Quality measurement experiments within the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program

The general goal of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program is to improve general circulation and related models of the atmosphere for global and regional prediction (DOE 1990). To achieve this goal, ARM is collecting a prodigious volume of data at its first Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) facility in the Southern Great Plains. Because data must be of {open_quotes}known and reasonable{close_quotes} quality, quality measurement experiments (QMEs) are a critical part of the ARM quality assessment program. In this paper, we describe the general theory behind the QMEs, explain how they are implemented in the CART data environment, and give a brief synopsis of those implemented to date.