Aerosol, Clouds, and Trace gases Research InfraStructure in Norway (ACTRIS)

ACTRIS is a pan-European distributed research infrastructure (RI). It produces data for the understanding of short-lived atmospheric constituents and their trends, impacts on health, climate, and interactions. This is a European infrastructure that was established as “European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC)” in April 2023, with Norwegian membership.

ACTRIS provides high quality, reliable data of ca 100 atmospheric variables serving scientists addressing atmospheric, climate and air pollution science.

In particular, the understanding of spatially and temporal trends is greatly improved. NILU leads the ACTRIS data centre, which currently offers measurements from 80 state-of-the-art observational platforms/locations distributed across Europe. 3 of these are Norwegian:

• Zeppelin (Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard)
• Birkenes (Agder county)
• Trollhaugen (Antarctica)

All ACTRIS data are managed and made available to the user communities through the ACTRIS Data Centre.

ACTRIS-Norway’s overall objective is implementation of the ACTRIS Data Centre. These efforts will strengthen the curation and access to datasets of surface trace gas and aerosol concentrations in Norway, Europe and beyond. New functionalities and improvements to existing data centre functionalities will be implemented including database updates and data portal updates. This builds on a well-established internationally leading initiative already established and led by Norway.

New services integrating with international programmes will be developed, with the potential to elevate the profile of Norwegian research in this area. The EBAS and ACTRIS systems are a key aspect of Norwegian atmospheric composition research, and the leading international data centre of its type. The project will strengthen Norwegian participation in international environmental frameworks, European Infrastructures, and Open Science initiatives.