Harmonisation of European aerosol data
The high degree of variability of aerosol particles in the atmosphere is the key reason for the great uncertainty in the detailed knowledge of their physical and chemical parameters. At the same time, aerosol measurements are mostly conducted by individual organisations and laboratories with obtained data being potentially unavailable to the wider scientific community by fast and direct means. To answer this need the CREATE project focused on the construction, use and delivery of a European aerosol database that allows directly accessible coordinated data in the community. This data involve various aerosol properties, such as number concentration, size distribution and aerosol, as well as radiation parameters including light scattering and absorption coefficient, particulate mass and chemical composition. In agreement with the Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU), its database is hosted in the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP) -Chemical Coordinating Centre (CCC) database. Aerosol data can be submitted through the standard NASA-AMES 1001 format by ten atmospheric research stations. It comprises typically 3-5 years - for the period between 1995-2003 - of hourly values of the aerosol parameters. One of the key research-based policy-support organisations, the Joint Research Centre (JRC), at Ispra, hosts the World Monitoring Organisation - Global Atmosphere Watch (WMO-GAW) World Data Centre for Aerosols (WDCA). Under a formal cooperative agreement achieved between NILU and JRC, at Ispra, present and future aerosol data only needs to be submitted to the EMEP-CCC database. The web-based database offers harmonised archiving of aerosol data at the European level, and limitation of information duplication as well as effort for both providers and users. Presented data can aid users, including scientists and policy makers in comparison with modelled predictions of air quality levels and for making predictive assessments of radiative effects. Skills necessary to further disseminate results of the database require familiarity with database systems, knowledge of aerosol properties and reasonably knowledgeable with potential applications of the database data. For access to the user-friendly database click: http://www.nilu.no/projects/ccc/create/database.htm(opens in new window)