The Aerosol, Clouds and Trace Gases Research Infrastructure (ACTRIS) is a distributed research platform that monitors short-lived atmospheric components, such as aerosols, clouds and trace gases, which persist in the atmosphere from a few hours to a few weeks. The members of the consortium provide instruments to observe how these components are distributed in time and space, and to study how they interact with each other, with the rest of the atmospheric components and with solar radiation. This enables reliable atmospheric predictions, including short-term hazardous weather and health warnings as well as long-term climate change assessments.

With its statutory seat in Finland and facilities across the participating countries and even outside Europe, ACTRIS was established as a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) on 25 April. It is composed of over a hundred institutions and research centres from 17 countries—including the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC) and the Barcelona Supercomputing Center - Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS). The decision was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 3 May. ACTRIS ERIC thus has become a permanent infrastructure of the European Research Area (ERA) for state-of-the-art data and services in atmospheric research.

The countries that are currently part of the infrastructure are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. With their commitment, the members demonstrate atmospheric and air quality research as a national priority for at least the next five years, thereby supporting scientific excellence across Europe. Greece and the United Kingdom also expressed interest in joining at later stages.

Participation by the Remote Sensing Laboratory and the BSC-CNS

The UPC participates in this research infrastructure through the Remote Sensing Laboratory (RSLab), which belongs to the Remote Sensing, Antennas, Microwaves and Superconductivity Group (CommSensLab) of the Department of Signal Theory and Communications. It is linked to the Barcelona School of Telecommunications Engineering (ETSETB) and the Castelldefels School of Telecommunications and Aerospace Engineering (EETAC).

The RSLab provides ACTRIS with an atmospheric aerosol remote sensing station with distance resolution, located on the roof of the D3 building on the North Campus in Barcelona. It consists of a multi-wavelength aerosol lidar (laser radar), a Sun/Moon photometer and auxiliary equipment.

The station is close to the on-site aerosol measurement facilities of the Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research of the Spanish National Research Council (IDAEA-CSIC), which is located in front of the campus and is also a member of ACTRIS. This allows to use all the equipment in combination as a high-performance aerosol observation station.

In addition, the UPC’s remote sensing equipment also supports on-site aerosol observations by the IDAEA-CSIC at the stations in Montseny (Barcelona) and Montsec (Lleida), which also belong to ACTRIS ERIC.

Also based on the North Campus, the BSC-CNS is one of the units of the ACTRIS Data Centre, with the capacity to produce level-3 data products, which combine data provided by ACTRIS with data from other observation sources.

Other Spanish research bodies

In addition to the UPC and the BSC-CNS, there are nine additional Spanish research bodies contributing to ACTRIS ERIC: the Energy, Environment and Technology Research Centre (CIEMAT), the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), the Spanish Meteorological Agency (AEMET), the University of Granada (UGR), the Mediterranean Center for Environmental Studies Foundation in the Valencian Community (CEAM), the Esteban Terradas National Institute of Aerospace Technology (INTA), the University of Valladolid (UVa), the Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH) and the University of Valencia (UV). They are gathered in a mixed research unit with the support of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. Other collaborating institutions may join in the future.

These bodies contribute to the Spanish ACTRIS facilities with observation platforms distributed across mainland Spain and the Canary Islands—three ground-based aerosol remote sensing stations, one ground-based cloud remote sensing station, seven on-site aerosol measurement stations—and with an exploratory platform—atmospheric simulation camera.

Additionally, Spain participates in the central facilities of the ACTRIS Data Centre and the Centre for Aerosol Remote Sensing (CARS).

Key information on the state and evolution of the atmosphere

The establishment of ACTRIS ERIC as a European research infrastructure with a stable legal structure allows researchers, industry and administrations to share the best research platforms in Europe—80 observation facilities inside and outside Europe and atmospheric simulation cameras. It also provides access to key information to support building effective environmental policies, to make decisions with all the required scientific expertise and to define emission reduction strategies that mitigate climate change and improve air quality, thus helping to reach the EU Green Deal’s objectives.

ACTRIS began its journey to become an ERIC back in 2011. Since then, it has achieved important scientific and technical milestones that have led to a deeper understanding of the factors that affect climate change and air pollution, and the complex climate feedback mechanisms. Every year more than 5,000 organisations or individuals from 50 countries around the world use ACTRIS data for their research.

Further information

• Statutes of the Aerosol, Clouds and Trace Gases Research Infrastructure (ACTRIS ERIC). Published on 3/5/2023 in the Official Journal of the European Union
• Spain participates in the ACTRIS European infrastructure for atmospheric research. (Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation website, 26/4/2023)
• Press report (in Spanish): The UPC participates in the ACTRIS European infrastructure for atmospheric research. (25/4/2023)
• The UPC in the European atmospheric research consortium ACTRIS ERIC. (28/7/2022)