On Thursday, 8th of June, 2023, the 3rd Annual Online Workshop on Innovation in Atmospheric Measurement Techniques successfully took place, as an EU Green Week 2023 Partner Event.
The one-day online event brought together atmospheric science communities in order to share and discuss the latest innovations, including new technologies, products and services in atmospheric measurement techniques and modelling. Participants also had the opportunity to network and enhance local and regional collaboration, as well as their national capacity in the effort to tackle the climate crisis.
More than 300 participants from 44 different countries attended the workshop, including researchers, and industry professionals in the atmospheric sciences.
Prof Jean Sciare, Director of CARE-C, gave the introductory speech welcoming all the participants and presenters at the workshop. 33 presentations followed, delivered by speakers from 13 countries, including academics, representatives from research institutions, and private companies, actively involved in the innovation and R&D in atmospheric measurement techniques.
Organisers: The workshop was hosted by three EU RIs working in the Atmospheric Measurements remit, ACTRIS, ICOS and IAGOS, together with the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East Climate and Atmosphere Research Center (EMME-CARE) Consortium and the Edu4Climate project. It is organised by the Climate and Atmosphere Research Center (CARE-C) of the Cyprus Institute with the support of the University of Helsinki, the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz (MPIC), the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA). More information about the workshop can be found on the link below:
As a project coordinated by the Cyprus Institute (CyI) with a website hosted by the CyI, the Edu4Climate project adheres to the CyI’s General Privacy Policy: https://www.cyi.ac.cy/index.php/privacy-policy.html
The Cyprus Institute (CyI), Eastern Mediterranean Middle East – Climate & Atmosphere Research Centre (EMME-CARE) will organize the 1st Autumn School “Analysis of aerosols, air pollution and their sources in the Eastern Mediterranean” on 31 Oct–11 Nov, 2022. The course is organized in collaboration with the Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research INAR, of the University of Helsinki, the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry (MPIC) and the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA).
Aglantzia is an urban municipality situated in the central part of Cyprus next to the capital Nicosia. The history of Aglantzia dates back as far as 3888 B.C., but the Municipality itself was founded in May 1986. The Municipality of Aglantzia is in near Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus. It is an indigenous municipality with an area of 31 square kilometers, of which 14 are agricultural land (occupied by Turkish troops since 1974). Aglantzia has made much advancement during the last few years. Being spread out in the Greater Nicosia area, Aglantzia still has great development potential and, due to her big green spaces and municipal parks, it is justifiably called the green municipality of Cyprus. The residential area of Aglantzia is located on the highest attitude in Nicosia and the city of Aglantzia combines old with new with a unique renovated historic center. The town has a population of 23,000 and its economy is mainly based on the Services sector (The University of Cyprus, the National television and many banks have their bases in Aglantzia). Aglantzia has been working on European projects, mainly in the field of intelligent energy and Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund. Μr Αndreas Constantinou was elected Mayor of Aglantzia in 2020 elections. Annual activities: Aglantzia Festival (various cultural events), Aglantzia Jazz Festival , Carnival Parade Points of interest: National Forest Park of Athalassa, the “Skali” Cultural Centre, the Campus of the University of Cyprus, municipal parks and green spaces. Projects of interest: e-government, intelligent energy, cultural activities, efficient waste management “Pay as you throw”, reviving old city center etc., municipal gardens.
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The University of Vienna, founded in 1365, is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and one of the largest in Central Europe. It is associated with 16 Nobel prize winners and has been the academic home to a large number of persons both of historical and academic importance. The University of Vienna is the largest Austrian research institution hosting 6,800 academics within 15 faculties and five centres, dedicated to both basic and applied research. Furthermore, 26 research platforms have been established to promote especially innovative interdisciplinary research projects.
