[global warming]], and climate change; El Niño, La Niña, and other large-scale atmospheric patterns; drought, wildfires)
* [[Meteorology]]/[[Weather]] (short-term forecasts; weather forecasting and predictability; weather's effect on climate; hurricanes, tornadoes, and other severe storms; physical processes)
* Environmental and societal impacts (impacts of climate change on the natural and managed environment; interactions of weather, climate, and society; weather hazard systems for aviation and ground transportation; national security)
* [[Air pollution|Pollution]] and [[Atmospheric chemistry|air chemistry]] (air pollution on local, regional, and global scales; air chemistry and climate; chemical evolution and transport in the atmosphere)
* The Sun and [[space weather]] (the structure of the Sun, from its interior to sunspots to the solar corona; the solar cycle; the Sun's effect on Earth's weather and climate; space weather)
* Other components of the [[Earth system science|Earth system]] (the effects on weather and climate of interactions with: the oceans and other components of Earth's [[water cycle]], including sea ice, glaciers, and the rest  of the cryosphere; forests, agriculture, urbanization and other types of land use)

Notable scientists on the current staff at the center include [[Tom Wigley]], [[Kevin Trenberth]], [[Clara Deser]], and Caspar Ammann,<ref name="Pearce">[[Fred Pearce|Pearce, Fred]], ''The Climate Files: The Battle for the Truth about Global Warming'', (2010) [[Guardian Books]], {{ISBN|978-0-85265-229-9}}, p. XVIII.</ref>{{better source|date=June 2014}} and in past have included [[Paul Crutzen]] (Nobel Prize in chemistry, 1995); [[Paul Julian (meteorologist)|Paul Julian]], who with colleague [[Roland Madden]] discovered the [[Madden–Julian oscillation]]; [[Stephen Schneider (scientist)|Stephen Schneider]] . Greg Holland initiated the multiscale modeling project "Predicting the Earth System Across Scales".<ref>M. Gad-el-Hak ''Large Scale Disasters Prediction Control and Mitigation'' 2008 "was initiated by Greg Holland"</ref>

== Organization of research—laboratories and programs ==

NCAR is currently organized into seven laboratories and two programs:<ref name=orgchart>{{Cite web |url=https://ncar.ucar.edu/org-chart |title=NCAR's Clickable Organization Chart |access-date=2013-03-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150110035451/http://ncar.ucar.edu/org-chart |archive-date=2015-01-10 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

'''Laboratories'''
* Atmospheric Chemistry Observations and Modeling laboratory (ACOM)
* Climate and Global Dynamics laboratory (CGD)
* Computational & Information Systems Laboratory (CISL)—CISL was formerly known as the Scientific Computing Division (SCD).  CISL manages and operates NCAR's supercomputers, mass storage system, networking, and other computing and cyberinfrastructure services. The Institute for Mathematics Applied to Geosciences (IMAGe) is a research division within CISL.<ref name=orgchart/>
* Earth Observing Laboratory (EOL)—EOL was formerly known as the Atmospheric Technology Division (ATD). EOL manages and operates NCAR's lower atmosphere observing systems, including ground-based instrumentation and two research aircraft, on behalf of the NSF.
* High Altitude Observatory (HAO)—The oldest part of NCAR, HAO is NCAR's solar-terrestrial physics laboratory. Research foci are the Sun and the Earth's upper atmosphere. HAO operates the Mauna Loa Solar Observatory (MLSO).
* Mesoscale and Microscale Meteorology laboratory (MMM)
* Research Applications Laboratory (RAL)

'''Programs'''
* Advanced Study Program (ASP)
* Integrated Science Program (ISP)

NCAR's service to the universities and larger geosciences community is reinforced by the offerings of UCAR's [[University Corporation for Atmospheric Research|community programs]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.ucp.ucar.edu/ |title=UCAR Community Programs |access-date=2013-03-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141208032815/https://www.ucp.ucar.edu/ |archive-date=2014-12-08 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=highlights>[https://www2.ucar.edu/highlights UCAR Highlights]</ref>

