ACTRIS (Aerosol, Clouds, and Trace Gases Research Infrastructure) Programme Component, Support Measure “Emissions Research & Monitoring Infrastructure Programme” – The Remote Sensing Department of INOE 2000

Project Title: ACTRIS (Aerosol, Clouds, and Trace Gases Research Infrastructure) Programme Component, Support Measure “Emissions Research & Monitoring Infrastructure Programme”

Project duration: 1.11.2025 – 31.03.2029

This work is supported by Second Swiss Contribution to reducing economic and social disparities in the EU, and national state budget, through the Swiss-Romanian Cooperation Programme, Support Measure “Emissions Research & Monitoring Infrastructure Programme”, ACTRIS Programme Component, contract RO-CH, no.2/2025.

Objectives: This project aims to extend the Romanian capacity and knowledge related to aerosol composition, and to reinforce the collaboration with one of the world-leading institutions in the field of source apportionment of organics in ambient air.

In particular, the addition of trace metals to Romanian monitoring capabilities ensures that all health-relevant components can be measured, while the implementation of real-time source apportionment capabilities will permit source-specific information to be available on timescales useful to national and regional policymakers. Further, the project investigates the added-value of setting up a new aerosol in-situ measurement facility in Cluj-Napoca (northwest part of Romania), which is characterized by a completely different environment than the one in Bucharest. The collection of ACTRIS-compliant aerosol in situ observations in that region will help fill the gap in East Europe, which is currently highly under-represented. Finally, the impact of the project will be maximized by the integration of compositional and source apportionment results with measurements of health-relevant chemical parameters and fine-scale modelling of source-related aerosol components.

General objectives of the project:

To capitalize on the previous collaborations with the Swiss partner, and build on the existing expertise of the entire consortium for improving scientific knowledge on the chemical composition and optical properties of aerosol and their effects on air quality, climate and weather;
To extend the surface-based measurements of aerosol properties in Romania by setting up a new ACTRIS-compliant observation site in Cluj-Napoca, as part of the RADO-Cluj National Facility;
To assess the key sources and processes governing aerosol pollution in Romania and their implications for public health;
To complement existing in-situ and remote sensing observations with a research component addressing aerosol polarimetry;
To increase the prestige of the Romanian scientists within the ACTRIS community and worldwide.

Specific objectives of the project are the following:

To foster know-how exchange between Swiss and Romanian partners concerning best practices for in situ equipment operation, data quality assurance and control, as well as advanced data processing and analysis;
To advance scientific knowledge on the particularities of aerosols in Eastern Europe by joint scientific studies focusing on the assessment of particulate matter’s chemical composition, sources contributing to the organic fraction, and the relationship of these to health-relevant parameters;
To expand knowledge on angular distribution of light scattering by aerosol particles to improve aerosol polarimetric retrievals central to advance aerosol remote sensing products;
To understand regional-scale and local-scale variations in aerosol pollution, in terms of concentration, composition, sources, and their implications for public health;
To boost the visibility of Romanian scientists by joint publications in high-impact scientific journals.

The most important results expected at the end of the project are:

Strengthening scientific collaboration between Romanian and Swiss partners, with a specific focus on instrument operation, implementation of near real time data analysis/source apportionment, advanced data analysis, and publications;
Investigates the added-value of setting up a new aerosol in-situ measurement facility in Cluj-Napoca for long-term operation;
Advancement of scientific knowledge referring to the spatial and temporal variability of aerosol composition in Eastern Europe, its key sources, and the implications for public health;
Increased visibility of Romanian scientists;
Development of young researchers from Romania in very new and important research directions at global scale, considering the impact of aerosol composition on ecosystems and climate.