ACTRIS CiGas Community Workshop 2026: When does an instrument get a new identity? 

On 21 October 2026, the ACTRIS CiGas community met in Katowice for its annual workshop, held as a hybrid session during ACTRIS Week 2026 at the University of Silesia. About 20 people joined on site and up to 52 online for three hours of presentations and discussion.

One question, many answers: when does an instrument need a new PID?

Markus Fiebig set the scene with use cases for the instrument database and PIDInst. Participants then split into drop-out sessions by instrument type (GC, PTR, NOx and condensables) to work out which changes should lead to a new persistent identifier. The results show how much depends on the instrument:

• NOx instruments: Swapping a converter or changing a serial number does not necessarily mean a new PID. A different instrument type, or a move to a distant location, does. A new PID also starts a new time series, so data before and after can’t be compared directly.
• PTR instruments: Hardware changes to the drift tube, the sampling line material, the height of the inlet and the ASC case of moving an inlet between chambers all need clear rules. One example discussed was coupling a PTR Vocus with a fast GC.

What’s coming up

• SAPHIR chamber intercomparison: Initiated by CEN working group 13, it will validate several methods for determining VOCs. Tender preparations are under way. Participants should note that the results will be published regardless of outcome.
• CAMEROne: The next side-by-side intercomparison on the CiGas platform focuses on OVOCs. Those interested should watch for the TNA call, expected around January 2027.
• CiGas Box: The instrument database already offers PIDs, a labbook, QA/QC activities and reporting. Further development will continue within ACTRIS NEXT.

Data, portal and training

• NRT data: Thérèse Salameh and Max Adam reported on near real-time submission of VOCs and NOx within the CAMS2_21a project.
• Data status: Yong Lin summarised the 2025 data submission and the status of NOx and VOC data, including the EBAS IO file creation and format check.
• Data Portal: Maria Leseth Føyen demonstrated the updated ACTRIS Data Portal, with a new API and better search options. She also announced the NILU Atmospheric Data Training for Next-Gen Scientists & Managers on 10–12 February 2027.

Cross-checking QA/QC in small groups

Anja Claude presented a new QA/QC process in which National Facilities work in small groups of about three to cross-check, discuss and validate their data. This spreads expertise and improves the process through shared feedback. A pilot group gave promising results. Anyone who wants to take part can contact Zoe Le Bras (zoe.lebras@empa.ch) or Anja Claude (anja.claude@dwd.de).

Ralf Tillmann also gave an overview of the labelling status and the labelling and audit process.

The presentations are linked on the agenda below, and the full minutes can be found here.

• Welcome and introduction of the agenda - Thérèse Salameh, Ralf Tillmann
• Upcoming intercomparison activities  - Ralf Tillmann, Thérèse Salameh
• CiGas Box update (CiGas instrument database) - Ralf Tillmann

• Instrument Identification - A Motivation - Markus Fiebig

• Discussion on changes which lead to a new instrument PID

• Results from the drop-out sessions - Bianca Krumm, Thérèse Salameh, Max Adam, Nina Sarnela

• Near Real-Time (NRT) data submission and vision - Thérèse Salameh, Max Adam

• Trace gas data status and updates from DC In-situ - Yong Lin, Maria Leseth Føyen

• Labelling and audit status and process - Ralf Tillmann

• External review QA/QC-WG - Anja Claude

This text was generated with Claude AI