Table of Contents
ACTRIS at University of Cologne / JOYCE
Within the ACTRIS research infrastructure, the JOYCE observatory Jülich is an
- ACTRIS national facility for cloud remote sensing
- and hosts a Topical centre unit on microwave radiometry of the Centre for Cloud Remote Sensing (CCRES).
ACTRIS organization and funding
ACTRIS was established as a ERIC (European Research Infrastructure consortium) in 2023, based on previous networks for aerosol, cloud and trace gas observations.
The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is currently the implementation of ACTRIS in Germany: Information on ACTRIS by BMBF/FONA. ACTRIS-D is coordinated by TROPOS. Central facility funding is provided by ACTRIS-ERIC as well as the Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMUV).
Further information on ACTRIS funding at University of Cologne can be found here
ACTRIS central facility CCRES-DE
The German unit of the Centre for Cloud Remote Sensing (CCRES-DE) provides support and state-of-the-art expertise for ground-based microwave radiometer (MWR) operation, data quality control and quality assurance, retrieval development as well as the testing of new instruments.
Main tasks within CCRES
- Development of MWR data processing (together with the ACTRIS data centre CLU)
- Establishing of MWR calibration procedures and quality assurance/quality control measures for the whole ACTRIS network
- Implementation of a common retrieval framework for harmonized atmospheric data from MWR throughout the ACTRIS network
- Provision of training to MWR operators
- Operation of reference instruments
Left: 2 HATPRO microwave radiometers (JOYHAT, TOPHAT), Right: MWR training workshop in April 2024
More information about CCRES services and instrument monitoring is provided at the CCRES services website
ACTRIS national facility JOYCE
JOYCE platform
The University of Cologne has operated the JOYCE observatory since 2008 and has been part of Cloudnet since 2011, when all mandatory instruments for Cloudnet processing were installed.
JOYCE site description on Cloudnet page
Link to current Cloudnet target classification
In the frame of the implementation of ACTRIS-D, the UoC received funding from BMBF and JOYCE was upgraded by a novel dual-frequency cloud radar and a Raman lidar.
