The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) is a U.S. federal research laboratory located in Boulder, Colorado. NCAR is sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF), and its mission is to understand the behavior of the atmosphere and climate system and their interactions with the Sun, land, ocean, and life on Earth. As part of this mission, NCAR conducts research on a wide range of topics related to atmospheric science, including weather forecasting, climate change, atmospheric chemistry, solar radiation, and air quality.
NCAR was established in 1960 by the NSF as a cooperative institute between academia and government. The original mandate for NCAR was to conduct research on atmospheric sciences in support of U.S. Weather Bureau operations. In subsequent years, NCAR’s mandate has expanded to include research on all aspects of the atmosphere and climate system.
NCAR is organized into five divisions: Atmospheric Sciences (AS), Earth Observing Laboratory (EOL), High Altitude Observatory (HAO), Mesoscale & Microscale Meteorology Laboratory (MMM), and Research Applications Laboratory (RAL). These divisions conduct research using a variety of observational platforms, numerical models, supercomputers, and field campaigns.
NCAR’s headquarters are located in Boulder, Colorado on the campus of the University of Colorado Boulder (CU-Boulder). NCAR also operates two field sites: one in Cheyenne Wyoming near Denver International Airport; and another atop Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii..”