Labelling of the ACTRIS National Facilities operating Aerosol Remote Sensing instruments

22 December 2025 1 / 20 Labelling of the ACTRIS National Facilities operating Aerosol Remote Sensing instruments Emitter CARS & ARES Version 01 Revision 01 ACTRIS Centre for Aerosol Remote Sensing C . A . R . S . 22 December 2025 2 / 20 Table of contents APPLICABILITY OF THE DOCUMENT ................................................................................................................. 3 ACRONYMS ...................................................................................................................................................... 3 REFERENCE DOCUMENTS ................................................................................................................................. 3 1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 4 2 GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS .................................................................................................................... 5 3 LABELLING OF THE ACTRIS AEROSOL REMOTE SENSING OBSERVATIONAL PLATFORMS .......................... 6 3.1 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES ........................................................................................................................ 6 3.2 LABELLING STEP-BY-STEP ............................................................................................................................. 6 3.2.1 Step1a Initial acceptance .................................................................................................................. 6 3.2.2 Step1b Performance evaluation........................................................................................................ 7 3.2.3 Step1c Approval ................................................................................................................................ 7 3.2.4 Step2 Annual performance evaluation ............................................................................................. 8 4 LABELLING OF ACTRIS MOBILE PLATFORMS EMBEDDING AEROSOL REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS ... 9 4.1 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES ........................................................................................................................ 9 4.2 LABELLING STEP-BY-STEP ............................................................................................................................. 9 4.2.1 Step1a Initial acceptance .................................................................................................................. 9 4.2.2 Step1b Performance evaluation...................................................................................................... 10 4.2.3 Step1c Approval .............................................................................................................................. 10 4.2.4 Step2 Annual performance evaluation ........................................................................................... 11 5 EVALUATION OF ACTRIS AEROSOL REMOTE SENSING OBSERVATIONAL PLATFORMS ........................... 12 5.1 REQUIREMENTS FOR BEING ACTRIS COMPLIANT ............................................................................................ 12 5.2 IMPLICATIONS OF A FAILED EVALUATION ....................................................................................................... 12 6 EVALUATION OF ACTRIS MOBILE PLATFORMS EMBEDDING AEROSOL REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS . .............................................................................................................................................................. 14 6.1 REQUIREMENTS FOR BEING ACTRIS COMPLIANT ............................................................................................ 14 6.2 METHODOLOGY FOR CALCULATION OF THE DATA COVERAGE ............................................................................. 14 6.3 IMPLICATIONS OF A FAILED EVALUATION ....................................................................................................... 15 ANNEX 1 TEMPLATE FOR THE ANNUAL EVALUATION OF NF PERFORMANCE (STEP1B / STEP2 OF THE LABELLING) .................................................................................................................................................... 16 ANNEX 2 TEMPLATE FOR THE LONG-TERM EVALUATION OF NF PERFORMANCE (STEP1C / AT EACH 5 YEARS IN STEP2 OF THE LABELLING) ......................................................................................................................... 18 ACTRIS Centre for Aerosol Remote Sensing C . A . R . S . 