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The predecessor of the ARL was the Special Projects Section (SPS) of the | The predecessor of the ARL was the Special Projects Section (SPS) of the United States Weather Bureau (now NOAA's [[National Weather Service]]). The SPS was created in 1948 as the nuclear era emerged and it became apparent that the transportation, dispersion and fallout of radioactive substances from the use of nuclear weapons posed dangers that mankind had never faced before.<ref name=History>[http://www.arl.noaa.gov/history.html History of the ARL]</ref> | ||
The SPS was created to engage in [[meteorological]] research to assist the emerging atomic energy progams of the United States, much of which involved weapons testing. | The SPS was created to engage in [[meteorological]] research to assist the emerging atomic energy progams of the United States, much of which involved weapons testing. | ||
Revision as of 21:54, 2 February 2008
The predecessor of the ARL was the Special Projects Section (SPS) of the United States Weather Bureau (now NOAA's National Weather Service). The SPS was created in 1948 as the nuclear era emerged and it became apparent that the transportation, dispersion and fallout of radioactive substances from the use of nuclear weapons posed dangers that mankind had never faced before.[1]
The SPS was created to engage in meteorological research to assist the emerging atomic energy progams of the United States, much of which involved weapons testing.
The first director of the SPS was Dr. Lester Machta who was joined by four other meteorologists. Initially, funding came from the Department of Defense and later from the Atomic Energy Commission, the predecessor of the Department of Energy. A great deal of funding also came from outside financial support.[1]
One of the most important contributions of the SPS was publication of the book Meteorology and Atomic Energy in 1968, edited by David H. Slade. That book summarized the state of the science about the Planetary Boundry Layer (PBL) processes and the applied meteorology of air pollution plume rise and dispersion, and turbulence and atmospheric stability. With contributions from SPS scientists and other experts, that book was the primary source of information about air pollution dispersion for many decades.[1]
In the early years, the SPS was headquartered in Washington, DC. When the SPS became part of NOAA and was named the Air Resources Laboratory, the headquarters moved a number of times and ended up in its current location in Silver Spring, Maryland.[1]