Access to European Aerosol observation data

The EUSAAR network (European Supersites for Atmospheric Aerosol Research) is a distributed network of 20 high quality ground-based measurement stations in Europe (www.eusaar.net). Its primary goal is to integrate the measurement of atmospheric aerosol properties and to ensure harmonization, validation, and data diffusion of long-term measurements of particle optical, physical and chemical properties, as these properties constitute the critical parameters for quantifying key processes and the impact of aerosols on climate and air quality. The monitoring network covers a variety of representative environments from clean maritime to polluted continental, including several stations in extreme environments (e.g., arctic, high altitude). The establishment of the research-oriented EUSAAR network has clearly improved the comparability of measurements, best practices in aerosol monitoring procedures, and the availability of high quality aerosol data from the most advanced monitoring stations currently operational in Europe. Data from the EUSAAR network for 2006 and 2007 are now in open access within the EBAS* data base along with the more extended EMEP data base. The EBAS database also contains information for 2008 data from EUSAAR/EUCAARI campaigns which are however still in restricted access.