Solutions for Sustainable Access to Atmospheric Research Facilities

Project Information

ATMO-ACCESS

Grant agreement ID: 101008004

DOI

10.3030/101008004

Project closed

EC signature date 12 March 2021

Start date 1 April 2021

End date 30 September 2025

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Research Infrastructures

Total cost

€ 14 999 947,89

EU contribution

€ 14 999 947,89

Coordinated by

CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS
France

Periodic Reporting for period 3 - ATMO-ACCESS (Solutions for Sustainable Access to Atmospheric Research Facilities)

Reporting period: 2024-04-01 to 2025-09-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

ATMO-ACCESS is a pilot project designed to develop sustainable solutions for integrated access to Europe’s distributed atmospheric. Bringing together the ESFRI landmarks ACTRIS, IAGOS and ICOS, the project mobilises a broad consortium to offer effective, convenient access for diverse user communities worldwide to the state-of-the-art atmospheric facilities, supporting advanced research, innovation, and technological development.
Its main objectives are: 1) to provide coordinated, open physical, remote/hybrid and virtual access to world-class facilities and services, and enhance their range of products, capabilities and accessibility for a wide range of users, including the public and private sector; 2) to engage facilities and national stakeholders to work towards harmonised access procedures across Europe, and explore ways to further improve and streamline the use of atmospheric; 3) to develop and test new access modalities that build on the complementarities and synergies among the RIs and respond to evolving needs in training, research, technology development, innovation and data services; 4) to identify the conditions required to establish long-term, sustainable access mechanisms for distributed atmospheric RIs, involving both national and international stakeholders.
ATMO-ACCESS has delivered a set of recommendations and strategic options for for establishing a comprehensive, sustainable framework to integrate and open access to atmospheric RIs across Europe, reinforcing their capacity to support excellence in research and evidence-based decision-making.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Throughout the project, ATMO-ACCESS progressively shaped and tested sustainable solutions for integrated access to Europe’s distributed atmospheric RIs. Solutions and recommendations were built on the results of all WPs and continuous feedback from users and facility operators. The RIs are engaged and are actually working to sustain and further enhance these solutions beyond the project.
ATMO-ACCESS implemented an extensive Transnational (TNA) and Virtual (VA) Access programme. Over the project lifetime, 15 calls were launched, attracting 418 requests for TNA from more than 950 users from 43 countries. Participants included new user communities, early-career researchers, public and private sector users, benefitting from physical and increasingly remote/hybrid access modes. The calls became more competitive over time, confirming TNA/VA as a key instrument for promoting use of atmospheric RI facilities and services. Innovative ways of access were further developed. Targeted calls supported and implemented access for multidisciplinary research, specialised training, testing of innovative access and use of services, and attracting new user communities such as public authorities and space agencies.
Results were highly positive, particularly for the call addressing international stakeholders, where ATMO-ACCESS successfully responded to needs of the key space agencies in Europe, and enabled fostering of long-term collaboration with the atmospheric RIs. Engagement with national public authorities proved more challenging, highlighting the importance of co-design and user dialogue, which traditional TNA/VA rules do not fully support. A suite of virtual services was developed and deployed through a dedicated portal. The ATMO-ACCESS approach of developing tools early in the project and promoting their use via VA proved highly successful, with strong uptake and use, including in other EU-funded initiatives. In total, the Virtual Access Portal recorded over 4000 page views and nearly 300 registered users. Work on establishing a sustainable financial model for VA beyond the INFRA programme is ongoing.
Substantial effort was made to deliver final guidelines for sustainable access. Partners engaged national and international stakeholders to raise awareness and identify pathways for long-term access schemes and coordinated access activities. Continued dialogue with the other INFRAIA pilots contributed to recommendations on optimal models, mechanisms, and best practices for implementing access programmes across distributed RIs. These guidelines were delivered at the project's conclusion.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

ATMO-ACCESS has advanced the state of the art in providing integrated access to distributed atmospheric RIs in Europe by designing, testing, and implementing harmonised and innovative access solutions. Through coordinated TNA/VA schemes and a targeted access strategy, the project has expanded opportunities for diverse user communities to utilise world-class facilities and services to advance research, training, and innovation, while strengthening long-term collaboration with strategic international stakeholders.
The implementation of the PASS platform has been highly successful, providing a cost-effective, user-friendly online management system to efficiently handle access requests. Its plug-and-play design and adaptability make it readily usable in other projects, representing a significant contribution to streamlining access to distributed atmospheric RIs.
Innovative access modalities were tested, confirming that TNA/VA can accommodate less conventional approaches. Meeting the high demand from space agencies for ground-truthing of new satellite sensors remains challenging under current TNA/VA rules, yet it is essential. Specific stakeholders, including the private sector, should be provided with more streamlined access to the RIs. The success of VA is high, with strong demand from the user community and uptake by other projects. Its impact is significant, yet continued funding, including within the INFRAs, is needed to maintain and optimise VA services according to evolving user needs. ATMO-ACCESS has also delivered strategic guidelines and recommendations for sustainable, harmonised access across distributed RIs, engaging various stakeholders to explore long-term funding schemes and coordinated access models.
This provides a concrete framework for continued development and adoption of integrated access practices in Europe. The socio-economic impact of ATMO-ACCESS is significant: by lowering operational barriers to high-quality RI services, the project strengthens scientific excellence, accelerates innovation, supports evidence-based policy, and builds capacity among new generations of researchers. The project has thus created lasting value for both the scientific community and society at large, laying the foundation for an optimised and efficient use of Europe’s atmospheric RIs.

Latest version of the map of Facilities providing TNA within ATMO-ACCESS

ATMO-ACCESS Logo

View of the ATMO-ACCESS virtual access portal offer

Trans-National Access NetAeFoCs from Stockholm University at OPAR, La Réunion Island (France)

Latest version of the ATMO-ACCESS TNA calls' schedule

Access to mobile platform USRL for the DAZSAL project from Univeristy of Reading

The TNA process in a nutshell

Example of Virtual service IAGOS viewer of potential source regions FLEXPART footprints

Example of advertisement material for a TNA call

Pictures of the different facilities types open for access in the project