Jean-Louis Brenguier, founder of EUFAR in 2000, next to SAFIRE's ATR42. Photo credit: EUFAR |
From in situ measurement of atmospheric properties to remote sensing, the high manoeuvrability of instrumented aircraft allows researchers to pursue atmospheric and environmental phenomena, especially in remote locations, to follow their evolution and to explore their physics, chemistry and biology from small spatial sales up to thousands of kilometres. First created in 2000, EUFAR was born out of the necessity to create a central coordination network for the airborne research community in Europe. With funding from the European Commission, it was able to establish a scheme of Transnational Access. This aimed to support researchers by providing access to facilities not accessible in their home countries in addition to professional support and training. |
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A significant outcome of the most recent funding contract (EUFAR2, 2014-2018) was the agreement of a core group of organisations to establish EUFAR as an AISBL (international non-profit association). The objectives of this association include improving the coordination of members’ facilities, seeking improvements in the efficiency of their operation and working to broaden the community of scientists able to access these facilities across Europe. EUFAR AISBL was formally established in January 2018 and currently has 13 Member organisations. |
BAe146 operated by FAAM. Photo credit: Met Office |
Aerosol Reference Pod on board Enviscope's LearJet 35A. Photo credit: EUFAR |
Today, EUFAR Members operate 13 instrumented aircraft and 3 separate remote-sensing instruments, some of which can be deployed on different aircraft. The aircraft conduct observing campaigns both nationally and internationally. In addition to its Members, EUFAR also represents an expanding network of Partner organisations with a range of mutual interests in airborne science. |
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EUFAR activities are currently focussed on four main areas: - Strategy and European Integration Further detail will be found on following pages. |
Training Course on Advanced Digital Remote Sensing in Ecology & Earth Sciences, Hungary, Aug 2010. Photo credit: EUFAR |