Opening of Ruisdael Observatory

The Ruisdael Observatory – named after the 17th-century painter Jacob van Ruisdael – combines a nationwide dense network of measuring points with high-resolution simulations and the necessary computing power in order to map out changes in local weather, air quality and climate. The official opening of the observatory is on 27 September, with a meeting in the grounds of the KNMI measuring station at Cabauw (Cabauw Experimental Site for Atmospheric Research, CESAR). In April this new top-class research facility was awarded a certificate from NWO’s National Roadmap for Large-Scale Scientific infrastructure.

Entire troposphere

The Ruisdael Observatory will be measuring things such as temperature, wind and moisture as well as the chemical composition, including greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane and air pollution emissions such as nitrogen dioxide, ammonia and sulphur dioxide, from one metre under the ground to around 12 kilometres high (the entire troposphere, the layer of the atmosphere that determines our weather and our climate). A new computing facility is needed to process all these observed data into atmospheric models in real time. The goal of the Ruisdael Observatory is to produce a simulation of the entire atmosphere of the Netherlands at a resolution of 100x100 metres.

Partnership

The Ruisdael Observatory is a partnership made up of a wide range of parties, which enables it to combine all of these individual specialisations, and is funded by NWO. The consortium comprises researchers from the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), Utrecht University, the University of Groningen, VU Amsterdam, Wageningen University & Research, RIVM, TNO, ECN and TU Delft (coordinating university).

Kick-off

Following a word of welcome and a panel discussion, the kick-off attendees will split up to discuss the various research lines and facilities in more detail (see attached programme).

More information

http://ruisdael-observatory.nl/

For more information, see the press release about the NWO funding ‘Ruisdael Observatory: measuring the Dutch atmosphere on a 100m scale’

Contact Roy Meijer, TU Delft Science Information Officer, +31 (0)15-2781751, r.e.t.meijer@tudelft.nl