sirta
12 Oct 2020

After more than 20 years of activity to support research and education in atmospheric sciences, the SIRTA, a ground-based atmospheric observatory, will enter a new phase in its history with the inauguration of a new observation facility in June 2021.
 
Despite this singular year of reduced activities and the temporary suspension of work, the construction of the new facility has progressed significantly since March 2020. Equipped with a 600m2 building, a 50m mast and housing 16 families of instruments for around 100 sensors installed on a 2.5 hectare platform, the facility under construction is integrated into a sanctuary of 40 hectares on the campus of the Ecole Polytechnique, near the urban area of the Plateau de Saclay (France).
 
Discover the latest video of the SIRTA new atmospheric observatory taken on October 30, 2020, by clicking the image below:
From June 2021, this new environment, doubling the current capacity of the observatory, will support research and education by:
  • Strengthening and perpetuating the study of all atmospheric physico-chemical processes from the surface to the top of the troposphere;
  • Energizing and consolidating experimental teaching activities and opening up to the general public;
  • Actively participating in the construction of European measurement networks and responding to the needs of numerous scientific projects.
The metamorphosis of the SIRTA observatory, concomitant with the construction of the European research infrastructure ACTRIS, is an unprecedented opportunity for the observatory to make its expertise and equipment available to a broader scientific community. The facility will be fully integrated into ACTRIS, as a National Facility, but also by hosting the work of two Topical Centres: the CCRES (Centre for Cloud Remote Sensing) and the ACMCC (Aerosol Chemical Monitor Calibration Centre).