TONe Atmosperic Composition Observatory (ACO)
The atmosphere across the globe is connected, and pollution at lower latitudes is transported to the polar regions by weather and wind systems. The poles are the most vulnerable areas on the globe, and global changes are first seen here. That is why it is so important to measure air quality in the atmosphere both far north and far south, and by comparing these measurement results we gain new knowledge about transport and effects related to pollution on a global scale. NILU established an observatory for monitoring air pollution at Troll as early as 2007.
Today’s instrumentation: characterizing the composition of the atmosphere, and measuring seasonal and annual variations and transport of air pollutants to the area (aerosols, pollutants, mercury, carbon dioxide).
Through TONe, we are now able to complement the instrument fleet with three new instruments – one for aerosols and size distribution (which is important, for example, for the transport of particles from forest fires in the southern hemisphere), one for measuring ozone hole-related gases (where the problem with the ozone hole is far from over) – and one for high-resolution greenhouse gas measurements.