TNA Access

Transnational Access is offered at the Cyprus Atmospheric Observatory for groups that are interested in research on.

Dust particle properties

Cyprus lies in the center of the Eastern Mediterranean basin, which is of specific interest because it is impacted by diverse air masses comprising of anthropogenic and natural sources of Europe, Asia and N. Africa. On one hand, southerly winds caused by the temperature contrast between cold marine waters and the warm continental surfaces of N. Africa are responsible for dust transport from arid areas in N. Africa (e.g. Saharan desert). On the other, approximately 80% of the year air masses cross Europe and Turkey prior to reaching the site. Dust particles are also transported to Cyprus from the Arabian desert located eastwardly along with high levels of anthropogenic pollution.

New particle formation

New particle formation at the Cyprus atmospheric observatory has been shown to be a very frequent phenomenon with higher occurrence during spring and autumn. NPF events of both of local and regional origin have been identified. Some NPF events exhibited multiple onsets, while others exhibited apparent particle shrinkage in size. Additionally, NPF events were observed during the nighttime and during episodes of high desert-dust loadings. Particle formation rates and growth rates were comparable to those in urban environments, although our site is a rural one.

Biogenic emissions

The Cyprus Atmospheric Observatory is located at the foothills of an evergreen forest covering an almost 2 km high mountain. The site primarily impacted by forest emissions during nighttime due to katabatic winds while during daytime the effect is minimized.

The Cyprus Atmospheric Observatory offers to all successful TNA applicants a 3×5 m container available to accommodate instrumentation based on their needs with enough electrical power to host consumption up to 25 kW.

You can download the application here