A number of European partners, including TU Delft, are joining forces to measure greenhouse gases, aerosols, clouds and radiation as part of the ACTRIS (Aerosols, Clouds, and Trace gases Research InfraStructure) programme. The measurements are to be used for climate studies. ACTRIS will kick off on Wednesday 25 May in Bad Zurzach, Switzerland.
TU Delft plays a prominent role in the new European project for measuring greenhouse gases, aerosols, clouds and radiation, for use in climate studies. Climate change is for a large part governed by atmospheric processes, in particular the interaction between radiation and atmospheric components (e.g. aerosols, clouds, greenhouse and trace gases). Some of these elements also influence air quality and thus also have adverse health effects.
Ground-based networks
In the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report and Thematic Strategy on air pollution of the EU, a call went up to strengthen the ground-based component of the Earth Observing System for these key atmospheric variables. However, a coordinated research infrastructure for these observations is presently lacking.
According to Professor Herman Russchenburg of TU Delft, "ACTRIS aims to fill this observational gap through the coordination of a European ground-based network of stations equipped with advanced atmospheric probing instrumentation for aerosols, clouds and short-lived trace gases".
CESAR
Other Dutch partners in the project besides TU Delft are: KNMI, TNO, ECN and Utrecht University. The central location for the Dutch part of the project is the CESAR Observatory at Cabauw (Cabauw Experimental Site for Atmospheric Research) in Utrecht.
TU Delft is the coordinator of the Dutch part of the programme and the European cloud/radiation part of the programme. ACTRIS is part of the EU Seventh Framework Programme.
The official kick-off of ACTRIS (Aerosols, Clouds and Trace gases Research InfraStructure Network) will take place on Wednesday 25 May at the Paul Scherrer Institut in Bad Zurzach, Switzerland.
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