The Institute of Chemical Engineering and High Temperature Chemical Processes (ICE-HT) of the Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH) was established in 1984, and is one of the seven research institutes that constitute FORTH. Currently, ICE-HT runs 50 RTD projects in cooperation with industry, universities and research institutes from all over the world. ICE-HT has more than 110 staff members and research associates (40 of which are PhD holders). ICE-HT is in close cooperation with the Department of Chemical Engineering in the University of Patras and the Environmental Chemical Processes Laboratory (ECPL) of the U. of Crete. The air quality team has approximately 20 years of experience in the study of urban, regional, and global air quality and is currently participating in the EUCAARI, MEGAPOLI, CITYZEN, and EUSAAR projects.

Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH is a member of the Helmholtz Association of German National Research Centres. With 4400 staff members JULICH is the largest interdisciplinary research centre in Germany focusing its research in the fields of health, environment and energy, and information technology. The Institute for Chemistry and Dynamics of the Geosphere (ICG) comprises the geophysical, geochemical and environmental expertise in the Forschungszentrum Julich in four institutes: ICG-1: Stratosphere, ICG-2: Troposphere, ICG-3: Phytosphere, ICG-4: Agrosphere. The ICG-2: Troposphere has over 25 years of experience in the field of Atmospheric Chemistry with a particular strong focus on the measurements of trace gases and global to regional-scale modelling. It is directed by Prof. Andreas Wahner. About 50 scientists, engineers, technicians and doctoral students are currently working at the institute in the field of atmospheric chemistry. Experimental field studies, simulation chamber experiments and model calculations are used to investigate the processes that control the chemical transformation, spatial distribution of trace compounds, and their ultimate removal from the atmosphere.

The Division of Atmospheric Sciences, Department of Physics in University of Helsinki has over 25 year tradition in atmospheric research. Over one hundred scientists and doctoral students are currently engaged in this area. The main scientific aim has been to reduce scientific uncertainties concerning global climate change issues, particularly those related to aerosols, clouds and trace gases. The work has aimed at creating a deep understanding of the dynamics of aerosol particles and in the lower atmosphere as well as atmospheric chemistry. The emphasis has been on biogenic formation mechanisms of aerosol particles and their linkage to biosphere-atmosphere interaction processes, biogeochemical cycles and trace gases. To solve these interdisciplinary problems, the unit has created a research program including continuous long-term atmospheric observations, global modelling and deep theoretical and experimental understanding of atmospheric cluster and aerosol dynamics. The work is pioneering, wide-perspective research from the nano/molecular scale to the global scale.

UHEL is a world leader in atmospheric aerosol science and one of the founders of “terrestrial ecosystem meteorology”. The core facilities related to proposed research are the SMEAR II field station, extended instrumentation for aerosol particle, trace gases and atmospheric ion measurements and iLEAPS (integrated Land Ecosystem Atmosphere Processes Study).

The University of Leicester is a leading UK university delivering high quality research and inspirational teaching. Leicester is the Times Higher Education’s University of the Year for 2008-9, and is ranked 12th in the UK by the Independent’s Complete University Guide and 14th by the Guardian and Times university guides. The University of Leicester was formed as a University College in 1919, receiving Royal assent to become a full university in 1957. It is a medium sized university with 8-9,000 full time students spread across six broad-based faculties. The atmospheric chemistry research group at the University of Leicester is based in the Department of Chemistry. It is part of an interdisciplinary Earth Observation Science Initiative. The group has extensive experience in atmospheric measurements and modelling from a number of different platforms including ground-based experiments, aircraft and satellites in national and international experiments. Research interests are based around the broad issues of the role of photochemistry in the control of atmospheric composition.

Expertise Relevant to the proposed work: The Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (French National Center for Scientific Research) is a public organisation for scientific and technological research and is under the authority of the French Ministry for Research. The CNRS is also the largest fundamental research organisation in Europe. Measured by the amount of human and material resources it commits to a great range of disciplines, the CNRS is clearly the hub of research activity in France. It is also an important breeding ground for scientific and technological innovation. The CNRS’ main tasks are: the development of knowledge, its transfer to and its application in enterprises and all domains contributing to the progress of society, the dissemination of information and of scientific and technical culture to the public, and especially towards young people, the participation in early training and life-long training, training by research, and quality in the research management. CNRS was indeed the first French research organisation to sign the European “Charter of Researcher” on December 16th 2005.