22 December 2025 3 / 20 Applicability of the document These guidelines apply to the ACTRIS Aerosol Remote Sensing National Facilities. Acronyms • ACTRIS - Aerosol, Clouds and Trace gases Research InfraStructure • ACTRIS GA – ACTRIS General Assembly • ARES – Aerosol Remote Sensing unit of the ACTRIS Data Centre • ARS – Aerosol Remote Sensing • CARPORT – CARS workflow management portal • CARS - Centre for Aerosol Remote Sensing • CLU – Cloud Remote Sensing unit of the ACTRIS Data Centre • CCRES - Centre for Cloud Remote Sensing • DC – Data Centre • MP – Mobile Platform • NF - National Facility • NRT – Near-real time (less than 3 days from the measurements) • OP – Observational Platform • PI – Principal Investigator • RI Comm – Research Infrastructure Committee • RRT – Real-real time (less than 3 hours form the measurement) • SCC – Single Calculus Chain Reference documents [1]. Documentation on technical concepts and requirements for ACTRIS Observational Platforms [2]. ACTRIS NF Labelling Plan [3]. Descriptions of the workflows between ACTRIS components [4]. ACTRIS Data Management Plan [5]. CARS implementation plan [6]. ACTRIS vocabulary [7]. ACTRIS principles for evaluating data provision, service provision and QA/QC [8]. Technical requirements for ACTRIS Aerosol Remote Sensing Observational Platforms [9]. Technical requirements for ACTRIS Mobile Platforms operating aerosol high-power lidars [10]. Technical requirements for ACTRIS Mobile Platforms operating automatic sun/sky/lunar photometer [11]. Measurement Guidelines for aerosol high-power lidars [12]. Measurement Guidelines for automatic sun/sky/lunar photometers [13]. Standard Operation Procedure for aerosol high-power lidars [14]. Standard Operation Procedure for automatic sun/sky/lunar photometer [15]. Quality Assurance Procedure for aerosol high-power lidars [16]. Quality Assurance Procedure for automatic sun/sky/lunar photometer ACTRIS Centre for Aerosol Remote Sensing C . A . R . S . 22 December 2025 4 / 20 1 Introduction Aerosol remote sensing instruments as considered by ACTRIS are: a) aerosol high-power lidars; b) automatic sun/sky/lunar photometers; c) automatic low-power lidars and ceilometers. ACTRIS Aerosol Remote Sensing National Facilities operate aerosol high-power lidars and automatic sun/sky/lunar photometers. Note: The guidelines in this document do not apply to automatic low-power lidars / ceilometers which are currently operated as part of the ACTRIS Cloud Remote Sensing National Facilities ACTRIS Aerosol Remote Sensing National Facilities operate aerosol remote sensing instruments either as Observational Platforms (at fixed site) or as part of a Mobile Platform (movable). Note: Aerosol remote sensing instruments can also be operated by the EARLINET (aerosol high-power lidars), AERONET (automatic sun/sky/lunar photometers) and E-PROFILE (automatic low-power lidars and ceilometers). The guidelines in this document do not apply to EARLINET, AERONET and E-PROFILE stations which are not part of ACTRIS. In order to be labelled as ACTRIS Facility, both the Observational Platforms and the Mobile Platforms must undergo the labelling process. This document describes the labelling process for ACTRIS National Facilities which operate aerosol remote sensing instruments (OPs and MPs). ➢ Considerations applicable to all ACTRIS National Facilities which operate aerosol remote sensing instruments (OPs and MPs) are presented in Section 2. ➢ Specific roles and responsibilities, conditions to be met and actions to be pursued for the labelling of ACTRIS Aerosol Remote Sensing Observational Platforms are described in Section 3. ➢ Specific roles and responsibilities, conditions to be met and actions to be pursued for the labelling of ACTRIS Mobile Platforms embedding aerosol remote sensing instruments are described in Section 4. ➢ Principles for the evaluation of ACTRIS Aerosol Remote Sensing Observational Platforms are described in Section 5. ➢ Principles for the evaluation of ACTRIS Mobile Platforms embedding aerosol remote sensing instruments are described in Section 6. ACTRIS Centre for Aerosol Remote Sensing C . A . R . S . 22 December 2025 5 / 20 2 General considerations The main responsibility of CARS and ARES is to provide operation support to ACTRIS ARS National Facilities. This operation support extends from the calibration of instruments to the fully quality assured data products, which are calculated from a single instrument and/or from synergy of multiple instruments. ACTRIS National Facilities (OPs and MPs) must be labelled according to ACTRIS' criteria. The labelling process includes: a) an initial technical evaluation to enter the labelling process; b) support from the corresponding Topical Centre and Data Centre Unit to implement the necessary upgrades, procedures, tools and processing chains; c) evaluation of performances for granting the label; d) annual evaluation of performances. Data provided to the ACTRIS Data Centre by the ACTRIS National Facilities are tagged as: • "ACTRIS compliant data" if all technical requirements are met (including synergy of instruments), the associated SOPs and QAPs issued by CARS are followed, and the data is submitted to the ACTRIS Data Centre according to the measurement guidelines; • "ACTRIS labelled data" as soon as the ACTRIS label is granted. ACTRIS labelling process is schematically presented below: Figure 1 Steps and actions of the ACTRIS labelling process: responsibilities and interactions The performances of the ACTRIS National Facilities are annually evaluated according to the specific ACTRIS' criteria, starting with the initial acceptance and throughout the entire lifetime of the ACTRIS National Facility. At least 24 months of compliant data submitted to the ACTRIS Data Centre are required in order for the facility to be granted the ACTRIS label. The label can be withdrawn at the decision of the ACTRIS General Assembly if the facility is negatively evaluated for several years. Underlying principles for evaluating data provision, service provision and QA/QC of ACTRIS National Facilities are described in ACTRIS principles for evaluating data provision, service provision and QA/QC ACTRIS Centre for Aerosol Remote Sensing C . A . R . S . 