INCAS - National Institute for Aerospace Research "Elie Carafoli"

Project is coordonated by INCAS, as the only airborne cloud research platform holder in Eastern Europe, INCAS is in the perfect position to be a well-known R&D organisation that obtain urgently needed data sets, process and interpret them in order to improve future climate projections. However, to date, a lack of presenting these capabilities has left INCAS too little known in the cloud research community and therefore, underutilized research partner with excellent and very useful facilities.

University of Oslo

The BRACE-MY research cooperation is carried out with researchers from Norway, Romania and Germany, and coordinated by The National Institute of Aerospace Research (INCAS), Romania. Partners in the BRACE-MY consortium are these:

Partener Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Norway a leader in aerosol and cloud research, is involved in the development of Earth System Models, participates in cloud and aerosol observation campaigns and was an active member in the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The team has a particular focus on the role of aerosols and clouds in Earth’s climate. This includes research on climate engineering, cloud-climate feedbacks (the topic of a 2018 ERC Starting Grant), and Earth’s climate sensitivity. Towards this research, the group utilizes a wide range of tools; primarily ESMs, satellite and ground based remote sensing, laboratory experiments and aircraft measurements. Furthermore, the UiO team is experienced in teaching and supervising Master and PhD students. The UiO team will use their wide range of expertise to guide the development of appropriate measurement strategies for collecting high quality and urgently needed data for furthering the understanding of aerosol-cloud interactions and their representation in ESMs. In particular, the UiO team will be fundamental in the development of DRINCRO and its characterization and calibration. Additionally, the UiO team will use its modelling and teaching expertise to assist in the planning and teaching of the modelling components of the summer schools.

Andøya Space Centre

Andoya Space (ASP) has been a service provider for atmosphere researchers since 1962. Today ASP serves research projects in a height region from the planetary boundary layer to outer space. ASP offers an advanced and versatile ground-based infrastructure like an atmosphere observatory (ALOMAR) and several sites on the island of Andøya, suited for measurements. In addition, an aircraft and a comprehensive infrastructure for all kinds of scientific sounding rockets is available. ASP is an experienced provider of infrastructure and the coordination of field campaigns on Andøya, Svalbard and abroad. In recent years, ASP started to offer instrument development and the coordination of air-borne campaigns with drones and manned aircrafts.

With joined forces, INCAS and ASP can offer a flexible fleet of Norwegian and Romanian research aircrafts. ASP has been partner and coordinator for several national and European projects and is a renowned partner with co-operations in all continents. ESA, NASA, JAXA, CSA are examples for frequent users of the facilities on Andøya. ASP has further branched for education of university and high school students, unmanned aircrafts and defence technology. Recently ASP started to establish a launch site for small satellites, the first launch is scheduled for autumn 2022.

Leibniz-Institut für Troposphärenforschung

Complimentarily, the TROPOS team is an expert in process and long-term studies of aerosol and cloud interactions. They specialise in recording the optical and microphysical properties of aerosols and clouds in both laboratory and field studies. This includes involvement in scientific infrastructure projects and observational networks used to determine long-term aerosol and cloud properties around the world.

IAs a competence center for the development and application of aerosol particle and cloud drop measurement techniques and their quality assurance, TROPOS is the perfect partner for guiding the implementation and characterization of the HERA system. Furthermore, through their extensive experience with quantifying ice nucleating particles, TROPOS will provide invaluable feedback on the development, characterization and calibration of DRINCRO.