Two laboratories with different skills, one located in Lyon (IRCELYON) and the other one in Paris (LATMOS), are involved in this network and are thus presented as separate partners in the proposal:

IRCELYON, which is a joint research between the CNRS and the University of Lyon, brings together the competences in heterogeneous catalysis over the Lyon area to establish the largest catalysis laboratory in France and Europe. The laboratory includes a permanent research staff of 115 CNRS and University of Lyon Faculty members and as many PhD students, post-docs, and invited scientists from all over the world. IRCELYON is eager to meet societal demands for sustainable energy production and the preservation of our environment. An essential duty is to deepen the fundamental knowledge required to understand catalytic mechanisms and to develop the concepts which will lead in the future to a safer chemistry more respectful for the environment. Meanwhile, our partnership with industry will be maintained and developed to meet socio-economic demands: for IRCELYON there is a continuum between applied and fundamental catalysis. Supported by a platform of state-of-the-art equipments and by an efficient technical and administrative logistic, our eight research groups are eager to work for the advancement of their specific research field.

LATMOS (Laboratoire Atmospheres, Milieux, Observations Spatiales) has a long experience in the study of dynamical, radiative and chemical processes in the Earth and planetary atmospheres using combined experimental and theoretical approaches, including various observation systems. The laboratory is also part of the Institute Pierre Simon Laplace (IPSL) which plays a leading role in chemistry-climate research at national and international level. The LATMOS has considerable expertise in the field of atmospheric chemistry and aerosol research, ranging from development and application of trajectory, regional and global chemistry models, assimilation, analysis of airborne and satellite data, and study of chemistry-climate interactions. It is supported by the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) as one of the leading laboratory for the development and exploitation of satellite-borne atmospheric remote sensors.

Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (ISAC) is a national institute of CNR whose headquarters are located in Bologna. The Institute is also composed of other six branches spread around the Country. Over 200 staff members, postdoctoral researchers, and students work at the Institute overall, focussing on understanding atmospheric processes and climate. The mandate of the Institute is to carry on research activities promotion and technology transfer in the following areas:

• Meteorology and its applications
• Climate change and predictability
• Atmospheric structure and composition
• Observations of the planet Earth

The Atmospheric Chemistry Group of the Institute involved in PEGASOS carries out research on different key issues dealing with atmospheric composition change, climate and air quality, such as

• Aerosol/cloud interaction
• The organic components of aerosol and clouds
• Aerosol chemistry and physics
• Cloud chemistry
• Urban and regional scale air pollution

The Atmospheric Chemistry Group organized many international field experiments in the field stations of San Pietro Capofiume and Monte Cimone.

The Center for Climate Systems Modeling (C2SM) is embedded into the Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science (IACETH) at Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETHZ) and part of the Department of Environmental Sciences (D-UWIS).

IACETH straddles the inter-related disciplines of atmospheric and climate science. It pursues leading-edge research on atmospheric physics, chemistry and dynamics, and on global and regional past, present and future climate, and it pioneers activities at the interfaces of these sub- component fields and the interfaces to other disciplines. IACETH has 110 members and consists of seven research groups. The Center for Climate Systems Modeling is a joint venture initiated by the ETH Zürich, MeteoSwiss, and Empa in 2008 in fall 2008 to address the scientifically challenging and socially relevant issue of climate change. More than 25 research groups, who belong to different institutes & departments from ETH, MeteoSwiss, and Empa, are currently affiliated to the Center. As such, it encompasses the technical and scientific expertise of more than 200 hundred persons. The overarching goal of C2SM is to improve our capability to understand and predict Earth’s climate and weather, by focusing more specifically on the multi-scale interactions within the climate system. The main activities of the centre are i) to maintain, improve, and make available to the Center’s community a hierarchy of state-of-the-art climate and climate-related models; ii) to exploit and disseminate key national and international data sets by providing a repository for them and by developing analysis and data management tools, and iii) to foster the collaboration between research groups by facilitating scientific discussions and the preparation of joint proposals.

University of Lund. The Departments of Physical Geography and Ecosystems Analysis (INES) was graded as outstanding in the Lund University RQ2008 international research assessment exercise for its internationally recognized research on the interactions between terrestrial ecosystems and the climate system. In 2008, INES was awarded a Linnée Centre of Excellence grant with 10 years funding for studies into Carbon Cycle-Climate Interactions, which includes process-studies and modelling efforts undertaken jointly with the Department of Physics. INES also hosts a Strong Research Environment funded via the Swedish Research Council Formas to study sustainable use of land resources (Land use today and tomorrow, LUsTT). The core biosphere models to be applied in PEGASOS, LPJ-DGVM and LPJ-GUESS are used throughout the world and cited in hundreds of publications.