22 December 2025 6 / 20 3 Labelling of the ACTRIS Aerosol Remote Sensing Observational Platforms 3.1 Roles and responsibilities Country delegate / NCP – proposes NFs and components OP PI – coordinates the activities of all OP components; contact person for ACTRIS HO; fills in the necessary information in the ACTRIS labelling portal (https://actris-nf-labelling.out.ocp.fmi.fi/) ARS PI – coordinates the activities related to ARS instruments and variables; contact person for CARS and ARES; fills in the necessary information in CARPORT, the CARS workflow management portal (https://carport.inoe.ro/) CARS – provides support for the QA/QC of the measurements performed by the ARS NF; evaluates the compliance with the technical requirements in the various steps of the labelling; evaluates the overall performances of the OP and recommends to the RI Comm granting the initial acceptance / label ARES – provides support for the data processing and the QA/QC of the data products derived from the measurements performed by the ARS NF; evaluates the compliance with the measurement guidelines in the various steps of the labelling RI Comm – recommends granting the initial acceptance / label ACTRIS GA – approves the label 3.2 Labelling step-by-step 3.2.1 Step1a Initial acceptance Conditions to be met: - The OP should have been proposed by the country as operating an Aerosol Remote Sensing component - The ARS OP should have a realistic plan for becoming fully compliant with the ACTRIS ARS requirements in max. 2 years after the initial acceptance (upgrade plan) - The ARS OP should have the institutional commitment to operate the facility at least for the next 5 years after the initial acceptance Actions to be done: 1. The PI of the OP must inform ACTRIS HO about the readiness of the ARS component to enter the labelling process 2. The PI of the OP must fill in the information about the ARS component in the ACTRIS labelling portal o Name and contact of the ARS PI o List of ARS instruments operated by the facility 3. The ARS PI must fill in the technical information about the ARS instruments in CARPORT o The ARS PI must activate his/her CARPORT user (notification from CARPORT) o The ARS PI must fill in technical information about the ARS instruments in CARPORT and submit the application (notification from CARPORT) o The ARS PI must read the preliminary report from CARS and upload the upgrade plan in CARPORT to respond to CARS' recommendations (notification from CARPORT) 4. The PI of the OP must upload the upgrade plan and the commitment letter for the ARS OP in the ACTRIS labelling portal ACTRIS Centre for Aerosol Remote Sensing C . A . R . S . 22 December 2025 7 / 20 5. CARS must upload the technical reports in the ACTRIS labelling portal 6. The RI Comm must grant the initial acceptance for the ARS OP 7. The ACTRIS HO must send the initial acceptance certificate to the PI of the OP. 3.2.2 Step1b Performance evaluation Conditions to be met: - The ARS OP should have been initially accepted Actions to be done: ₋ The ARS OP must implement the necessary upgrades to meet the technical requirements stated in the Technical requirements for ACTRIS Aerosol Remote Sensing Observational Platforms ₋ The ARS OP must implement the SOPs: o Operate the photometer according to Standard Operation Procedure for automatic sun/sky/lunar photometer o Operate the lidar according to Standard Operation Procedure for aerosol high-power lidars o Maintain and update the lidar log according to Standard Operation Procedure for aerosol high-power lidars o Implement and use ATLAS for lidar measurements quality control according to Standard Operation Procedure for aerosol high-power lidars ₋ The ARS OP must participate in the QA/QC activities: o Calibrate the photometer according to Quality Assurance Procedure for automatic sun/sky/lunar photometer o Perform and submit to CARS lidar QA tests according to Quality Assurance Procedure for aerosol high-power lidars o Perform routine QC actions on monthly basis according to Standard Operation Procedure for aerosol high-power lidars o Implement recommendations from CARS to optimize the performances of the instruments o Participate to site audits / direct comparisons as necessary o Participate to webinars, workshops and training sessions ₋ The ARS OP must collect and submit compliant data to the ACTRIS Data Centre: o Perform and submit photometer measurements according to Measurement Guidelines for automatic sun/sky/lunar photometers o Perform and submit lidar measurements according to Measurement Guidelines for aerosol high-power lidars ₋ CARS collects information from ARES and submits to the ACTRIS HO the annual performance evaluation for the ARS OP. 3.2.3 Step1c Approval Conditions to be met: - The ARS OP should have been initially accepted - The ARS OP should have been obtained, for two consecutive years, positive evaluations Actions to be done: 1. CARS must inform the ACTRIS HO about the compliance of the ARS OP in view of the approval of the label 2. The RI Comm must grant the label for the ARS OP 3. The ACTRIS HO must send the label certificate to the PI of the OP. ACTRIS Centre for Aerosol Remote Sensing C . A . R . S . 