Data / Science Data Products / VAPs

ARMBE

ARM Best Estimate Data Products

Baseline VAP, Evaluation VAP

This data product, formerly known as the Climate Modeling Best Estimate (CMBE) data set, assembles a best estimate of cloud, radiation, and atmospheric quantities, and surface/land properties that are both well observed by ARM and commonly used in model evaluation into one single data set. For over two decades, most of these quantities have been measured by ARM ground-based instruments, including cloud radars, micropulse lidars (MPLs), laser ceilometers, microwave radiometers (MWRs), and solar and infrared radiation stations (SIRSs).

ARMBE data are specifically tailored for use in the evaluation of earth system models. The standard resolutions of ARMBE data are one hour and 25 millibars (for sounding variables). The hourly temporal resolution is comparable to a typical resolution used in earth system model output. Since 2026, high-resolution ARMBE data have been created with 10-minute temporal resolution and 5-millibar vertical resolution to support kilometer-scale modeling studies.

ARMBE provides detailed observations of clouds and their associated large-scale environment in different meteorological regimes and is widely applied in process studies to improve cloud parameterization in earth system models. In addition, the long-term ARMBE data set of cloud observations from ground-based radars and lidars, with hourly resolution and high vertical resolution, makes it a great fit to examine earth system variability and change, as well as to statistically evaluate earth system models. ARMBE also serves as input to many ARM value-added products (VAPs), such as ARM Diagnostics for Climate Model Evaluation (ADCME) and the large-scale forcing data from constrained variational analysis (VARANAL).

ARMBE data include ARMBEATM and ARMBECLDRAD. ARMBEATM contains basic atmospheric quantities, and ARMBECLDRAD provides cloud and radiation quantities.

ARMBE represents single-point measurements. Statistics are recommended for comparison with earth system model output, which often represents a grid-box mean of 100 kilometers. In addition, although stringent quality control checks are applied, ARMBE still experiences most data quality issues in the VAPs that are used to produce ARMBE. These include Active Remote Sensing of CLouds (ARSCL), Data Quality Assessment for ARM Radiation Data (QCRAD), and Microwave Radiometer Retrievals (MWRRET).