Two facilities of the Ruisdael Observatory for atmospheric research participate in the ATMO-ACCESS project: Cabauw Experimental Site for Atmospheric Research and the Isotope Laboratory.

ATMO-ACCESS supports Trans-National Access (TNA) to services offered by selected, first-class European atmospheric research facilities. The access can be in person or remotely, but is in any case free of charge and includes the logistical, technological and scientific support and the specific training that is needed to use the services provided by the facility.

ATMO-ACCESS is regularly launching calls addressed to different users (private sector, academic sector, public authorities, …), seeking physical, virtual or remote access. The call schedule and information on the calls can be found here.

Calls will be addressed to researchers or research teams from outside the Netherlands. If you are interested to propose a field experiment (physical or remote) at the Cabauw site or want to get samples analyzed in the Isotope Laboratory, and you want to discuss particulars of access and practicalities before submitting the official TNA application, please contact us (ruisdael@tudelft.nl)

Examples of broad scientific topics (but not limited to) to be proposed can be related to:

  • In-situ, column integrated, vertical profiling and spatial atmospheric observations;
  • Cloud radar calibration;
  • Trace gas remote sensing intercomparison;
  • Isotope analysis.

A description of services provided by Cabauw Experimental Site for Atmospheric Research can be found here. A description of services provided by the Isotope Laboratory can be found here.

Access to the Cabauw facility can be physical or remote. Remote access is possible to the services provided by the Isotope Laboratory.

By physical access, foreign research teams physically access the Cabauw Experimental Site for Atmospheric Research (or a single component of the facility) for performing the proposed experiment.

By a remote access, foreign research teams can remotely access the instrumentations they installed at the facility (or at a single component of the facility) as well as the datasets produced by Cabauw and Isolab instrumentation.

Potential interested users are requested to follow the procedures on the application platform of ATMO-ACCESS. All TNA documents and information about access to services can be found on the ATMO-ACCESS website along with guidelines and application forms.

Do not hesitate to contact us for getting more information about this great opportunity and about the services offered at the Ruisdael facilities in the context of ATMO-ACCESS. If you have any questions to the ATMO-ACCESS TNA team themselves or need technical assistance with your application, you can contact them at tna@atmo-access.eu.

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The proposals should follow the ATMO-ACCESS rules (see also figure at the end):

ATMO-ACCESS provides opportunities for accessing 43 of the most advanced operational European atmospheric research facilities in Europe, in support of the objectives of the GreenDeal.

Young scientists wanting to test out new theories or ideas, scientists working with local authorities on tricky air pollution problems, companies/private sector users developing instruments that need testing can’t miss the opportunity to apply.

Whilst there is no requirement for the user or the service provider to be partners in Green Deal funded projects, alignment with relevant projects such as RI-URBANS or ICOS Cities would be welcome. Users only need to demonstrate how using the ATMO-ACCESS ground-based observation stations, atmospheric simulation chambers, mobile facilities, or central atmospheric science laboratories will enhance ongoing research, development, or innovation activities regarding the Green Deal.

Eligible proposals are selected by an independent selection panel considering scientific excellence, technical merit, innovation and market-driven aspects.

TNA is provided free of charge to the selected users in person (physical access), remotely (remote access) or both, and includes the logistical, technological and scientific support and the specific training that is needed to use the services provided by the facility. To facilitate TNA, users may benefit from a contribution to support some of their travel and local subsistence costs.

Eligibility:

Proposals for access any of the services of the ATMO-ACCESS facilities are eligible if they meet the following criteria established by H2020 regulations:

  • TransNationality: the user group leader (project PI) and the majority of the users must work in a country other than the country where the installation providing access is located (except in case of remote access to a set of facilities in different countries offering the same type of service).
  • Affiliation: Users must be affiliated to an organisation in the European Union. Applications from user groups with a majority of users working outside EU are eligible, though limits may be applied (max 20% of the total access available).
  • Dissemination: User groups shall be entitled to and willing to disseminate the knowledge they will generate under the project, unless coming from the private sector.

Users are warmly encouraged to interact directly with the PIs of the facilities during the preparation of TNA proposals and before their submission to verify details of access, address practicalities and explore.

Young scientists, scientists who have never used atmospheric facilities before, and companies are particularly welcome. ATMO-ACCESS promotes gender equality in scientific research and specifically encourages applications from women.

The evaluation process:

Eligible proposals are selected by an independent selection panel considering:

  • Scientific excellence, considering the scientific and technical value, the originality and novelty, the relevance and impact of the project, the dissemination plan, the quality of the proposing user group etc.
  • Technical need-driven criteria for increasing instrument performance (maintenance, calibration, QA) and operator training.
  • Innovation and Market-driven aspects, especially when access involves users from the private sector. In this case, the innovation potential of TNA proposals, possible technological developments as well as market developments and impacts on the economy are principally considered.
  1. users and the facilities have already discussed the details of the project before submission
  2. the suitable reviewers are available at the request
  3. no complex integrations or clarifications are requested to users by reviewers

The evaluation and selection of the TNA requests shall be completed within about 4-6 weeks of submission provided that:

Once the evaluation is completed, the TNA Team will inform applicants of the final decision and

of the amount of financial support.

The General Evaluation Guidelines are available at this link.

How to apply:

To benefit from the programme, users need to submit a request in response to one of the calls published in the project.

More detailed information can be found on our Frequently Asked Questions page.

The ATMO-ACCESS project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101008004.