GCE

Ground-based Cloud Experiment

Completed

Type of Structure:	coordinated project
Regional Scope:	continental in the area: Europe
Parent Organisations:	EUROTRAC.EUREKA, EU
Child Organisations:
Duration :	0 to 1995 COMPLETED
Contact Address:	no office contact defined

General information and objectives

Joint project with the EC)
The Ground-based Cloud Experiment (GCE) studies the processes involved in the formation of clouds and fogs, and their acidity.
Coordinator: Sandro Fuzzi (CNR, Bologna)
Deputy: Hans-Christen Hansson (University of Lund)

Objectives:
• To determine which factors control the formation of acidity, and to measure oxidant and catalyst concentrations in cloud droplets.
• To determine the importance of nucleation scavenging of the atmospheric aerosol in determining cloud water chemical composition.
• To study phase partitioning and chemical transformation of trace constituents in clouds.

Highlights of GCE field campaigns
Perhaps the most challenging problem in atmospheric chemistry is presented by clouds and their role in processing aerosols and gaseous pollutants. GCE has assembled 15 research groups from 7 countries who have now conducted three intensive field campaigns at sights chosen for their particular cloud types: the Po valley (Italy) in 1989, Kleiner Feldberg (Germany) in 1990, and Great Dun Fell (UK) in 1993.
The results of the first two experiments have already been analysed and are in part published in the scientific literature. The relationship between aerosol chemical composition and hygroscopicity and cloud water chemical composition has been addressed, together with the study of gas/liquid partitioning of atmospheric trace species. When the analysis of data from Great Dun Fell is complete, detailed information on physical and chemical processes in clouds characterised by different updraught and pollution conditions will be available.


Last update: 4/27/22
Source of data: ProClim- Research InfoSystem (1993-2024)

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