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ATTO project

ATTO: the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory, an Amazon research project

Keywords : ATTO, Aerosols, Photometer, Atmosphere

The Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO) is the world’s highest research facility located in the middle of the Amazon rainforest in northern Brazil. It is a research site with a 325 meters tower for atmospheric observations.

This joint German-Brazilian project was launched in 2008 in order to further the understanding of the Amazon rainforest and its interaction with the soil beneath and the atmosphere above. This is made possible by recording continuously meteorological, chemical and biological data such as greenhouse gases or aerosols.

Scientists and researchers on site hope to gain insights into how the Amazon interacts with the atmosphere and the soil. This region is very important for the global climate as Saharan dust, biomass smoke from Africa, urban and marine aerosols come from long distances due to the winds. It is vital to get a better understanding of this area for environmental decisions.

On this gigantic tower, a CE318-T photometer is installed at 210 meters from the ground and allows a more efficient calculation of the quantity of aerosols present in the air around this site. The photometer uses NASA’s AERONET calibration system to collect the most reliable data possible.

Cimel photometer on the tower (© NASA AERONET)

At the core of the project is to learn more about biogeochemical cycles, the water cycle and energy fluxes in the Amazon. The goal is to determine their impact on global climate and how they are influenced by the changing climate and land-use change.

ATTO teams strive to close a gap in the global climate monitoring network and want to improve climate prediction models and to recognize the importance of the Amazon within the climate system.

Thanks to our sun-photometer, the scientists on site were able to collect information on daily mean AOD values at 550 nm wavelength.  These data allowed us to analyze the soils present in the atmosphere of the Amazon forest. Here some results of the ATTO project with our sun-photometer between August and September 2019.

Citation: Hassan Bencherif, Nelson Bègue, Damaris Kirsch Pinheiro, David Du Preez, Jean-Maurice Cadet, et al.. Investigating the Long-Range Transport of Aerosol Plumes Following the Amazon Fires (August 2019): A Multi-Instrumental Approach from Ground-Based and Satellite Observations. Remote Sensing, MDPI, 2020, Advances in Remote Sensing of Biomass Burning, 12 (22), pp.3846.

Read the article here!

If you want to discover or learn more about this major project, visit: https://www.attoproject.org/

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Agora-Lab

New joint laboratory “AGORA-LAB”

Keywords : Aerosols, Photometer, LiDAR, AGORA-LAB, Atmosphere

On 18 May 2021, the CNRS published its innovation letter highlighting the joint laboratory between Cimel and the LOA (Laboratoire d’optique atmosphérique) called «  AGORA-LAB »

This joint laboratory will allow the development of a multi-year research programme with the main objective of further improving photometric and LiDAR technics for aerosol characterization, providing synergies between instruments, and developing autonomous mobile measurement systems such as the Mobile Aerosol Monitoring Solutions (M-AAMS) for air quality and climate science to obtain aerosol measurements as below:

Figure 1: Spatial variability in vertical aerosol distribution, optical thickness (AOD), and surface aerosol concentration (Popovici et al., 2018).

Some campaigns have already been deployed, such as MAP-IO campaign with the installation of a Cimel photometer on board of the Marion Dufresne ship, to carry out measurements during the trip, whilst automatically processing data.

Other mobile platforms in the joint laboratory program will be installed on airplanes like for the SAFIRE project, but also on trains, as part of the Equipex Obs4Clim, to measure different types of aerosols.

The LOA studies the various components of the atmosphere, mainly clouds, aerosols and certain gases, which thus play a major role in the Earth’s energy balance. The laboratory has internationally recognized expertise in remote sensing, covering a wide spectral range from the ultraviolet and solar domains to thermal infrared and millimeter waves. The LOA will be the spokesperson for the joint laboratory AGORA-LAB to deploy the projects planned by the two entities.

As for CIMEL, we will contribute to AGORA-LAB by putting forwards its assets, namely:

  • Our design and model-making laboratory.
  • Our characterization and functional tests in electronics.
  • New means of optical and mechanical design and prototyping.
  • A laboratory for adjustment and testing of lidar in our factory.

Click here to read the full CNRS innovation letter.