Wageningen University forms together with a number of research institutes a cluster of internationally-leading knowledge institutions offering applied and scientific research to promote the sustainable use of our environment. Research focuses on land use, water management and environment in rural and semi-urban areas and is implemented in close collaboration with stakeholders and private and public research partners. WU has a longstanding record of successfully conducting and coordinating large European projects within the current and past EU Frameworks. The Earth System Sciences (ESS) and Meteorology and Air Quality (MAQ) groups of the Department of Environmental Science of WU participate in PEGAGOS. ESS is expert on interactions between biogeochemistry, land use change and climate change. The group develops detailed stand alone land-surface models based on long-term flux monitoring projects and uses the same LSMs in coupled RCMs and GCMs to study interactions between land use change, atmospheric chemistry, hydrology and climate. The MAQ group concentrates on the simulation of the atmospheric boundary layer and its composition and air quality. Furthermore, the MAQ group runs the Carbontracker Europe data-assimilation system for natural CO2 fluxes. A wide range of models is used, and the interaction between the atmospheric boundary layer and Earth surface is studied with Large Eddy Simulation.

The National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG), through its Atmospheric Research Group has been active in atmospheric aerosol and trace gas research since the late 1950’s. The Group operates the WMO Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) global atmospheric research station at Mace Head on the west coast of Ireland. Research interests include: new aerosol particle formation and growth; cloud condensation nuclei production; aerosol-cloud interactions and their modelling; microphysical and chemical characterisation of aerosols; aerosol radiative scattering, absorption and optical depth; remote sensing; and regional climate and air quality modelling. The research Group comprises 4 permanent members of staff along with 25 researchers. NUIG has co-ordinated a number of EU projects within FP4, FP5 and FP6 and has participated in numerous FP projects. NUIG, through the Environmental Change Institute strongly supports atmospheric sciences research in is strategic development.

The (NBI) at the Faculty of Science at University of Copenhagen (UC) is known world wide for its many scientific achievements. The Institute houses 10 research groups and 12 science centers and it has 145 full-time and project-based academic staff, 95 technical staff and 85 PhD-students, as well as approximately 130 foreign researchers a year. The number of physics students is 710. Although UC is the official partner in PEGASOS the work will be carried out as a bilateral effort between the Danish Meteorological Institute (www.dmi.dk) and the UC/NBI. These two institutions have a long tradition for collaboration in science as well as educationally. UC/NBI is the only university educational organisation at the academic level in Denmark for most Meteorological disciplines. NBI/UC and DMI has a long research tradition in developing new numerical techniques for improving the accuracy of the solutions of the differential equations governing atmospheric dynamics and transport in the atmosphere, as well as integrated modelling of meteorology and atmospheric pollution. Of particular relevance to the present application is the Danish strategic research “Centre for Energy, Environment and Health” (CEEH) (www.ceeh.dk), which is led by UC with DMI as one of the partners. One of the objectives in CEEH is to perform integrated (on-line coupled) atmospheric chemistry / weather simulations. NBI/UC and DMI are collaborating with a number of institutions in mainly Eastern Europe on the development and application of the ENVIRO-HIRLAM on-line coupled model.

The Weizmann Institute of Science (WEIZ) in Rehovot, Israel, is one of the world’s top-ranking multidisciplinary research institutions. Noted for its wide-ranging exploration of the natural and exact sciences, the Institute is home to 2,500 scientists, students, technicians and supporting staff. Institute research efforts include the search for new ways of fighting disease and hunger, examining leading questions in mathematics and computer science, probing the physics of matter and the universe, creating novel materials and developing new strategies for protecting the environment. The Department of Environmental Sciences and Energy Research at the Weizmann Institute of Science was established in 1990, in response to the growing needs to address urgent environmental issues. The research philosophy is to regard Earth as an integrated system, with research efforts aimed at understanding dynamic processes in the continents, in the oceans and in the atmosphere. A major focus of research in the department is atmospheric chemistry and physics where most of the effort is directed towards understanding aerosol chemistry and physics with special emphasis on the organic component.

The (Met.No) was founded in 1866 and is a public agency. Met.No has 420 employees in addition to about 600 observers including staff at Bjørnøya, Hopen and Jan Mayen. The main office is in Oslo. There are regional offices in Tromsø and Bergen. The institute operates the 24/7/365.

