Interesting venue for the first RADO meeting: The two year project RADO - Romanian Atmospheric research 3D Observatory - had its first meeting close to Dracula's Bran Castle in Transylvania in July, attending representatives from Romanian research institutions, universities, Innovation Norway and NILU. The project aims to create the first atmospheric observatory network in Romania, and so far unique in SE Europe.

The overall objective of the project is to contribute to the reconciliation of science and society in Romania by creating a new infrastructure (Romanian Atmospheric research 3D Observatory) able to combine research, education and demonstration activities and to act as consultative organism for environmental policy makers.

The project will contribute to the establishment of the first atmospheric observatory network in Romania, dedicated to research and monitoring of atmospheric processes and compounds in the Planetary Boundary Layer and Free Troposphere.

RADO will have 3 main parts: the Observation Network, a Data Center and a Science Center.  The observatory network will be based on five existing LIDAR stations in Romania, which upgraded with new state-of the-art sensors.

NILU is the main partner of the project and will contribute substantially with know-how, training of personell and technology transfer to the Romanian observatory. Its particular role is to assist in the development and deployment of a 3D observatory for greenhouse gases and air pollutants by providing state-of-the-art ultraviolet and IR imaging cameras that can quantify and track several important atmospheric gases.