22 December 2025 8 / 20 3.2.4 Step2 Annual performance evaluation Conditions to be met: ₋ The ARS OP should have been labelled Actions to be done: 1. The ARS OP must operate according to the SOPs: o Operate the photometer according to Standard Operation Procedure for automatic sun/sky/lunar photometer o Operate the lidar according to the Standard Operation Procedure for aerosol highpower lidars o Maintain and update the lidar log according to the Standard Operation Procedure for aerosol high-power lidars o Use ATLAS for lidar measurements quality control according to Standard Operation Procedure for aerosol high-power lidars 2. The ARS OP must participate in the QA/QC activities: o Calibrate the photometer according to Quality Assurance Procedure for automatic sun/sky/lunar photometer o Perform and submit to CARS lidar QA tests according to Quality Assurance Procedure for aerosol high-power lidars o Perform routine QC actions on monthly basis according to Standard Operation Procedure for aerosol high-power lidars o Implement recommendations from CARS to optimize the performances of the instruments o Participate to site audits / direct comparisons as necessary o Participate to webinars, workshops and training sessions 3. The ARS OP must collect and submit compliant data to the ACTRIS Data Centre: o Perform and submit photometer measurements according to Measurement Guidelines for automatic sun/sky/lunar photometers o Perform and submit lidar measurements according to Measurement Guidelines for aerosol high-power lidars 5. CARS collects information from ARES and submits to the ACTRIS HO the annual performance evaluation for the ARS OP ACTRIS Centre for Aerosol Remote Sensing C . A . R . S . 22 December 2025 9 / 20 4 Labelling of ACTRIS Mobile Platforms embedding aerosol remote sensing instruments 4.1 Roles and responsibilities Country delegate / NCP – proposes NFs and components NF PI – coordinates the activities of all NF components; contact person for ACTRIS HO; fills in the necessary information in the ACTRIS labelling portal (https://actris-nf-labelling.out.ocp.fmi.fi/) ARS PI – coordinates the activities related to ARS instruments and variables; contact person for CARS and ARES; fills in the necessary information in CARPORT, the CARS workflow management portal (https://carport.inoe.ro/) CARS – provides support for the QA/QC of the measurements performed by the MP; evaluates the compliance of the aerosol remote sensing instruments against the technical requirements in the various steps of the labelling ARES – provides support for the data processing and the QA/QC of the data products derived from the aerosol remote sensing measurements performed by the MP; evaluates the compliance of the aerosol remote sensing data against the measurement guidelines in the various steps of the labelling Mobile Platform Labelling Group – evaluates the overall performances of the MP and recommends to the RI Comm granting the initial acceptance / label RI Comm – recommends granting the initial acceptance / label ACTRIS GA – approves the label 4.2 Labelling step-by-step 4.2.1 Step1a Initial acceptance Conditions to be met: - The MP should have been proposed by the country and should include at least one aerosol remote sensing instrument - The MP should have a realistic plan for becoming fully compliant with the ACTRIS requirements in max. 2 years after the initial acceptance (upgrade plan) - The MP should have the institutional commitment to operate the facility at least for the next 5 years after the initial acceptance Actions to be done: 1. The PI of the MP must inform ACTRIS HO about the readiness of the MP to enter the labelling process 2. The PI of the MP must fill in the information about the ARS instrument(s) in the ACTRIS labelling portal o Name and contact of the PI for the ARS instruments onboard of the MP o List of ARS instruments onboard of the MP 3. The PI for the ARS instruments onboard of the MP must fill in the technical information about the ARS instruments in CARPORT o The PI for the ARS instruments onboard of the MP must activate his/her CARPORT user (notification from CARPORT) ACTRIS Centre for Aerosol Remote Sensing C . A . R . S . 22 December 2025 16 / 20 Annex 1 Template for the annual evaluation of NF performance (Step1b / Step2 of the labelling) ACTRIS National Facility annual performance evaluation Aerosol Remote Sensing Observational Platform NF short name NF information Component PI (name & contact): Name & Surname, email address Start date of ACTRIS compliance for the entire component: Month Year 1 Date of initial acceptance: Month Year Date of full label (if is the case): Month Year Summary report year: YYYY Report issued by TC name; DC unit name Time period covered by the report DD/MM/YYYY - DD/MM/YYYY Date of the report DD/MM/YYYY Performance related to data provision Status of the data provision during the evaluation period Choose an item. Performance related to instrument calibration Status of the instruments' calibration during the evaluation period Choose an item. General performance statement Choose an item. CF recommendation Free text (including the possibility to be recommended for Step1c or for withdrawal of the label in near future) 1 Month of the TC technical evaluation report ACTRIS Centre for Aerosol Remote Sensing C . A . R . S . 