Ruisdael Observatory

Infrastructure and User Services

Ruisdael Observatory is a research facility in which in-situ measurements and advanced ground-based remote sensing at multiple locations in the Netherlands are combined. Observations and models will be merged to extrapolate the spatial representativity of local observations and form a virtual laboratory for studying multi-scale processes in atmospheric chemistry and physics, to improve the accuracy of climate, weather and air quality models.

The merger of observations and models involves:

• The deployment of sensor networks for attribution of spatial variability of aerosols, greenhouse and other trace gases to sources and sinks, including in-situ support for the use of satellite data;
• Transforming measurement profiles from 1D vertical profiles of wind, temperature, humidity, aerosols, clouds and rain to true 3D volume scans to get a realistic representation of the atmospheric variability and dynamics influencing the small-scale processes;
• Introducing the observational capability to study fundamental small-scale processes;
• Simultaneous coupling of models to the observational data acquired at different spatial and temporal scales on ground, in the atmosphere as well as from space.

Services to users include access to the sites for research projects or testing of new instruments, use of Ruisdael instruments in specific modes of operation, measurement campaigns, intercomparisons, deployment of the mobile site, use of Ruisdael data, user support as well as training. 

Examples/description of the type of research 

Ruisdael Observatory enables research into small-scale phenomena in the context of large-scale atmospheric systems. With its coupling between high-resolution simulations and observations, the observatory targets key challenges that arise from the interaction between the heterogeneous land surface and the atmosphere. Major scientific challenges are well aligned with those identified by WMO, IPCC and the UN Global Sustainability program: to understand and predict the future state of the atmosphere at a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. The first theme is associated with the anthropogenic perturbations or forcing of our climate system through the emissions of long-lived greenhouse gases and short-lived trace gases and aerosols, the primary drivers of global climate change, and local air quality. The second theme is associated with the feedbacks of these perturbations on our climate system, the most important ones being those associated with the water cycle, such as cloud feedbacks and the response of extreme precipitation to climate change. The final theme is focused on the prediction weather with the new upcoming capabilities of high-resolution observations and numerical modeling that form the infrastructural basis of Ruisdael Observatory.    

How to access the infrastructure?    

The Ruisdael facilities are open for use by the research community at large. If access requests are made in the framework of an ERIC, the procedures agreed in these contexts are followed. In other cases, a fee can be applied to accommodate the access. For the tariff structure, the systematics and levels of fees established for the ERICs are followed, in order to create a level playing field among the European infrastructures. Any request for access undergoes a scientific review process by external reviewers.