Contacts:

  • Philippe Goloub / Researcher at the Laboratory of Atmospheric Optics / philippe.goloub@univ-lille1.fr
  • Stephane Victori / Scientific Director, Cimel / s-victori@cimel.fr

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MSc Atmospheric Environment

MSc Atmospheric Environment: international master degree

A 2-years program graduating a Master of Science in physics or chemistry of the atmosphere, at the highest level aiming to give intendants a strong background in:

  • Physical and chemical properties of the atmosphere from the molecular to the global scale,
  • Analytical sciences applied to airborne environment,
  • Recent research activities on air pollution and climate changes.

The international Master  « Atmospheric Sciences » is supported by the french Laboratory of Excellence CaPPA which involves large complementary research projects gathering together partner teams with strong scientific qualifications. It leads top-level research activities thanks to the diversity of researchers’ disciplines and its promising research topics.

Training is dedicated to students in physics and chemistry having validated 4 years of study (Master 1st year / Bachelor / 240 ECTS-credits), wishing to follow a specialization in atmospheric sciences to get a strong background in theory and practical works.

A visit to every laboratory involved in the Labex CaPPA is organized, helping students to identify the research topic they want to specialize in.

Strengths of the training
  • Students are immersed in an international environment and all courses are delivered in English.
  • Students from more than 14 nationalities attended to our master since 2013.
  • A master degree in a stimulating scientific environment within the Graduate Program “Science for a Changing Planet“.

Additional documents:
Download the leaflet
MSc presentation (pdf)

From September 2021, this program replaces the former M2 Atmospheric Environment.

You can also find more details about the program on the website: http://www.labex-cappa.fr/master-atmospheric-environment

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GAWPFR WMO reference

New AOD tracking technique by ESA with AERONET and the GAWPFR WMO reference

Keywords : Aerosols, Atmosphere, Sun/Sky/Lunar photometer, Meteorology

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has recognised the Word Optical Depth Research and Calibration Center (WORCC) as the primary reference center for Aerosol Optical Depth measurements. The WORCC is a section within the World Radiation Center at the Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium Davos (PMOD/WRC), located in Davos, Switzerland.

With its new QA4EO project, European Space Agency (ESA) wishes to obtain homogeneous results between the various passive monitoring networks of passive remote sensing of aerosol optical properties, presents in Davos and in France at the Observatoire de Haute Provence (OHP).

Consequently, a precision filter radiometer (PFR) travelling standard was installed at the European calibration site of AERONET to supply continuous traceability of aerosol optical depth measurements to the World reference maintained at Davos through a PFR Triad.

The precision filter radiometer was installed in July 2020 at the Observatoire de Haute Provence (OHP) on a solar tracker provided by the Laboratoire d’Observation Atmosphérique (LOA) next to our 4 sun photometers (CE318-T).

OHP’s platform, with four CIMEL Sun/Sky/Lunar photometers CE318-T and the PFR traveling (at the right of the picture).

The measurements of spectral solar irradiance during clear sky periods are used to retrieve AOD from our photometers with AERONET calibration and the PFR.

You can follow the comparison between these two instruments in real time on this web page. This real-time analysis allows for continuous monitoring and quality control of the measurements provided by these two devices.

Real-time monitoring of the measurement analysis of the two instruments on 24 March 2021 – Source: https://www.pmodwrc.ch/en/world-radiation-center-2/worcc/gaw-pfr/ohp/

After 6 months of comparison (August 2020 to January 2021) between the two networks, results have been very promising with an Aerosol Optical Depth difference of less than 0.01, corresponding perfectly to the WMO criteria for AOD traceability for 3 of its 4 channels. This shows that the results provided by CIMEL CE318-T photometers are in line with the WMO expectations and that CIMEL photometers may be used as an instrument of reference for other research projects.

Other projects are in parallel with this one such as the 19ENV04 project funded by EURAMET and the European Commission to extend the traceability of international unit systems through the characterization and calibration of our Sun/Sky/Lunar photometers from these networks (See more information here).

This collaboration between research institutes and the European metrology community will establish a consistent framework providing calibrations of our Sun/Sky/Lunar photometers with traceability to the SI as well as comprehensive uncertainty budgets that will be a necessary part of the data provided to the users and actors of these networks.

