SACA ACTRIS
The main objective of the project is to strengthen cooperation between Czech and Swiss partners within the European research infrastructure ACTRIS ERIC through knowledge transfer, the adoption of best practice in measurement and modelling, instrument intercalibration and researcher exchanges.
Basic information about the project
Name:
State-of-the-Art Characterization of Atmosphere: Aerosols and Reactive Trace Gases (SACA-ACTRIS)
Consortium:
Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (CHMI)
Institute of Chemical Processes (ICP), Czech Academy of Sciences, v. v. i.
Global Change Research Institute (GCRI), Czech Academy of Sciences, v. v. i.
Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology
Paul Scherrer Institute
Contact person:
adela.holubova@chmi.cz
Granting authority:
Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republiic
Program:
Swiss-Czech Cooperation Program
Description
The goal of the “SACA-ACTRIS” project (State-of-the-Art Characterization of Atmosphere: Aerosols and Reactive Trace Gases) is to strengthen cooperation between Czech and Swiss scientists in air quality research by modernising our measurement technologies, transferring knowledge, and sharing experience. The large research infrastructure ACTRIS-CZ is involved in the project. The Czech Hydrometeorological Institute, the Institute of Chemical Process Fundamentals of the CAS, and the Global Change Research Institute of the CAS ensure participation in the SACA-ACTRIS project. The Swiss partners are the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) and the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), representing the ACTRIS Switzerland research infrastructure.
The project, supported through Czech-Swiss cooperation with an amount of 42,965,000 CZK, focuses on improving the measurement of aerosol particle optical properties, enabling more accurate real-time identification of air pollution sources, mapping the occurrence of black carbon, and studying volatile organic compounds.
Thanks to more accurate data and a better understanding of how various pollutants affect human health, we will have more detailed information available. This will enable the design of more targeted measures that lead to cleaner air, ensuring a better quality of life for us and reducing health risks from air pollution.
The project will address three main tasks:
- Optical properties of aerosols: Aerosol polarimetry will be added to the light scattering and absorption coefficients already measured for aerosols. This method will enable information on the shape, morphology and chemical composition of the particles to be obtained through the detection of polarised light. The Czech side will purchase an IMAP polarimeter, and Swiss colleagues, as part of the collaboration between ICP and PSI, will assist with the implementation and interpretation of the measured data.
- Identifying sources of atmospheric aerosols and mapping black carbon: The combination of AXA instruments (TOF-ACSM Aerosol Mass Spectrometer, XACT metal monitor and AE-33 aethalometer) will enable the measurement of inorganic ions, organic matter, metals, light absorption and black carbon, thereby identifying up to twelve aerosol sources with high temporal resolution. Thanks to collaboration between the CHMI, ICP and PSI, measurement campaigns will be carried out at the NAOK rural background station, the Prague-Suchdol and the industrial station at Lom. At the same time, ultra-detailed maps of black carbon concentrations will be developed for exposure assessment using machine learning models that link chemical-transport simulations with geostatistical data.
- Reactive trace gases (volatile organic compounds, VOCs): The PTR-TOF-MS spectrometer operated by the Czech side at the NAOK station is run in accordance with QA/QC procedures developed in Switzerland and transferred to the Czech Republic through cooperation between ÚVGZ and EMPA. As part of joint campaigns in both countries, the measurements will be compared
with a gas chromatograph equipped with flame ionisation detection, and new approaches to the interpretation of VOC data will be implemented in the Czech Republic.
