Motivation



The Graduate School CBACCI consists of two Nordic Centres of Excellences:

  • Research Unit on Biosphere - Aerosol - Cloud - Climate Interactions (BACCI)

  • Nordic Centre for Studies of Ecosystem Carbon Exchange and its Interactions with the Climate System (NECC)


In recent years the need of researchers and experts in the field of biosphere-atmosphere-climate interactions has been increasing significantly. In the future we need more people who have obtained real interdisciplinary education in the field of aerosol related environmental science and climate change.

The special objective related to the CBACCI is to bring together different scientific communities and to establish interdisciplinary education for Ph.D. students and post docs. The community working with flux towers is mostly devoted to the fluxes of water vapour, CO2 and some other, very few trace gases and not to particulate matter. On the other hand the community working with aerosol particle issues is usually not familiar with the capacity of flux towers and its potential for their research. Merging of these communities on more solid bases is very important.

The education CBACCI provides can be utilized by

  • Scientists in Universities and research Institutes

  • Teachers in Universities

  • Teachers in Professional High Schools

  • Experts in administration

  • Experts in different enterprises, e.g. in companies designing and developing instruments, in pharmaceutical companies etc.

  • Consults (experts) to give advise in aerosol and gaseous pollutant related environmental problems (air quality, environmental health etc.)

Description of the CBACCI activities


The work performed in the NCoEs focuses on several aspects in the Nordic Centre of Excellence Program. We cover several fields of basic natural science (physics, chemistry, meteorology, geophysics, oceanography (partly), agriculture, forest ecology and plant physiology and biology. We are investigating I) the basic atmospheric processes (micrometeorological fluxes of CO2 and other trace gases and aerosol particle fluxes and their formation and growth together with cloud droplet formation and atmospheric chemistry of organic compounds), II) ecosystem processes (photosynthesis and side products of photosynthesis as sources of organic vapors, plant-soil interactions and soil processes controlling trace gas (CO2, CH4, N2O and NMHC) fluxes), III) the aerosol-cloud-climate interactions and IV) different feedback processes between the climate and ecosystems.

The NcoEs' work is divided into work packages all operated in a well-defined manner to meet the primary objectives. All work packages are involved in the CBACCI programme, organizing and participating in courses and workshops.

  • Fluxes of CO2 and other trace gases including biogenic volatile organic compounds

  • Processes controlling ecosystem CO2 balance and CH4, N2O and NMHC emissions

  • Evapo-transpiration and surface energy exchange

  • Aerosol fluxes (emission and deposition)

  • Atmospheric aerosol precursor chemistry

  • Chemistry and thermodynamics of organic compounds

  • Nucleation (theories and experiments)

  • Formation and growth of atmospheric aerosols

  • Emissions of particles in Europe

  • Parameterisation of aerosol formation for large scale models

  • Modeling of regional and global distribution of aerosols, trace gases and CO2 and their contribution to radiative forcing and regional pollution

  • Atmospheric gas-aerosol-cloud interactions

CBACCI activities are closely linked to the ABS (Atmosphere-Biosphere-Studies), a Nordic Master's Degree Programme in Atmospheric Sciences and Biogeochemical cycles. The ABS network initially consists of eight departments in five universities located in three Nordic countries, and it was launched in 2006.

The Graduate School has also close relations to the NorFA Network on Atmospheric Aerosol Dynamics (NAD).

The activities in the Graduate School are

  • creating possibilities for Nordic mobility of students, post docs and supervisors;

  • common guest lecturers;

  • visiting professors;

  • seminars/workshops/courses for students and post docs;

  • enhanced multinational supervising;

  • training of supervisors;

  • developing new supervising methods.


Altogether the CBACCI Graduate School involves:

  • 55 professors

  • 100 post-docs

  • 160 PhD students

  • over 200 MSc students

Our graduate school provides an international framework and improved working conditions for a large number of top scientists in our research area.