CLOUD-DOC — CLOUD Doctoral Network

Results in brief

CLOUD Doctoral Network

The CLOUD-DOC MSCA DN is a multi-site network at twelve partner institutions across Europe. The network investigates the formation of aerosol particlesin the atmosphere, as well as various aspects of the interactions of cosmic rays with aerosols and clouds, which bears on the possibility of a "solar indirect" contribution to climate change. Besides the individual research of the doctoral candidates at their hosting institutions, the major focus of the network are sets of joint experiments carried out at CERN. These experiments are conducted at an aerosol chamber that is exposed to a CERN elementary particle beam where the effects of cosmic rays on aerosol and cloud formation can be efficiently simulated. The project integrates a suite of state of-the-art instruments developed for the analysis of atmospheric ions, trace gases, aerosols and ice particles. The chamber is optimized to study aerosol nucleation, growth and activation into clouds under precisely controlled conditions. The effects of cosmic ray ionization on these processes can be fully measured. An accelerator provides an adjustable and precisely measurable beam of artificial “cosmic rays” that closely matches natural cosmic rays spanning the atmospheric range from ground level to the maximum around 15 km altitude. Over the past years, the CLOUD facility was upgraded by adding a flow tube system (FLOTUS) that simulates multi-step multi-day atmospheric oxidation processes in a few minutes. Vapours generated in FLOTUS can then be transferred to the CLOUD chamber. A large fraction of aerosol nucleation takes place in cold regions of the atmosphere that are extremely sensitive to particle concentrations, e.g. the tropical upper troposphere, the Arctic or the free troposphere above the Southern Ocean. NPF in these regions is considered to be the most urgent current topic in aerosol nucleation research. CLOUD has unique capabilities to study nucleation under cold conditions. In the CLOUD-DOC project we study nucleation and growth at low temperatures for several key chemical systems that are of high relevance for these regions. In the CLOUD-DOC project all beneficiaries are part of the CLOUD experiment at CERN. The partners contribute a comprehensive set of research instrumentation to characterize the precursor gases, ions, oxidation products and their clusters, and aerosol particles. This is complemented by advanced modelling to understand the implications of the CLOUD measurements for climate.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

CLOUD-DOC is to establish a network of early stage researchers (ESRs, all PhD students) at 12 institutions across Europe (10 EU-funded). The role of aerosol nucleation for atmospheric aerosol, clouds and climate is investigated.The focus of investigations will be to study under well-controlled laboratory conditions the oxidation chemistry, aerosol nucleation and growth processes that are responsible for aerosol particle formation in cold regions of the atmosphere:a) Arctic environments, b) the upper troposphere above the Asian monsoon region,c) the upper troposphere above tropical rain forests, andd) the Southern Ocean. The major research activity of the network will be two sets of joint experiments carried out at the CLOUD aerosol chamber at CERN to which all ESRs contribute. At the CLOUD chamber nucleation experiments are performed at an unprecedented level of precision and completeness using highly innovative instrumentation.A well-structured research and training plan is set up for every ESR as well as a comprehensive, quality-controlled supervision. A high-quality PhD training is arranged. The ESRs are brought together for network training events such as summer schools and workshops for integral data analysis. Courses by world-leading experts are taught spanning from general atmospheric aerosol chemistry and physics to specialized sessions including the role of aerosol for clouds, climate and also health. The summer schools and workshops are specifically tailored to the needs of the trainees. Transferable skills training includes courses on scientific writing, presentation skills, interaction with media, entrepreneurship, IPR, management, gender dimension and diversity in science, and good scientific conduct. The partners from the private sector (1 beneficiary, 4 partners) are closely integrated in the action.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

JOHANN WOLFGANG GOETHE-UNIVERSITAET FRANKFURT AM MAIN · Frankfurt Am MainCoordinatorGermany
AIRMODUS OY · HELSINKIFinland
AS AIREL · TORAVEREEstonia
Aerodyne Research, Inc. · BILLERICA MAUnited States
BERGISCHE UNIVERSITAET WUPPERTAL · WuppertalGermany
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGYCORP · PasadenaUnited States
CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY · PittsburghUnited States
HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO · HelsinkiFinland
IONICON ANALYTIK GMBH · INNSBRUCKAustria
KARLSRUHER INSTITUT FUER TECHNOLOGIE · KarlsruheGermany
LEIBNIZ INSTITUT FUER TROPOSPHAERENFORSCHUNG e.V. · LeipzigGermany
MAX-PLANCK-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FORDERUNG DER WISSENSCHAFTEN EV · MUNCHENGermany
ORGANISATION EUROPEENNE POUR LA RECHERCHE NUCLEAIRE · GENEVE 23Switzerland
PAUL SCHERRER INSTITUT · VILLIGEN PSISwitzerland
STOCKHOLMS UNIVERSITET · StockholmSweden
TARTU ULIKOOL · TartuEstonia
THE CYPRUS INSTITUTE · NicosiaCyprus
TOFWERK AG · THUNSwitzerland
UNIVERSITAET INNSBRUCK · InnsbruckAustria
UNIVERSITAET LEIPZIG · LeipzigGermany
UNIVERSITAT WIEN · WienAustria

CLOUD-DOC · CLOUD Doctoral Network

Results in brief

CLOUD Doctoral Network

Project objective

Participants

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