ACTRIS Marketplace

This service for collaborative experiment series with a duration of up to 3 or 4 weeks on investigating aerosol-cloud-climate processes includes:

• experiment planning,
• administrative and technical support for installing and operating user instruments at the facility,
• technical and scientific support in operating the facility and its standard instrumentation needed for the experiments,
• training on facility operation procedures, facility instruments and scientific background,
• data provision
• support on analyzing and evaluating the chamber-specific data.

TIME CONSTRAINTS: None, although access has to be coordinated with other activities in laboratory

The AIDA facility provides the possibility of testing (new) sampling instruments for water vapor, aerosols, ice-nucleating particles, cloud droplets and ice crystals, including those used for field measurements or on research aircrafts, and to perform instrument intercomparisons under well-defined and controlled laboratory conditions.

TIME CONSTRAINTS: None, although access has to be coordinated with other activities in laboratory.

The ambient air in Pallastunturi is amongst the cleanest in the World, with particle number concentrations reaching levels of 10 #/cm3 during cold winter days, and up to a few thousand #/cm3 during strong biological activity in the summer. This provides an excellent opportunity to study the atmospheric composition of sub-Arctic air, where climate change is affecting the atmospheric composition rapidly.

In addition to research services, the station offers excellent possibilities for instrument development and -testing in the low concentration, Arctic setting.

Virtual Access is offered to continuous measurements conducted for ACTRIS aerosol in situ-, trace gases in situ-, cloud in situ- and cloud remote sensing measurements. Pallastunturi also hosts an air quality background supersite fulfilling the requirements of the new European air quality guidelines. Physical- and remote Access for installing additional instruments at the station is provided.

The Pallastunturi facility offers a designated air space for research flights with e.g. UAV’s and tethered balloon systems. The airspace is horizontally 7km*7km, with 2km ceiling altitude above ground level. Flying beyond visual line of sight is permitted, making vertical measurements through clouds possible.

Physical access is provided to operate user’s own airborne platforms, or utilizing measurements with the FMI’s UAV- fleet. FMI’s measurements encompass ACTRIS aerosol in situ-, and cloud in situ measurements, as well as meteorological parameters.

Operations are supported by continuous measurements of e.g. surface meteorological conditions, cloud base height, boundary layer height and cloud remote sensing observations. The Sammaltunturi station measurements (565 a.s.l.) can be used as reference to airborne observations.

The opportunity is ideal for research on the vertical distribution of atmospheric composition in the sub-Arctic as well as instrument testing. 

Continuous real-time measurements of plant pollen in the background sub-Arctic atmosphere. The measurements are conducted with in-situ observations (using the Swissens Poleno Jupiter automatic pollen analyzer).

The comprehensive set of aerosol research instrumentations at the site can be used in intercomparisons of aerosol- and in-situ cloud instruments. The site has availability of field calibration equipment and a selection of calibration aerosols to perform field calibrations and intercomparison experiments of standard optical and size segregated aerosol measurements. Technical support for such exercises is also available.

The technical solution for measurement in extreme high levels. Possibility to test specialized instrumentation in demanding conditions (shocks, vibrations, vertical gradients) of a 250 m high tall tower. The instrumentation can be placed on individual measuring platforms (8 m, 50 m, 125 m, 230 m), the instrument dimensions are limited by platform size and lift capacity.

Testing of the instrumentation by the unmanned aerial system (UAS). Possibility to use own UAS (necessary to comply with the legal regulations and laws of the Czech Republic, including insurance) within the specific conditions close to the tall tower. There is an option to compare/calibrate measurement parameters with regular tall tower data sets (meteorology, greenhouse gases, physical and chemical properties of aerosols, cloud mapping, etc.).

Opportunity to use the NAOK´s infrastructure fenced and secured area - sampling platforms, power supply, concrete platforms for sampling.

Providing results from online measurements –NO-NOX-NO2, SO2, PM10, PM2.5, CO, physical and chemical properties of aerosol particles.

Results availability from offline measurements - PM10, PM2.5, PM1, chemical composition - cations (PM2.5), anions (TSP), EC/OC (PM2.5), PAHs, heavy metals (PM10, PM2.5).

Accommodation directly at NAOK in rooms with private bathrooms (12 double rooms) with the possibility of local non-vegetarian food :o), use of seminar room with the capacity of 20 people, availability of small kitchen with limited equipment.

More information about measurement is here: https://actris.cz/web/data-and-measurement/

The service consists of:

• Physical access to the IASC facility

• possibility to perform 6 hr experiments in the simulation chamber

• technical service to use own instruments

• training for planning, evaluation and interpretation of experiments.

• Hands-on training sessions with state of the art instrumentation connected to IASC

• Training on how to design and perform chamber experiments by experienced scientists

• Remote access to the IASC facility and provision of data from simulation chamber experiments.

