• 37.200°N 3.600°W 680 m a.s.l.

Observational platform

Spain

• University of Granada (UGR)

https://atmosphere.ugr.es/en/about/presentation/agora

• Lucas Alados-Arboledas
  Facility PI

The Andalusian Global ObseRvatory of the Atmosphere (AGORA) is located in Southern Spain. It consists of several sites allowing the coverage of different atmospheric backgrounds. The observatory operates remote sensing and in situ instrumentation for cloud and aerosol characterization, contributing to 3 ACTRIS components. ACTRIS observations are performed from UGR station, located in Granada (37.16°N, 3.61°W, 680 m asl). This is a medium-sized non-industrialized city (around 500k inhabitants in the metropolitan area) surrounded by high mountains (up to 3398 m asl), and 50km from the Mediterranean coast. It presents large seasonal temperature differences, low relative humidity, scarce precipitation and light winds influenced by local mountain-valley flow. The station combines long-term monitoring of atmospheric aerosol vertical distribution and aerosol particle in-situ measurements, as well as cloud, solar and atmospheric radiation monitoring at different spectral ranges.

AGORA has been developed with the aim of performing multi-instrumental studies of atmospheric processes, with special focus on atmospheric aerosol and its role in climate and air quality, aerosol-cloud interaction processes, and active trace gases in the lowermost atmosphere layers.
The scientific goal is to improve the knowledge of the atmospheric processes and the climate change by means of in-situ and remote sensing instrumentation and models. The experimental research lines are related to the atmospheric aerosols, aerosol-cloud interaction, greenhouse gases, gas and particle turbulence, air quality and surface-atmosphere energy balance. The climate variability and climate change research lines work in the analysis of causal mechanisms and sources of climate predictability along with obtaining of climate change projections for different regions in Europe (Iberian Peninsula) and also in other countries of the world.

• Ortiz-Amezcua et al. (2022). Wind and Turbulence Statistics in the Urban Boundary Layer over a Mountain–Valley System in Granada, Spain. Remote Sensing, 14(10), 2321. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14102321
• Benavent-Oltra et al. (2021). Overview of the SLOPE I and II campaigns: aerosol properties retrieved with lidar and sun–sky photometer measurements. Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21(12), 9269-9287. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9269-2021
• GUERRERORASCADO et al. (2008). Multi-spectral Lidar characterization of the vertical structure of Saharan dust aerosol over southern Spain. Atmospheric Environment, 42(11), 2668-2681. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2007.12.062
• Bravo-Aranda et al. (2015). Study of mineral dust entrainment in the planetary boundary layer by lidar depolarisation technique. Tellus B: Chemical and Physical Meteorology, 67(1), 26180. https://doi.org/10.3402/tellusb.v67.26180
• Granados-Muñoz et al. (2016). A comparative study of aerosol microphysical properties retrieved from ground-based remote sensing and aircraft in situ measurements during a Saharan dust event. Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9(3), 1113-1133. https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-1113-2016
• Lyamani et al. (2010). Physical and optical properties of aerosols over an urban location in Spain: seasonal and diurnal variability. Atmos. Chem. Phys., 10(1), 239-254. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-10-239-2010
• Titos et al. (2017). Spatial and temporal variability of carbonaceous aerosols: Assessing the impact of biomass burning in the urban environment. Science of The Total Environment, 578, 613-625. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.11.007
• Moreira et al. (2020). Study of the planetary boundary layer height in an urban environment using a combination of microwave radiometer and ceilometer. Atmospheric Research, 240, 104932. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2020.104932
• Casquero-Vera et al. (2020). New particle formation at urban and high-altitude remote sites in the south-eastern Iberian Peninsula. Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20(22), 14253-14271. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-14253-2020