Met.No is responsible for the public weather service in Norway, covering both civilian and military purposes. The institute is providing information that supports public authorities, businesses and the general public to secure life and property and in support of societal planning and environmental protection. R&D at Met.No is supported directly by the government by research councils, EU, ESA, EUMETSAT and others. Met.No only undertakes externally funded project work that supports the core mission of the institute which is to safeguard life and property. Met.No R&D is related to operational numerical models of the atmospheric; oceanographic and sea-ice forecasting are continuously being improved, and environmental models are developed and operated. Numerical modelling techniques, in situ and remote sensing observations and data assimilation techniques are used in the work. Climate research ranges from modelling the global and regional climate and Earth System including scenario calculations as well as downscaling to finer resolution over Norway and adjacent seas. Time series analyses of climate variables is carried out, as well as remote sensing research and development of IT-tools and applications. The institute is the western modelling center in EMEP (European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme) under the Convention on Long Range Transport of Air Pollution (CLRTAP) and has in this capacity broad experience and international reputation in atmospheric air pollution modelling including policy applications. Through EMEP and its support of the EU Thematic Strategy on air pollution Met.No has the capability and mission to provide services in air pollution abatement and in the understanding of the coupling of climate/weather variability and air pollution, beyond the duration of single projects. The research work is carried out in collaboration with national and international research institutions.

Met.No is representing Norway in many international conventions (WMO, ECMWF, EUMETSAT) and is involved in a multitude of partnerships both within the operational parts as well as in R&D. The institute educates PhD’s and hosts postdocs on a regular basis thanks to its close collaboration with (and proximity to) the University of Oslo through CIENS (Oslo Centre for Interdisciplinary Environmental and Social Research).

The (IES) is one of the seven institutes that constitute the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission. The mission of IES is to provide scientific and technical support to EU strategies for the protection of the environment and sustainable development. Over the past 20 years, the research focus of the IES has been to investigate the level and fate of contaminants in the air, water and soil; assess the effects of these contaminants upon the environment and individuals and promote a sustainable energy supply. The IES has an interdisciplinary, integrated philosophy, which combines expertise in experimental sciences, modelling, geomatics and remote sensing. The IES is one of the leading European centres for research on environment and sustainability. The IES encompasses eight units, of which the Climate Change Unit provides scientific support for the development and monitoring of European policies in the area of regional and global air pollution and climate change: the Kyoto protocol and beyond. The Climate Change Unit is currently involved in issues around global air pollution from emissions to impacts, greenhouse gas emissions, quantifications of aforestation and land-use changes, and integrated climate policy analysis. It has contributed to numerous projects in FP4-FP7.

The Max Planck Institute for Chemistry (MPIC) in Mainz, Germany, of Max Planck Society (MPS), has a long tradition of successful atmospheric research. Three departments (Air Chemistry, Biogeochemistry, Particle Chemistry) and about 150 scientists, doctoral students, and technical staff members are currently engaged in atmospheric research activities, including laboratory studies, field measurements, remote sensing, and computer modelling. The main research subjects are gas phase, aerosol, and cloud chemistry; aerosol and cloud physics; biosphere-atmosphere interactions and climate effects. The resources comprise a wide range of laboratory equipment; field measurement equipment; computer hardware & software for advanced numerical simulations, ranging from detailed process models to global chemistry-transport & climate models.

The Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) has the mandate of producing reliable scientific information on the state of the atmosphere, as well as contributing to scientific ends. FMI employs about 550 people, about 240 of which are involved in research. Scientists from several departments, such as the Climate Change and the Air Quality of the FMI will be involved in the project. Current projects involve monitoring of air quality and atmospheric composition (e.g., WMO/GAW, EMEP, AMAP, HELCOM/EGAP, GMES, GEOSS), research and development in climate change, air chemistry and aerosol physics (including a National and two Nordic Centres of Excellence), and assessment and modelling of airborne pollutants from local to continental scale (recent and ongoing EU- and ESA -funded projects include ALARM, CARBOEUROBE, COMBINE, ENSEMBLES, EUROHYDROS, IMECC, MAP, NITROEUROPE, ACCENT, SAPPHIRE, FUMAPEX, OSCAR, PAMCHAR, GEMS, MACC, TEMIS, PROMOTE, AMFIC, EUCAARI, GEOmon, EUSAAR, VAPOMI, CAIR4HEALTH, MARQUIS, eLUP, ShipNoDEff, HENVINET, HIALINE and MEGAPOLI).