ACTRIS National Facility
The Aerosol, Clouds and Trace Gases Research Infrastructure (ACTRIS) is a pan-European research infrastructure that supports the scientific community in studying short-lived atmospheric constituents such as aerosols, clouds, and trace gases, which are essential for understanding air quality and climate. ACTRIS provides high-quality data, access to advanced instrumentation, and opportunities for collaboration among atmospheric scientists. It operates as a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC), a specific legal framework created by the European Union to facilitate the establishment and operation of research infrastructures with European interest. Within ACTRIS, a National Facility refers to an observational or exploratory platform that has a contractual relationship with ACTRIS ERIC. These facilities are developed, managed, and operated by national research-performing organizations and are responsible for providing data and/or offering physical or remote access to their infrastructure. National Facilities are critical components of the ACTRIS structure, ensuring consistent, high-standard observations across Europe.
RADO-Bucharest is a fixed ground-based Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) regional site located in southeastern Romania, in a peri-urban area with flat terrain, approximately 6 km southwest of Bucharest. It is a National Facility consisting of three observational platforms, Aerosol Remote Sensing, Aerosol In Situ, and Cloud Remote Sensing, out of the six observational platform types defined within ACTRIS.
RADO-Bucharest is operated by the National Institute of R&D for Optoelectronics – INOE 2000.