ATMOS

ATMOS is a consortium of 11 research institutions, five of which are based in the EU and manage the project. There are also six partner organizations in third countries. The main objective of the project is to establish cooperation in the study of scientific problems related to air pollution and, in particular, to train students in this field.

This project aims to:

1) establish a network of highly qualified multidisciplinary researchers and strengthen cooperation between researchers from the EU and third countries; 2) develop new approaches to characterize atmospheric pollutants and their interactions, as well as to communicate the results to the general public; 3) exchange and disseminate scientific information contributing to the detection of air pollutants, especially in the development of innovative gas capture techniques; 4) create improved academic perspectives of the participants, especially for female researchers from third countries.

ATMOS offers novel, multi-faceted approaches to solving these problems. The main innovations of the project are: a) the spectroscopic characterization of complex, previously uncharacterized, volatile organic compounds, which will be detected using both "large-scale" instruments and the participants' "local" instruments; b) the study of reactive processes to understand in detail the relationship between volatile organic compounds and atmospheric radicals and to describe the relevant role of radicals; c) the exploitation of some pollutants as reagents for the production of innovative materials that can contribute to the reduction of pollutants in the environment. ATMOS uses laboratory techniques for spectroscopy and molecular fluid dynamics, atmospheric simulation chambers and technical tools (air monitoring station or synthesis of new trapping materials), combined with quantum chemical calculations and the development of new theoretical methods. The interdisciplinary work will be supported by secondments and other networking activities, such as two workshops, a summer school and an international conference.