ACTRIS PPP

Project Summay:

ACTRIS PPP (Aerosol, Clouds and Trace Gases Research Infrastructure Preparatory Phase Project) is a European Project supported by the European Commission Horizon 2020 Coordination and Support Action (INFRADEV-02-2016) from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2019.

The Research Infrastructure (RI) ACTRIS – Aerosol, Clouds and Trace Gases - is the pan-European RI that consolidates activities amongst European partners for observations of aerosols, clouds, and trace gases and for the understanding of the related atmospheric processes, to provide RI services to wide user groups.

ACTRIS is composed of 8 connected elements: distributed National Facilities (observation platforms and exploratory platforms) both in Europe and globally, and 7 Central Facilities (Head Office, Data Centre, and 5 Calibration Centres). ACTRIS provides access to its facilities, open-access data, research support, instrument calibration and development, and training to various user groups. By providing data and access ACTRIS enhances science, but it also generates and disseminates knowledge, boosts technological development, and creates human capital and jobs for the benefit of society. ACTRIS will positively impact e.g. human health, climate resilience, and protection from environmental hazards, and reduction of air pollution.

ACTRIS has been selected to the ESFRI roadmap in 2016 as mature enough to be implemented within the next ten years. ACTRIS Preparatory Phase Project (PPP) will have a significant role in enabling the transition from a project-based network of research facilities to a centrally coordinated integrated pan-European RI. ACTRIS PPP brings together a wide community of research performing organizations, research funding organizations, and ministries needed to take the decisions and actions to move forward in the implementation of the ACTRIS.

The main objectives of ACTRIS PPP are to develop the organizational, operational, and strategic frameworks of the RI. The work includes legal, governance, financial, technical, strategic, and administrative aspects carried out in 9 work packages. The main outcomes of PPP are signature-ready documents for the establishment of a legal entity with well-defined operations and a sound business plan.

Go to ACTRIS PPP documents


 
ACTRIS-2 IA

Project summary:

ACTRIS-2 (Aerosols, Clouds, and Trace gases Research InfraStructure) is a European Project supported by the European Commission Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Framework Programme (H2020-INFRAIA-2014-2015) from 1 May 2015 to 30 April 2019.
 

The ACTRIS-2 Integrating Activities (IA) addresses the scope of integrating state-of-the-art European ground-based stations for long-term observations of aerosols, clouds and short lived gases. It consolidates and improves services offered within FP7 funded Integrated Infrastructures Initiative ACTRIS (2011-2015). ACTRIS-2 takes up the overarching objectives of ACTRIS to further integrate the European ground-based stations and to construct a user-oriented RI, unique in the EU-RI landscape, for aerosols, clouds, and short-lived gas-phase species.

ACTRIS-2 responds to user needs:

To maintain and increase availability of long-term observational data relevant to climate and air quality research on the regional scale produced with standardized or comparable procedures throughout the ACTRIS network of stations; To further develop and disseminate integration tools to fully exploit the use of multiple atmospheric techniques at ground-based stations, in particular for the calibration/validation/integration of satellite sensors and for the improvement of the parameterizations used in global and regional-scale climate and air-quality models; To open calibration facilities and advanced observing platforms to Trans-National Access to the benefit of a large user community, including SMEs, and to further facilitate virtual access to high quality information, tools and services enhancing the ACTRIS Data Centre; To maintain and enhance capacity of training in the field of atmospheric observations particularly directed to new users including those from non-EU developing countries;

 

Innovation in instrumentation is one of the fundamental building blocks of ACTRIS-2. Associated partnership with SMEs stimulates the development of joint-ventures addressing new technologies for use in atmospheric observations. Target user-groups in ACTRIS-2 comprise a wide range of communities worldwide. End-users are institutions involved in climate and air quality research, space agencies, industries, air quality agencies.

ACTRIS-2 will improve the systematic and timely collection, processing and distribution of data and results for use in modelling, in particular towards the implementation of atmospheric and climate services. ACTRIS-2 invests substantial efforts to ensure longterm sustainability beyond the term of the project by positioning the project in both the GEO and the on-going ESFRI contexts, and by developing synergies with national initiatives.

ACTRIS-2 will represent a fundamental step towards the establishment of the atmospheric component of the Integrated European Observing System and a clear upgrade in services offered to users.

  • To increase the Technology Readiness Level of technologies for atmospheric observation of aerosols, clouds, and trace gases in close partnership with EU SMEs associated to the project.
  • To develop a sustainable strategy for maintaining ACTRIS-services in the long-term, improving synergies with all relevant research infrastructures in the field of environmental sciences and coordination with national strategies in the EU.
 

Go to ACTRIS-2 documents