Cooperation and AgReements enhancing Global interOperability for Aerosol, Cloud and Trace gas research infrastructures

Project Information

CARGO-ACT

Grant agreement ID: 101132093

DOI

10.3030/101132093

EC signature date 28 September 2023

Start date 1 March 2024

End date 28 February 2027

Funded under

• Research infrastructures

Total cost

No data

EU contribution

€ 1 499 488,75

Coordinated by

ILMATIETEEN LAITOS
Finland

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - CARGO-ACT (Cooperation and AgReements enhancing Global interOperability for Aerosol, Cloud and Trace gas research infrastructures)

Reporting period: 2024-03-01 to 2025-08-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Cooperation and agreements at the global level are required in order to integrate current ground-based networks into global entities capable of tackling the global and regional challenges of climate change, extreme weather, air quality and policy effectiveness. There is also a strong desire for global integration from the research community, and in particular from space agencies, since global networks of ground-based observations are an essential component complementing Earth Observation from space.
Many European Research Infrastructures (RIs) are addressing global challenges where international approach strategies are required. This is the case for RIs in the environmental domain (ENVRIs) providing support for the study of the Earth system and the global consequences of climate change. Only by harmonising information flow, by engaging in joint practices and policies will global RIs have the capacity to assist managers and policy makers to make informed decisions on adaptation strategies. This is particularly true for RIs in the atmospheric domain, where worldwide collaboration to provide seamless access to information is required.
The overarching goal of the CARGO-ACT project is to deliver a clear roadmap for sustainable global cooperation between key organisations in Europe and in the United States to provide all users, in the scientific community and beyond, with the best possible services for accessing and using information from monitoring climate- and air quality-relevant properties of aerosol, cloud and trace gases in the atmosphere. As a first step towards global convergence, CARGO-ACT brings together the European Research Infrastructure on short-lived Aerosol, Cloud and Trace Gases (ACTRIS) with four US counterparts (ARM, NOAA-GML, MPLNET and ASCENT). The service provision for these RIs is not limited to data services, but includes access to the measurement facilities, reference instruments, reference standards and laboratories.

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

A landscape analysis of data FAIRness among all partner data repositories was performed using FAIR Implementation profiles (FIPs) and identified several areas of potential improvement and user benefit. KPIs for quantifying data delivery and access were identified and documented. Existing network collaborations were consolidated and expanded through frequent meetings and discussions among partners and associated partners in addition to communication and exchanges with other networks working in the domain. The collaboration work carried out in CARGO-ACT set up "working groups” for the international activity about in situ and remote sensing observations, which are the basic platform for harmonised developments.Through thorough mapping and analysis of the different access practices, funding mechanisms, and governance models in Europe and the US, the work has enabled stepwise planning for implementing international access to distributed, global atmospheric RIs. The work addressed the different practices in access provision, modalities, and management practices, as well as legal and financial governance schemes.

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)

Based on the landscape analysis of data FAIRness among all partner data repositories and the resulting recommendations, the roadmap for FAIR convergence was published. Additionally, ARM has already implemented the recommendation of mutual data discovery and access, making ACTRIS data searchable and accessible in the ARM data portal. The protocols and SOPs of each network for select atmospheric variables were documented which allowed to identify opportunities for harmonisation. Notably, an agreed set of vocabularies as well as recommendations for harmonising protocols and SOPs across the EU-US networks are now available. The impact of this work is the ongoing revision of the WMO-GAW report 227 Aerosol Measurement Procedures, Guidelines, and Recommendations. The establishment of a regional calibration center in the US, which is harmonised with the one in Europe, is currently underway for the in situ component. Gaps in the global cooperation of short-lived constituent observational networks were identified, and the actions to fill such gaps through official agreements and developing actions were planned. The involvement of the global stakeholders fosters the cooperation at global level and the understanding of the needs of transcontinental stakeholders in terms of the observations of the short-lived atmospheric constituents. Based on the analysis of different access practices, a strategy and recommendations were developed to enable access to atmospheric research facilities in an international framework, with a particular focus on collaborations between European and US research infrastructures and networks/organisations (ACTRIS, ARM, NOAA, NASA and ASCENT). The strategy defined commonalities and differences in practices, governance and funding approaches.
Overall, the work performed so far enhanced mutual understanding between major infrastructures/networks and fostered dialogue on how to build on existing collaborations.