GRASP Earth is participating in the Luminous Campaign (Linking in-situ and remote sensing polarimetric techniques), an initiative focused on advancing the understanding of aerosol properties and their impact on climate change.
Organized by Switzerland’s PSI Paul Scherrer Institut and Spain’s Universidad de Granada, the campaign aims to develop a strategy for integrating ground-based in-situ polarimetric observations with remote sensing data from ground stations and satellites. This approach addresses key gaps in aerosol research, fostering a more comprehensive understanding of their behavior and effects.
As part of its contribution, GRASP-Earth is deploying AirPhoton instruments in Granada city and at the AGORA Observatory near Granada. PSI is complementing this effort with the deployment of two IMAP instruments to measure particulate properties, including polarization, at ground level, alongside an integrating nephelometer and a filter sampling station, which will operate according to the SPARTAN-network protocol. These instruments enhance the campaign’s capacity to collect detailed data on aerosols.
The Luminous Campaign is supported by multiple institutions and funding sources, including the ATMO-ACCESS TNA programme via ACTRIS-RI, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) through the BISAR project, ATMO-ACCESS (Grant Agreement No. 101008004), ACTRIS-RI España (RED2022-134824-E), Spain’s Ministry of Science and Innovation projects ELPIS and NUCLEUS, and the Universidad de Granada under the Singular Laboratory (LS2022-1) program.
The campaign recently reached a significant milestone with the start of IMAP operations at the AGORA Observatory, Universidad de Granada. This development marks an important step in linking ground-based and remote sensing techniques for aerosol research.
The integration of instrumentation and collaboration across institutions positions the Luminous Campaign to contribute significantly to aerosol science. By bridging in-situ and remote sensing observations, the campaign is providing essential insights into the role of aerosols in the Earth’s climate system, supporting global efforts to address climate challenges.
