Presidential mission in Southeast Asia

CIMEL strengthens its presence in Southeast Asia during the France-Vietnam Presidential Mission

Keywords: CIMEL, Environmental Monitoring, Atmospheric Science, JETP , Air Quality, Climate Action, BMKG, VAST, Macron.

May 2025

As part of the official visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Southeast Asia in May 2025, a delegation of French companies and institutions took part in a strategic mission in Vietnam and Indonesia under the “France-Vietnam: A Shared Future” initiative.

CIMEL, represented by Idris SANHAJ, our Sales and Marketing Director, was honored to be part of the French delegation, reaffirming our commitment to international scientific and environmental cooperation.

During this mission, CIMEL had the opportunity to engage with several national authorities and scientific institutions:

In Indonesia, Idris visited the BMKG (Badan Meteorologi, Klimatologi, dan Geofisika), the national agency for meteorology, climatology, and geophysics, to explore avenues for collaboration on atmospheric observation and extreme weather monitoring (picture on the left).
In Vietnam, he met with the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) and several research teams to discuss cooperation in aerosol monitoring, dust events, and solar radiation measurements (picture on the right).

This mission, supported by Team France Export and the French Embassy, highlighted CIMEL’s role as a key player in atmospheric observation technologies in the Asia-Pacific region — particularly in the context of the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) and climate change adaptation strategies.

We are deeply grateful to all our partners for their warm welcome and shared ambition to tackle pressing environmental challenges through science and innovation.

CIMEL is proud to contribute to global initiatives for a cleaner, more resilient, and sustainable future.

13 Nov 202420 Nov 2024

New CE710 Raman LiDAR

Pioneering Aerosol Remote Sensing: LOA and CIMEL’s Journey with the CE710 LiDAR for ACTRIS

Keywords: LiDAR, Aerosols, monitoring, remote sensing, ACTRIS, Raman.

November 13^th 2024

The Laboratoire d’Optique Atmosphérique (LOA) at the University of Lille, in collaboration with CIMEL, focuses on studying clouds, aerosols, gases, and their interactions with radiation, utilizing advanced remote sensing instrumentation for experiments, observations, and modeling. LOA brings its expertise to ACTRIS as the Quality Assurance and Control Lead, playing a crucial role in maintaining precise and reliable photometric aerosol measurements.

Since 1991, LOA and CIMEL have collaborated to advance and refine photometry techniques for measuring aerosols and water vapor. This collaboration was at the origin of the NASA AERONET planetary network, built with the CIMEL sun/sky/lunar photometers for over three decades. In 2005, building on this success, they extended their cooperation to include aerosol LiDAR technologies. Finally, in 2020, LOA and CIMEL established a joint research laboratory, AGORA-Lab, to develop advanced remote sensing technologies, including Lidars and photometers, and to combine them for cutting-edge performance.

LiDARs provide high-resolution vertical profiles of aerosols and clouds, while photometers offer column-integrated aerosol optical properties. By combining these measurements, calibration, quality control and retrievals are enhanced, leading to better quantification and characterization of aerosols and higher-level data products.

Since 2012, CIMEL and LOA have collaborated on developing the CE710 LiDAR, a high-power, multi-spectral Mie-Raman-Fluorescence LiDAR, spearheading significant advancements in aerosol measurement capabilities. The first version, called LILAS, was set up on the ATOLL platform (Atmospheric Observatory of Lille) and has been part of ACTRIS since 2015.

LOA and CIMEL continuously advance the industrialization and validation of the CE710 LiDAR range, making it a cost-efficient, modular solution that is ACTRIS-ready, meaning it meets all current and future guidelines. This cutting-edge technology provides innovative features that enhance measurement accuracy, operational efficiency, and adaptability to evolving scientific needs.

CE710 LiDAR range: Key features

Multi-wavelength emission: 355, 532 and 1064 nm.
Up to 15 detection channels: to profile a wide range of atmospheric parameters, including aerosol backscatter, depolarization, fluorescence, water vapor, trace gases, and temperature.
Advanced laser technology: Uses diode or flash-lamp pumped Nd:YAG lasers with energy per pulse up to 200 mJ at 355 nm and repetition rate up to 200 Hz.
Depolarization capability: Measures linear depolarization ratios at multiple wavelengths to distinguish between spherical and non-spherical particles.
Fluorescence detection: Provides additional vertically resolved information to improve aerosol typing.
Customizable configurations: The modular design allows adaptation to initial and evolving research objectives.
Robust and transportable design: Facilitates installation, inside or outside with optional thermal enclosure.
Data Processing: Includes AUSTRAL software for real-time visualization and interpretation of measurement data.

Key benefits of the CE710 LiDARs for the ACTRIS community

Enhanced data quality: The CE710 meets all the requirements of the stringent ACTRIS Quality Assurance guidelines, that ensure high measurement precision and reliability and are a prerequisite for data certification by ACTRIS.
Comprehensive aerosol profiling: The multi-channel design allows detailed characterization of aerosol physical and chemical properties, providing valuable inputs for atmospheric models.
Integrated calibration tools: The built-in remote control and calibration functions enable operators to consistently perform standardized quality control operations over time.
Advanced analysis capabilities: The AUSTRAL software offers real-time data processing and visualization, enabling quick assessment of atmospheric conditions and facilitating advanced research and collaborative projects.
Future-Proof Design: The modular architecture supports future upgrades, allowing the system to adapt to evolving scientific requirements and technological advancements.

For more information on the CE710 LiDAR range, click here!

11 Apr 202411 Apr 2024

XII WLMLA – São Paulo – IPEN

CIMEL at the 12th Workshop on LiDAR Measurement in Latin America

Keywords: LiDAR, Aerosols, monitoring, remote sensing, LALINET.

April 7^th-12^th 2024

The Latin America Lidar Network (LALINET), was created during the first Workshop on LiDAR Measurement in Latin America (WLMLA) in 2001, to better understand aerosol distribution over South America and its impact on weather and climate.

This year is organized the 12th edition of the Workshop on Lidar Measurements in Latin America (XII WLMLA) hosted by IPEN (Instituto de pesquisas energéticas e nucleares) in São Paulo, Brazil, from 7^th to 12^th April 2024.

The goal of this event was to share knowledge between LiDAR researchers and students, promoting cooperation between scientific members of the LiDAR community, and fostering future LiDAR research projects to strengthen the Latin-American Lidar Network (LALINET).

Two representatives from CIMEL, Dr. Ioana Popovici and Dr. Igor Veselovskii, had the opportunity to present our LiDAR technology and share some data collected on smoke and dust events using our CE376 LiDAR and the CE710 LILAS depolarization and fluorescence channels.

It was also the opportunity to introduce our new LiDAR CE710 developed within AGORA-Lab.