IASC is a custom-built atmospheric simulation chamber specially designed for investigating atmospheric processes, as well as testing and developing new atmospheric measurement techniques. The chamber is a 27 m3 cuboid (4.5 m long × 3 m wide × 2 m high) made of FEP Teflon foil, supported in a frame and surrounded by an air-conditioned housing. Several banks of lamps provide UV-A and UV-B radiation to enable studies of atmospheric photochemistry. The chamber is fitted with a gas flow control system for filling/flushing the chamber with purified dry air and numerous ports for adding/sampling gases and particles. A specially designed access door also allows items (e.g. sensors or devices, samples or test materials) to be positioned inside the chamber.

The facility is equipped with a comprehensive range of instruments:

• Highly sensitive time of flight chemical ionisation mass spectrometer (ToF-CIMS, Aerodyne) for monitoring volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other gases at atmospherically relevant concentrations. The instrument is also equipped with a Filter Inlet for Gases and  AEROsols (FIGAERO) to allow collection and analysis of species in the particulate phase.

• Unique custom-built spectroscopy system for in situ measurements of gases, radicals and properties of particles. Current capabilities are based on cavity enhanced spectroscopies and include HONO, NO2, glyoxal and NO3 radicals, as well as total extinction in the near UV. The system is customisable and can be adapted to measure a range of species over different parts of the spectrum.

• Continuous online measurements of gases (CO2, NOx, O3, SO2) and particles (scanning mobility particle sizer). Air pressure, temperature, and relative humidity are also routinely recorded.

  TIME CONSTRAINTS: None, although access has to be coordinated with other activities in laboratory

IASC will work with researchers and innovators to develop and test new techniques for measuring atmospheric gases and particles. 

Existing standard operating procedures can be used for comparing the performance of new techniques with established techniques. 

IASC will work with innovators in both the public and private sector to test the performance of near-to-market sensors and instruments for measuring atmospheric gases and particles. 

Existing standard operating procedures can be used for comparing the performance of new products with established measurement methods.

The service consists of:

- Investigations of atmospheric processes in the gas- and particle phase

- Investigations of emissions from different combustion emission sources

 - Investigations of atmospheric aging od emissions from different combustion emission sources

- Investigations on toxicological properties of aged and fresh emissions

- Provision of data from experiments

- technical service to use own instruments

- training for planning, evaluation and interpretation of experiments 

- Testing and validating instruments

TIME CONSTRAINTS: None, although access has to be coordinated with other activities in laboratory

The service consists of:

- Physical, remote and hybrid access to the MAC facility

- possibility to perform 6 -8 hr experiments in the simulation chamber

- technical service to use own instruments

- training for planning, evaluation and interpretation of experiments.

- training with state of the art instrumentation connected to MAC 

- training in design and performance of chamber experiments by experienced scientists

MAC is a custom-built atmospheric simulation chamber designed for investigating atmospheric processes, testing new atmospheric measurement techniques and investigating the potential climate and health impacts of pollutants. The chamber is a 18 m3 collapsible cuboid (3 m long × 2 m wide × 3 m high) made of FEP Teflon foil, supported by a central fixed frame and counter-weighted upper and lower frames, surrounded by an air-conditioned housing. A suite of arc, halogen and uv mercury lamps provides simulated solar irradiation. A gas flow control system provides automated filling and flushing of the chamber with purified dry air and numerous ports allow addition and sampling of gases and particles, with bespoke manifolds allowing ready adaptation of instrument and device connection.

The facility has a wide range of ancillary components for injection of pollutants, including electropneumatically valve-controlled large-bore inlets for real pollutant sources (wood-burning stove, Euro 6 engine dynamometer, cooking chamber etc…). 

The chamber can be connected to a variety of devices for investigation of health impacts, including cell exposures (using an air-liquid interface system) and human exposures under clinical trial conditions.

The facility is equipped with a comprehensive range of instruments including:

i)  number of single- and multi-reagent ion time of flight chemical ionisation mass spectrometer (ToF-CIMS, Aerodyne) for monitoring volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other gases at atmospherically relevant concentrations with a range of inlets including the Filter Inlet for Gases and  AEROsols (FIGAERO) to allow analysis of particulate species.

ii) wide range of particle analysis instrumentation, including mobility, optical and aerodynamic sizing (SMPS, DMPS, OPC, APS) and online composition analysis by various time of flight aerosol mass spectrometers (C-ToF, HR-ToF and L-ToF AMS instruments) and particle water uptake under sub-saturated and supersaturated conditions (HTDMA and CCNc)

iii) Continuous online measurements of gases (CO2, NOx, O3), pressure, temperature, and relative humidity by capacitance and dewpoint hygrometers.

TIME CONSTRAINTS: None, although access, staff, ancillary component  and instrument availability must be coordinated with other activities in laboratory