References:
Kazadzis, S., Kouremeti, N., Nyeki, S., Gröbner, J., and Wehrli, C.: The World Optical Depth Research and Calibration Center (WORCC) quality assurance and quality control of GAW-PFR AOD measurements, Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 7, 39-53, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-7-39-2018, 2018.

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MAP-IO campaign

Ship-borne CE318-T photometer aboard the Marion Dufresne in the frame of the MAP-IO.

January 11th – March 8th2021

Since the beginning of January 2021, one of our CE318-T photometers is permanently embarked on the Marion Dufresne as part of the MAP-IO (Marion Dufresne Atmospheric Program – Indian Ocean) research programme.

The objective of a permanent installation of our photometer on the Marion Dufresne is to allow the measurement of atmospheric aerosols from mobile platforms, and to extend and automate the coverage of the AERONET network.

CE318-T CIMEL photometer aboard the Marion Dufresne (Credits : LACY/University of la Réunion)

In future campaigns, our photometer will be used mainly in the Southern Hemisphere and the Indian Ocean to measure the aerosol optical depth (AOD). The new campaign that has just started is the result of preparatory campaigns like OCEANET and SEA2CLOUD, during which the system has been tested, improved and validated.

Below, the preliminary results of the campaign obtained thanks to satellite data transmitted to the LOA/CNRS to measure spectral AOD, water vapour content, Ångström exponent, and sky radiance for AERONET.

Map of the first daytime recorded AOD (level 1.5) between 13 and 31 January 2021 (Source: Luc Blarel at LOA/CNRS/U. Lille).

Objectives

  • To monitor long-term atmospheric changes in the Indian and Austral oceans regions which are very poorly documented (IR ACTRIS and ICOS).
  • To calibrate and validation data from satellites.
  • To understand better the ocean-atmosphere exchanges and regional pollution by improving and adapting and adapting the parametizations used in numerical weather and climate predition models over the Indian and the Austral oceans.

If you want to know more about this campaign click here !

Key words: Aerosols, Atmosphere, sun/sky/lunar photometer, Meteorology

  • Logo Cimel
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ROSAS – CESBIO

CESBIO_ROSAS

ROSAS – A new BRDF photometer installed in Lamasquère by CESBIO

The Lamasquère site (France) is now equipped with a CIMEL 12 filters photometer (CE318-TU12) which measures direct and diffuse irradiation, and the directional reflectance of the surface (BRDF).

This system, installed in March 2021, is called RObotic Station for Atmosphere and Surface (ROSAS) and operates mounted on top of a 10 m high mast in a field on the agricultural area of Lamothe farm in Lamasquère (France). The CESBIO ROSAS station is thus the 3rd site of this type worldwide after the CNES station in La Crau (France) and the CNES/ESA station in Gobabeb (Namibia), and the first to characterize an agricultural vegetated surface, with seasonal and inter-annual variations of the cover.

The spatial and temporal heterogeneity of the surface of this new site makes it more suitable for the validation of surface reflectance (after atmospheric correction), than for the absolute calibration of satellite sensors, as it is the case for La Crau and Gobabeb. When the Lamasquère field crops become very green and dense, the surfaces are dark and the atmospheric correction errors have a strong impact on the reflectance estimates, and when the crops are mature or the plot is bare ground, the adjacency effects due to the nearby forest become strong. Such in situ measurements are thus of primary interest to CESBIO, CNES and the broader scientific community.

The data are automatically transmitted to CESBIO and CNES every hour via the mobile phone network (GPRS), and processed periodically to derive the filtered bi-directional reflectance distribution function (BRDF).

Here below, you can find the first BRDF measurements acquired a few days after the validation of the station:

Polar diagrams of surface reflectances measured by the ROSAS station in Lamasquère. The 0° azimut corresponds to observations towards the South. The top left image was taken in the morning, the top right around noon, bottom left in the afternoon, and bottom right later on after the arrival of clouds. The yellow dots indicate the position of the sun . The radius of the graph corresponds to the zenith angle, and the other dimension is the azimuth with regard to the North.

