Research services

Long-time observation of Physical and chemical properties of aerosols combining online and offline measurements. Ground-based measurements can be completed with vertical measurements (ceilometer, LIDAR, …). 
In addition, the specific flight-restricted area over the station offers the possibility for UAVs, drones, and tethered balloon flights. 
The research site Melpitz can be used for research projects, measurement campaigns, intercomparison, and test facility for new instruments. 
 

The CESAR location in Cabauw is characterised by a 213 m high observation tower and surrounding observation field, located 50 km far from the North Sea. The site is ideal for atmospheric research on relations between the atmospheric boundary layer, land surface, weather, climate and atmospheric composition. The site is representative for long-term atmospheric studies because surroundings do not differ significantly from those in 1972 when the site was commissioned. 
Cabauw is one of very few observatories around the world that monitors such a wide scope of relevant processes in atmospheric chemistry and physics, hydrology, meteorology, climate, and atmospheric chemistry.
The observational programme includes the following topics:
-        Operational meteorological station
-        Operational air quality monitoring station
-        In-situ observations of meteorological parameters, including extensive land-atmosphere interaction.
-        Energy balance observations including flux measurements.
-        Radiation observations, including a Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) installation and hemispherical cloud cover observations.
-        A suite of aerosol remote sensing instruments, including a high-performance multi-wavelength Raman lidar for aerosols, clouds and water vapour, a ceilometer and a UV-depolarisation lidar.
-        A suite of (scanning) cloud remote sensing instruments, including 3/35/94 GHz cloud radars, microwave radiometers
-        Precipitation observations including a scanning drizzle radar, micro rain radar and disdrometers.
-        Wind profile observations along the tower up to 200 m and a scanning Doppler wind lidar
-        Greenhouse gas observations at four different levels in the tower between 20 m and 180 m.
-        In-situ aerosol observations, including scattering and absorbing aerosol properties, as well as chemical speciation and isotope analysis.
-        Atmospheric composition measurements using in-situ observations and UV-VIS remote sensing.
In addition, the specific flight-restricted area over the station offers the possibility for drones, and tethered balloon flights.
The Cabauw site offers access for research projects, measurement campaigns, intercomparisons, and test facility for new instruments, as well as training. 
 

The service consists of:
·       Quality-assurance of physical and optical in-situ aerosol measurements achieved via instrument intercomparisons, calibration workshops, round-robin test and on-site intercomparisons
·       Capacity building to perform high-quality physical and optical in-situ aerosol characterization via on-site trainings and trainings in the calibration workshops

Estimated duration: There are special time slots for the workshops.

Deployment of the LACROS suite, or components, at a user-defined custom location. It will require strong coordination between user and service provider.
 

Availability period: The service is available, but needs to fit into the deployment schedule of LACROS.

Estimated duration: 

-    Must fit into the regular, existing deployment schedule of the site
-    Deployment duration is at least 4 weeks
-    Preparation time at least 3 months, but additionally depending on the conditions present at the measurement location and administrative regulations

Application, testing, and/or validation of custom retrieval techniques based on measurements of LACROS. LACROS datasets are provided to the user. It is also possible to create customized data products, in agreement to the needs of the user. Possibilities are, e.g., special operation modes or scan modes of the LACROS instruments.

Availability period: The service is available. It can either be applied to existing datasets or to observations at the current location of LACROS.

Lifecycle status: Available. Location is subject to change, due to the mobility of LACROS.

Operation of LACROS equipment and/or user-owned equipment to test and/or validate the instrumentation. Based on an agreement between the user and the service provider, the instrument is added to LACROS and its operation is monitored by the service provider (in case of remote access) or by the user (physical access). The LACROS data products are provided for the time period of the TNA. 

Availability period: The service is available. Location is subject to change, due to the mobility of LACROS.

The service consists of:
- Provision of data from simulation chamber experiments,
- possibility to perform several day-long experiments in the simulation chamber, 
- technical service to use own instruments,
- training for planning, evaluation and interpretation of experiments. 

Availability period: Typically between April and September (photo-chemistry experiments)

Estimated duration: None, although access has to be coordinated with other activities in laboratory

QUAREC can be used to test instruments developed for use in air quality measurements: 
- testing and comparison of instruments and methods
- scientific and technical training.  

Estimated duration: None, but the request of access should be sent at least 2 months in advance.

The QUAREC facility (the simulation chamber and the analytical instruments) allows investigating:
-      homogeneous gas-phase reaction systems (determination of rate coefficients and products formation for the reactions of OH, NO3 halogens and ozone with VOCs)
-      formation of airborne particulates in homogeneous gas-phase reaction systems.

Estimated duration: None, but the request of access should be sent at least 2 months in advance.

The service consists of:
- Provision of data from simulation chamber experiments,
- possibility to perform 6hr 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 PACS-C2 
- Training on how to perform chamber experiments by experienced scientists.

PSI has a full suite of state of the art instrumentation. Depending on the objectives of the campaign, the chambers can be equipped with the following instruments for gas phase characterization: a proton-transfer reaction time of flight mass spectrometer (PTR-TOF-MS), a chemical ionization atmospheric pressure interface time of flight MS (CI-APi-TOF), as well as the standard NOx and ozone monitors; for NO there is also a high sensitivity instrument (detection limit 5 ppt) available, important for experiments a low NOx conditions. For the characterization of the particle phase the following instrumentation is available: condensation particle counters with different lower cut-off sizes (3 and 10 nm), a particle size magnifier (PSM for even smaller particles, scanning mobility particle sizers (SMPS) for the size distribution (two different size ranges available with a nano and a standard SMPS), a high resolution time of flight aerosol mass spectrometer (TOF-AMS), extractive electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometer (EESI-ToF), an instrument for on-line determination or reactive oxygen species (ROS) and peroxides. For black carbon measurements, a single particle soot photometer (SP2) and an aethalometer are available. 

PACS-C2 also focuses on studies on primary emissions and has many sources of primary emissions available (e.g residential wood burning, coal combustion, open burning emissions, vehicular idle emissions).