Instruments & Observations

With next generation observational facilities and instruments, NCAR provides world-class ground, airborne, and space-borne observational facilities and services. With these robust, accessible and innovative instruments and tools, NCAR is able to provide state-of-the-art atmospheric observing systems and support services to the university-based research community for climate and weather research.

Aircraft for Airborne Observations

  • NSF/NCAR C-130

    The NSF/NCAR C-130 Hercules aircraft supports observational research studies of atmospheric chemistry, cloud physics, mesoscale meteorology, boundary-layer dynamics, air-sea interactions, oceanography, and other fields within the atmospheric sciences.

  • NSF/NCAR Gulfstream V

    Also known as HIAPER (High-performance Instrumented Airborne Platform for Environmental Research), the NSF/NCAR HIAPER Gulfstream V aircraft has a maximum altitude of 51,000 feet (15,500 meters), enabling scientists to probe the upper edges of hurricanes and thunderstorms in unprecedented detail as well as study chemical processes high above Earth.

Satellites and Satellite-based Instruments



Observing Facilities & Instrumentation

  • Atmospheric Chemistry Division—Community Instruments

    An array of ground-based and airborne instruments is available for use in approved field projects on a broad range of scientific questions. Many of these community instruments focus on measurements of carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O3), and water vapor.

  • Earth Observing Laboratory—Observing Facilities

    Airborne in situ trace gas instruments are available for use in approved field projects on a broad range of scientific questions. These community instruments focus on frequently requested measurements of carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O3), and water vapor.

  • Marshall Field Site

    The Research Applications Laboratory maintains this field site for instrument development.

  • Mauna Loa Solar Observatory

    Specialized telescopes at MLSO filter and analyze solar energy emissions at several different wavelengths, providing multiple images of the Sun daily, weather conditions permitting. Data from each MLSO instrument is processed and analyzed by NCAR scientists in Boulder and made available to the solar research community.

  • NCAR Vacuum Tunnel Facility

    The NVTF consists of a class-10,000 clean room and a coronagraph calibration chamber. The calibration chamber (vacuum tunnel) is used for testing and calibrating both internally and externally occulted coronagraphs. Scattered light, polarization and photometric tests are made.