The ACCuReSy project (Advanced Research on Convective Clouds using Remote Sensing Instruments from new Exploratory Platforms) aimed to perform advanced research of the atmospheric environment before, during, and after convective events, in order to investigate aerosol–cloud interactions with special attention on the factors that contribute to hail formation. The novelty of the proposal resided in the top-class ground-based infrastructures that were used to accomplish the project’s goals.
Two research teams were involved in the project: the Remote Sensing Department of INOE and the Aviation Department of the “Henri Coandă” Air Force Academy, both relying on state-of-the-art facilities, including radar systems operating on various frequencies, meteorological sensors and sondes, and UAVs. The project was implemented in two locations — Măgurele and Brașov — chosen for their relevance in terms of environmental factors that meet the conditions for various types of convective development.
Intensive campaigns were conducted during the convective seasons of 2022 and 2023 in order to build a consistent convective database to be analyzed later. During the project implementation, intervention squads were organized for rapid displacement to areas where convective development was ongoing, allowing on-site documentation, the launch of probes in unstable environments, and, where possible, the collection of samples (e.g., hailstones).
Physico-chemical analyses were performed on hydrometeor samples to investigate the content of suspended particles in the convective environment. Overall, through this project, we aimed to produce new insights into the ways aerosols affect convective storms and to pave the way for implementing these findings into improved prediction models for convective storms, as well as enhancing calibration/validation techniques for Earth Observation satellite missions dedicated to cloud observations.
The project ran between 2022 and 2024.