== Funding and management ==
NCAR is managed by the nonprofit [[University Corporation for Atmospheric Research|UCAR]] and is one of the [[National Science Foundation|NSF]]'s [[Federally Funded Research and Development Center]]s, with approximately 95% of its funding coming from the federal government. However, it is not a federal agency and its employees are not part of the federal personnel system.<ref name=quickfacts/> NCAR employs about 761 staff. Its annual expenditures in fiscal year 2015 were $167.8 million.<ref name=quickfacts/><ref>[https://ncar.ucar.edu/budget-and-planning/public NCAR Annual Report]</ref>

== NCAR directors ==
The founding director of NCAR was [[Walter Orr Roberts]].<ref name="Directors">[https://www2.ucar.edu/about-us/ncar-directors NCAR Directors]</ref> The current director is Everette Joseph.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.ucar.edu/132641/everette-joseph-named-ncar-director|title=Everette Joseph is named NCAR director|last=Hosansky|first=David|date=December 7, 2018|website=NCAR & UCAR News|access-date=2019-10-16}}</ref><ref name="Director" />
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! NCAR Director !! Dates in office
|-
| [[Walter Orr Roberts]] || 1960–1968
|-
| [[John W. Firor]] || 1968–1974
|-
| [[Francis Patton Bretherton|Francis P. Bretherton]] || 1974–1980
|-
| [[Wilmot N. Hess]] || 1980–1986
|-
| [[Richard A. Anthes]] || 1986–1988
|-
| Robert Serafin || 1989–2000
|-
| [[Timothy L. Killeen]] || 2000–2008
|-
| [[Eric J. Barron]] || 2008–2010
|-
| [[Roger M. Wakimoto]] || 2010–2013
|-
| [[Maura Hagan]] || 2013 (interim director)
|-
| James W. Hurrell || 2013–2018
|-
| [[Everette Joseph]] || 2019–present
|}

== Visiting ==

=== Scientific visitors ===

NCAR has many opportunities for scientific visits to the facilities for workshops, colloquia, and collaboration by colleagues in academia, government labs, and the private sector.<ref name=opportunities>[https://www2.ucar.edu/opportunities Visitor Programs – Opportunities for Scientific Visitors & Students]</ref> Many NCAR staff also visit colleagues at universities and labs and serve as adjunct or visiting faculty.<ref name=highlights/><ref name=opportunities/>

=== Public tours ===

The Visitor Center at the [[Mesa Laboratory]] is open to the public daily at no charge. Guided tours and self-guided tablet tours include video and audio on one of the first supercomputers built by [[Seymour Cray]] as well as NCAR's modern supercomputer fleet, many hands-on educational exhibits demonstrating weather phenomena and the changes in Earth's climate brought on by global warming, and a scenic outdoor weather trail.{{cn|date=April 2024}}

== References ==

{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Official website}}
* [http://eo.ucar.edu/visit/ Public tours & exhibits], at the [[University Corporation for Atmospheric Research]]
* [https://www2.cisl.ucar.edu/cisl-computing High-end Computing at NCAR], at the [[Computational and Information Systems Laboratory]]
* [https://www.archives.ucar.edu/ NCAR Archives]
* [https://rda.ucar.edu/ NCAR Research Data Archive (RDA)]
* [https://opensky.library.ucar.edu/ OpenSky Repository]

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[[Category:Air pollution organizations]]
[[Category:Meteorology and climate education]]
[[Category:Meteorological organizations based in the United States]]
[[Category:Meteorological research institutes]]
[[Category:Federally Funded Research and Development Centers]]
[[Category:Supercomputer sites]]
[[Category:Earth science research institutes]]
[[Category:Research institutes in Colorado]]
[[Category:Companies based in Boulder, Colorado]]
[[Category:I. M. Pei buildings]]
[[Category:Environmental research institutes]]