The University of Vienna has recently made large investments in its Department of Meteorology and Geophysics, where this project will be carried out. All its four full professors are newly appointed (starting in 2019-2021), rooms have been renovated and new computing infrastructure has been set up, thus providing an excellent work environment. The group of Andreas Stohl is working on all aspects of atmospheric transport, including the further development of the atmospheric transport model FLEXPART and its application to air pollutants, greenhouse gases, and atmospheric dynamics. A cross-cutting activity of the group, applied in most of its work, is the use of inverse modelling methods.
SKYLD SECURITY AND DEFENCE LTD (SKYLD) is an ICT consulting company that specialises in homeland security, public safety, crisis management, critical infrastructure protection and defence. Our services include capability development, expert consultation on business excellence, systems & operations as well as project governance for private and government organisations.
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Raymetrics is the global leader and most experienced atmospheric LIDAR manufacturer in the world, with more than 20 years in the industry. Raymetrics produces backscatter, depolarisation and Raman lidars for atmospheric applications, as well as components such as telescopes designed specifically for lidars. The innovations of LIDAR technology, based on extensive R&D efforts, have evolved into impactful environmental applications. A multitude of atmospheric detection applications allow us to address the challenges of air pollution, emissions identification, reduction and elimination, as well as risk management of environmental hazards. Through a combination of experience and expertise, it can offer some of the most powerful systems available commercially.
The Department of Labour Inspection (DLI) of the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance (MLSI) is the Competent Authority for the monitoring of various atmospheric pollutants, as well as for the assessment and management of air quality, so as to safeguard the health and well-being of citizens and the protection of vegetation and the environment in general. The Air Quality Monitoring Network in Cyprus was established in 2006 with the aim to protect and inform the public regarding the air quality in Cyprus and includes nine (9) stations. This network is operated according to the Cyprus and the European Legislation. The stations of the network are equipped with modern instruments based on the standards of the corresponding European networks. The National Reference Laboratory (NRL), as well as the Air Quality Monitoring Stations Network, are accredited according to the Standard CYS EN ISO/IEC 17025:2017 by the Cyprus Organisation for the Promotion of Quality (CYS-CYSAB).
For the better management of the network and the presentation of the air quality situation in Cyprus, these stations are categorized, based on the air quality legislation in relation to the measurement area as:
Traffic Stations which are stations representative for areas with high traffic (Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaka, Pafos and Paralimni),
Residential Stations which are stations representative for residential areas (Nicosia),
Industrial Stations which are stations representative for industrial areas (Zygi and Mari) and
Background Stations which are stations representative for background areas (Ayia Marina Xyliatou).
These monitoring stations have the ability to obtain measurements from different pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides (NO, NO2, NOx), ozone (O3), sulphur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), Particulate Matter (PM2.5, PM10) and benzene (C6H6). Furthermore, the most important meteorological parameters are being monitored, such as: wind direction (W/D), wind speed (W/S), ambient temperature (T), relative humidity (R/H), barometric pressure (B/P) and solar radiation (S/R), by using automatic instruments for continuous measurements.In addition, DLI carries out measurements of concentrations of PM using special filters with dedicated samplers in all towns of Cyprus. From these samplings, which are carried out according to the gravimetric reference method, firstly the concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5 are calculated and then the concentrations of heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are determined. The results of the measurements together with other relevant information are presented on-line on the website www.airquality.gov.cy. In addition, the public information regarding the air quality is carried out through indoor panels which are placed in three Municipalities Offices and through four island-wide TV stations after their evening central news bulletin. DLI, in order to inform the public, has proceeded to the preparation of a mobile phone application with android and iOS software, for the immediate information of the employees, the sensitive population groups, the public, the relevant bodies, the visitors and other people interested about air quality. Through this application, the people can have access to the information regarding the air quality, based on the different colours of pollution levels on Cyprus map as well as based on the concentrations of pollutants per station. In Cyprus, there are frequent incidents of dust transfer from the arid and partially arid areas (deserts) of North Africa and Middle East. For this reason, in these cases announcements are issued to warn the public and specifically the sensitive groups (children, elderly and patients) and to protect people working in open spaces.
