The campaign
The Athens smog ACTRIS campaign focuses on the alterations of the man-made aerosol pollution in the urban environment of Athens due to economic crisis, concentrating on the "smog" phenomenon caused by wood-burning for heating purposes. Specifically, aerosol characterization will be established by ground-based active/passive remote sensing techniques, surface in-situ measurements and airborne Unmaned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) observations.
The campaign is organized in the framework of the ACTRIS Joint Research Activity 1 (JRA1). JRA1 addresses the issue of aerosol absorption for which new strategies and tools in long-term observations are needed to complement AERONET network and provide reliable inputs to model simulation. Synergistic use of lidars, photometers, airborne and surface-based in-situ techniques will contribute to close the gap between measurement techniques and provide higher-level data products to the modelling community.
The campaign will take place from 15th of December 2015 until 29th of February 2016 at Athens, Greece.
The site
The core campaign site is the aerosol and gases station of the National Observatory of Athens (NOA – http://www.noa.gr) at Thiseion, at the center of Athens (37.987°N, 23.775°E, 130 asl), an ideal location for monitoring urban pollution and the smog phenomenon. The station is equipped with surface in-situ instruments and ground-based remote sensing instruments, while additional sensors on UAVs will provide airborne in-situ measurements during the campaign. The airborne activity and the tailored in-situ instrumentation to address aerosol absorption is provided and operated by the Cyprus Institute. The campaign will be additionally complemented with instrumentation operated by ACTRIS partners in Athens, namely the advanced lidar station of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) and the surface in-situ instrumentation of Demokritos. Moreover, ACTRIS partners from FMI and University of Warsaw will contribute ground-based remote sensors.
Recent activity
News
Uploaded data
The campaign is organized and funded through the ACTRIS, the European Research Infrastructure for the observation of Aerosol, Clouds, and Trace gases.