22 December 2025 17 / 20 Report Data provision Status of the data provision Statement Comment Has the NF providing data? Choose an item. Were all mandatory variables provided? Choose an item. Were the NRT variables provided? Choose an item. Were there gaps in the measurements? Choose an item. Instrumentation Status of the data provision Statement Comment Has the NF participated to calibrations, training sessions and QA workshops? Choose an item. Has the NF implemented the operation and quality assurance procedures (including calibrations) for all involved instruments? Choose an item. Has the NF implemented the software tools provided by the TC? Choose an item. Has the NF faced failures or technical problems with the instruments? Choose an item. Other considerations Write here other relevant things, if any: how experienced the team is, how constant the data provision is, if the TC has concerns or not. References Reference to the relevant documents (e.g. guidelines, requirements, etc.) ACTRIS Centre for Aerosol Remote Sensing C . A . R . S . 22 December 2025 18 / 20 Annex 2 Template for the long-term evaluation of NF performance (Step1c / at each 5 years in Step2 of the labelling) ACTRIS National Facility long-term performance evaluation Aerosol Remote Sensing Observational Platform NF short name NF information Component PI (name & contact): Name & Surname, email address Start date of ACTRIS compliance for the entire component: Month Year 2 Date of initial acceptance: Month Year Date of full label (if is the case): Month Year Summary report on compliance year(s): start year – end year Report issued by TC name & DC unit name Time period covered by the report DD/MM/YYYY - DD/MM/YYYY Date of the report DD/MM/YYYY Data compliance XX months with compliant data out of total XX months during the evaluation period Choose an item. Instrument compliance Calibration of instruments Choose an item. General compliance Choose an item. according to requirements for the XXX component. CF recommendation Choose an item. 2 Month of the TC technical evaluation report ACTRIS Centre for Aerosol Remote Sensing C . A . R . S . 22 December 2025 19 / 20 Detailed report Data provision Variable name Variable type (mandator y / optional) Associated instrument No. of months of compliant data during the evaluation period Data coverage (% of total expected) during the evaluation period3 Compliancy with ACTRIS requirements (Yes / No) Summary for all mandatory variables X XX% Choose an item. Variable 1 M /O Instrument associated to variable 1 X XX% Choose an item. Variable 2 M /O Instrument associated to variable 2 X XX% Choose an item. ……………………. Variable n M /O Instrument associated to variable n X XX% Choose an item. Insert here time span of number of datasets submitted, and % data coverage for instrument/variable 1 Insert here time span of number of datasets submitted, and % data coverage for instrument/variable 2 Figure 1 Graphical representation of instrument/variable 1 data submission during the concerned time period (number of datasets per month / % of total expected per month) Figure 2 Graphical representation of instrument/variable 2 data submission during the concerned time period (number of daily datasets per month / % of total expected per month). ……………………… (Multiply the table above for all instruments/variables and refresh the number of the caption. General comments regarding data submission: Write here a short description of the environmental conditions (if relevant), continuity and timeliness of data submission. • In case of recommendations to be promoted to Step1c, if not all mandatory variables fulfil the 24 months requirement please explain here why an exception should be made. • In case of recommendation to withdraw the label, please refer to negative performance related to data provision in the previous years. 3 Calculated for the months of compliant data during the calendar year (months with zero datasets to be excluded if not reported as exceptions e.g. due to weather, instrument failure or instrument deployed for calibration) ACTRIS Centre for Aerosol Remote Sensing C . A . R . S . 22 December 2025 20 / 20 Instrumentation Instrument type Instrument PID (if available) Instrument landing page (link if available) Latest passed calibration / intercomparison (date) Next required calibration / intercomparison (year) Compliancy with ACTRIS requirements (Yes / No) Instrument 1 XXX Link DD/MM/YYYY YYYY Yes/No Instrument 2 XXX Link DD/MM/YYYY YYYY Yes/No ……………………… Instrument n XXX Link DD/MM/YYYY YYYY Yes/No General comments regarding QA/QC of the instruments: Write here a short general statement related to participation to the QA/QC program. • In case of recommendations to be promoted to Step1c, describe here shortly, for each instrument: implementation of operation and quality assurance procedures, implementation of software tools provided by the TC, failures or technical problems faced, participation to calibrations, participation to training sessions and QA workshops. • In case of recommendation to withdraw the label, please refer to negative performance related to instrument calibrations in the previous years. Other considerations Write here other relevant things, if any: how experienced the team is, how constant the data provision is, if the TC has concerns or not. This part is summarizing in words the general compliance, and is justifying the recommendation. References Reference to the document describing requirements and methodology for the calculation of % data coverage