Keywords: CIMEL, photometer, ROSAS, CNES, AERONET, CESBIO, BRDF

More information on : https://lnkd.in/dhh7KXN

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RIMA NASA-AERONET network : Long-term monitoring of aerosol properties

UVa - Proyecto Aeropa

RIMA NASA-AERONET network: Long-term monitoring of aerosol properties

RIMA (Red Ibérica de Medida fotométrica de Aerosoles) is a scientific network for the long-term monitoring of columnar aerosol properties based on sun-photometer measurements. RIMA is federated to AERONET (AErosol RObotic NETwork), a NASA program in collaboration with the University of Lille (LOA). According to the AERONET aims, the scientific objectives of RIMA involve the characterization of aerosols for climate studies, the validation of satellite products and the synergies with other measurements and data correlation.

RIMA follows all AERONET protocols (calibration, measurements, data policy, etc.) and its sites and data are available through the AERONET web site. The key task of calibration and the network management are carried out by the Group of Atmospheric Optics of the University of Valladolid (GOA-UVa) and master instruments are calibrated at the high-mountain facility CIAI (Izaña Atmospheric Research Center, AEMET) in collaboration with PHOTONS and CIAI-AEMET. Large support is obtained from the AERONET (NASA) and PHOTONS (University of Lille). The calibration facility used by CIMEL for photometers in Izaña is important thanks to its pure sky and its absolute zero which allows a perfect calibration of those solutions since 2006.

A software named Caelis was recently developed by GOA as a service to the RIMA community with the aim to facilitate the network management and the control of the site instruments and measurements. This tool relies on a powerful relational data base which represents a great potential for the scientific work as well.

Keywords: Aerosols, AERONET, Calibration, Sun/Sky/Lunar Multispectral Photometer, Earth observation, Atmospheric monitoring, Satellite CAL/VAL

Acronyms :

  • CIAI: Centro de Investigación Atmosférica de Izaña
  • GOA-Uva: Grupo de Optica Atmosférica – Universidad de Valladolid
  • LOA: Laboratoire d’Optique Atmosphérique

Citation : Toledano, C. & Cachorro, Victoria & Berjón, Alberto & Frutos Baraja, A. & Fuertes, David & González, R. & Torres, Benjamin & Rodrigo, R. & Bennouna, Yasmine & Martín, L. & Guirado-Fuentes, Carmen. (2011). RIMA-AERONET network: Long-term monitoring of aerosol properties. Optica Pura y Aplicada. 44. 629-633.

READ THE ARTICLE  HERE!

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ESA – New remote sensing tech on satellite for atmospheric measurements

VEGA Rocket

ESA – New remote sensing tech on satellite for atmospheric measurements

3 SEPTEMBER 2020

On September 3rd 2020, ESA has launched 42 small satellites aboard a Vega rocket from Kourou in French Guiana for the Copernicus Project.

This new type of satellites capable of measuring CO2 emissions to the nearest kilometer and pinpointing their origin.

One of these nanosatellites, PICASSO, carries remote sensing technology developed which will be used to undertake measurements in the upper layers of Earth’s atmosphere.

PICASSO stands for Pico-Satellite for Atmospheric and Space Science Observations and it’s the first CubeSat nanosatellite mission of the Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy.

Weighing only 3.5kg, it carries two measuring instruments for atmospheric research: A Visible Spectral Imager for Occultation and Nightglow (VISION) and a system to conduct plasma measurements in the ionosphere, the Sweeping Langmuir Probe (SLP).

This project of analysis and collection of satellite data will be carried out over 5 years. The aim is to obtain as much precise information as possible on the quantification of gases in the air.

We will be able to know exactly the real CO2 emission by country, cities and the origin of gases (if it’s anthropogenic or natural).

Thanks to this initiative, more and more surveillance systems will be sent into space over the next few years, which will help develop the market for remote sensing solutions.

Cimel will be part of this development by bringing additional data thanks to its photometers and LiDARs to help calibrate and validate data from satellites.

Credits: ESA-M. Pedoussaut

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MOSAIC

MOSAiC expedition for climate – The world largest polar expedition

1 SEPTEMBER 2019 – 31 OCTOBER 2020

The MOSAiC (Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate) expedition is the largest polar expedition in history, involving hundreds of scientists from twenty countries for climate researches.

