Atmospheric observations of gases and aerosol are of great interest for climatological, meteorological, and pollution studies.

Several techniques, based on ground-based measurements of solar radiation, have been developed and established in the last century to estimate the atmospheric aerosol and trace gas amounts and properties.

Automatic ground based instruments, often organized in Federated Networks, are able to perform high quality observations with a good time resolution, consolidated and traceable calibration procedures, and homogeneity in the retrievals.

These Networks are good candidates for the validation and calibration of satellite missions, already operative or to be launched.

Aims of the School-Conference are

•   forming young scientists providing them an overview of the current status of solar radiation based techniques, a solid theoretical base, and hands-on experimental activities
•   building a bridge among International communities involved in atmospheric science for establishing and reinforcing future cooperation on the solar radiation based techniques for atmospheric observations and satellite validation.

Topics

• Radiometry
• Photometry
• Spectrometry
• Intercomparisin campaigns
• CAL/VAL for satelite missions