Welcome to the
Center for Aerosol In-Situ - European Center for Aerosol Calibration and Characterization (CAIS-ECAC)
In the frame of the European Research Infrastructure ACTRIS-ERIC, the Center for Aerosol In-Situ - European Center for Aerosol Calibration and Characterization (CAIS-ECAC) is one of the Central Facilities for the ACTRIS National Facilities and external users worldwide. CAIS-ECAC’s mission is to offer operational support for quality assured and controlled physical and chemical aerosol in situ measurements & sampling, to conduct traceable instrument calibration, and to perform laboratory analysis of aerosol samples. Furthermore, CAIS-ECAC develops and offers Near-Real-Time tools for fast data submission and central quality control.
CAIS-ECAC is a consortium, consisting of seven facilities. The WCCAP (World Calibration Center for Aerosol Physics), PACC (Prague Aerosol Calibration Center), and CCC (Cluster Calibration Center) are responsible for aerosol microphysical and optical aerosol variables. The OCTAC-CC (Organic Tracer and Aerosol Constituents - Calibration Center), ERLAP (European Reference Laboratory for Air Pollution), the ACMCC (Aerosol Chemical Monitor Calibration Center) and EMC2 (Element Mass Calibration Center) are in charge of the chemical & elemental aerosol variables.
To visit the CF and the workshops, please click on the icon.
which consists of
Seven Central Facilities
and is responsible for 65 National Facilities in 18 countries in Europe.
Events & Announcement
Event:
ACTRIS CAIS-ECAC Aerosol In-Situ Course 2026
Cource date:
spring workshop: 14 March – 20 March, 2026 (successfully completed)autumn workshop: 29 September – 03 October, 2026
Application deadline:
23 January, 2026
Lectures:
Fundamentals & Methods for Aerosol Sampling and Physical & Chemical In-Situ Measurements
Location:
National Atmospheric Observatory Kosetice, Czech Republic
Additional information for departure:
The bus (the same which will bring you to NAOK) will drive you back to Prague – again both locations (main railway station and the airport – the order depends on your common decision – based on who is leaving the earliest usually). The bus is scheduled between 8:00 and 9:00 A.M. so that you can have a breakfast at NAOK – if none of you need to leave early we can schedule the bus even later. If some people booked earlier flights/trains (it takes slightly less than 2 hours to Prague), then you will have to arrange a separate transport (we can help to arrange it). To avoid separate transportation and use all the same bus back to Prague we recommended to book fights accordingly to the time schedule announced. Thanks you.
Course announcement and application:
Workshops at Central Facilities
Event:
WCCAP workshops
Location:
TROPOS WCCAP at Leipzig
The Central Facility WCCAP in Leipzig, Germany is hosting the next inter-comparison workshop for National Facilities in:
Golden MPSS Workshop:
- September 21 - September 25 , 2026
- September 28 - October 02 , 2026
- October 05 - October 09 , 2026
- November 02 - November 13, 2026
Activity &
Newsletter
Meetings
Minutes
Aerosol In-Situ Commiunity Meetings
OGTAC-CC Commiunity Meetings
last update January 2024
last update September 2022Measurement
Guidelines
Labeling
Process
Labeling Process Step 1A - initial acceptance
The labeling process for a ACTRIS National Facility consists of several steps:
The sketch explains the procedure of the step 1a, the initial acceptance, at CAIS-ECAC.
- step 1a (initial acceptance)
- step 1b (performance evaluation after 2 consecutive years of operation)
- step 1c (review approval and obtaining the ACTRIS label)
- step 2 (regular re-evaluation)
Procedure Of The Labeling
Operational SupportOperational support which is organized by CAIS-ECAC on regular basis:
Operational Support | Instrument | Frequency | Modality of provision |
| Calibration Workshops at CAIS-ECAC | Microphysical & optical instruments | biannually | Call launched by CAIS-ECAC |
| Round-Robin-Tests at CAIS-ECAC | OC/EC Organic tracers Element analysis | annually | Call launched by CAIS-ECAC |
| NF audits | Not regular | Call launched by CAIS-ECAC |
The course will be held for 5 days from Monday 02nd to Friday 06th of November 2026 at TROPOS ACD in Leipzig. The number of participants is limited to 8.
Topic:
Theory and practice – Offline chromatographic (LC-MS and GC-MS) determination of organic tracer compounds and organic and elemental carbon (OC/EC) measurements in particulate matter collected on filters.
Subscription via email to ogtac-cc[at]tropos.de (registration deadline Octoeber 16st, 2026)
For any questions don´t hesitate to contact Dr. Falk Mothes (mothes[at]tropos.de).
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