In September 2019, the German research icebreaker Polarstern set sail from Tromsø, Norway, to spend a year drifting through the Arctic Ocean, trapped in ice, to learn more about global warming and climate change.

This expedition is led by atmospheric scientist Markus Rex, and co-led by Klaus Dethloff and Matthew Shupe, MOSAiC is spearheaded by Alfred Wegener Institute, Hekmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research (AWI).

The goal of the MOSAiC expedition is to require the closest look ever at the Arctic as the epicentre of worldwide warming and to realize fundamental insights that are key to raise understand global climate changes. The objective is to assess the impact of climate change on the region and on the world as a whole and, ultimately, to improve the performance of climate models in order to obtain more realistic projections.

In this expedition, TROPOS uses one of our Photometer (CE318-T) on the Polarstern to assist the scientists by measuring the atmosphere and providing data to help understanding the climatic model of the Arctic. (Follow the TROPOS campaign here).

MOSAiC expedition 2019
Scientific teams during MOSAiC campaign – December 15, 2019 (Alfred-Wegener-Institut / Esther Horvath)

The new and upcoming studies of the Poles are very important to understand our world, allowing new openings to new applications, new opportunities and new solutions for our environment.

All the results of the analysis will produce a flood of measurement data, which will be extremely valuable for the participating researchers and their peers around the globe, and also for humanity as a whole.

The MOSAiC expedition will end on October 12th after 390 days in extreme conditions for the 600 scientists who took turns in this incredible expedition in the Arctic.

Accordingly, the policy for MOSAiC data is based on a spirit of international cooperation, which all expedition participants expressly agree to adhere to. All the data is saved in the MOSAiC database wich is accessible by scientists of each country for detailed analyses and sharing it to the different members, states participating in this incredible and historical adventure.

If you want to follow the expedition, please check the MOSAiC website here or the Polastern Blog.

Image source: Alfred-Wegener-Institut / [Urheber/Fotograf] 

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COVID-19

Research and atmosphere monitoring never stop, even during the COVID-19 pandemic

During the Covid-19 lockdown, the automatic CIMEL micro-pulse LiDARs continued profiling the atmosphere! The CIMEL micro-pulse LiDARs do not require supervised operation or human attendance, allowing recording continuous measurements during emergency situations like the Covid-19 lockdown.

An example of continuous measurements performed by the CE376-GPN micro-pulse LiDAR (532 nm polarized and 808 nm unpolarized) along with the CE318-T Sun/Sky/Lunar photometer at Laboratoire d’Optique Atmosphérique (LOA) in Lille, France are presented below (Fig.1).

Figure 1: Measurements by the CE376-GPN micro-pulse LiDAR along with the CE318-T photometer at LOA in Lille

Since the lockdown in France on 16 March 2020, the CIMEL micro-pulse LiDAR continues measurements, providing long time series of LiDAR data which will allow to study the impact of the lockdown on air quality.

On the examples above, two situations are presented during this period: low fine particle loading from urban background pollution and a desert dust intrusion event on 27 March 2020 (Fig.1, left) and low aerosol loading (fine particles from urban background pollution) on 5 April 2020 (Fig.1, right).

The daily mean AOD at 500 nm recorded by the CE318-T sun photometer was 0.35 for the dust event on 27 March 2020 and 0.1 for the “clean” conditions on 5 April 2020.

The desert dust intrusion event captured in CIMEL LiDAR data at Lille on 27 March 2020 is consistent with the Saharan dust intrusion forecasted by the NMMB/BSC-Dust model (See Fig.2 below), showing shallow dust layers in the 3 – 10 km altitude range (the dotted line on the dust forecast figure represents the location of Lille, France).

Figure 2: NMMB/BSC-Dust model

More recently, the CE376-GPNP micro-pulse LIDAR (Fig. 3) is operating at CIMEL in Paris, France, to provide more continuous data for the aerosols and clouds research community.

Figure 3: Measurements by the CE376-GPN micro-pulse LiDAR along with the CE318-T photometer at CIMEL in Paris