The Research Infrastructure ACTRIS is the pan-European initiative that consolidates strategies amongst European partners for observation of aerosols, clouds, and trace gases. ACTRIS focuses on producing high-quality observations of clouds and short-lived climate-forcing pollutants (SLCPs). Short- lived atmospheric components have a residence time in the atmosphere from hours to few weeks, which differentiates them from long-lived greenhouse gases. The short lifetimes make their concentrations highly variable in time and space and involve fast processes. The infrastructure is unique in providing the 4D-variability of reactive trace gases, clouds and of the physical, optical and chemical properties of short-lived atmospheric species. ACTRIS is a distributed infrastructure consisting of National (observing stations) and Central Facilities (Calibration Centres, Data Centre, Head Office) that serve a vast community of users working on models, satellite retrievals, and analysis and forecast systems. Atmospheric predictions of all kinds use complex models that are underpinned by observations. Without high-quality observation data to constrain predictive models any forecast of the atmosphere are highly unreliable. Without a ground-truth capability, satellite sensors cannot be accurately validated.
ACTRIS is a distributed infrastructure consisting of National (observing stations) and Central Facilities (Calibration Centres, Data Centre, Head Office) that serve a vast community of users working on models, satellite retrievals, and analysis and forecast systems. Atmospheric predictions of all kinds use complex models that are underpinned by observations. Without high-quality observation data to constrain predictive models any forecast of the atmosphere are highly unreliable. Without a ground-truth capability, satellite sensors cannot be accurately validated.
