The project on the “Aerosol-Meteorology Interactions during TRAnsboundary pollution cases” (AMITRA) got funded from the Fast-Track Call for Access – IRISCC (Integrated Research Infrastructure Services for Climate Change Risks) in the field of the Earth and environmental sciences/ atmospheric domain. It is the effort of the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Institute (UHMI), the PEEX active collaborator. It has been done in a close collaboration with the Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research (INAR) at the University of Helsinki (Finland), which will play a role of host for two Ukrainian young researchers/ students during their short-term scientific mission (STSM) to Finland in Spring 2026.

In the context of climate change, transboundary air pollution increasingly affects air quality and aerosol–meteorology interactions at regional and even global scales. For example, atmospheric transport of wind-blown dust from the Sahara and Central Asia deserts toward Europe has become more frequent, while in recent years wildfires in Canada and Siberia have distributed emissions across the entire Northern Hemisphere. Emissions from these sources are not accounted for in traditional numerical weather prediction models, although there is an influence of aerosols on the atmosphere. Recently, the online integrated modelling has been applied to study aerosol–meteorology interactions, revealing various feedbacks in the atmosphere as well as highlighting the limitations of model sensitivity in capturing such complex interactions.

The AMITRA project aims to investigate cases of transboundary aerosol pollution, which represent one of the most impactful hazards, leading to changes in atmospheric processes through direct and indirect aerosol effects, decline in regional scale air quality, and significant impacts on human health, the environment and ecosystems. The plan is to apply seamless/ online-integrated modelling approach, in particular to use the Enviro-HIRLAM (Environment–HIgh Resolution Limited Area Model) modelling system. It is a powerful tool for modelling complex interactions as well as spatiotemporal distribution of different aerosol species and their depositions – key variables that determine exposure. Verification against advanced observational instruments will provide a solid foundation for improving the accuracy of such estimates and for assessing model sensitivity.

The project is divided into three main parts: (1) modelling activities employing the Enviro-HIRLAM for selected cases of transboundary pollution (to be conducted in a hybrid format – in-person, hands-on practical training of early-career researchers on seamless modelling, remotely accessing CSC high-performance-computing (HPC) infrastructure); (2) modelled output verification against observations from European stations incl. the Station for Measuring Ecosystem-Atmosphere Relationship, such as SMEAR-II & -III stations in Hyytiala and Helsinki, respectively (to be carried out through physical access to the SMEAR stations in Finland); and (3) modelled results post-processing, visualization, analysis, and interpretation as well as reporting (report, seminar, and peer-reviewed manuscript).

The young researchers/ students – Dariia Hrama and Maryna Rudas – are expected to have a STSM in Spring 2026 to INAR-UHEL. They are affiliated with the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (TSNUK) as well as with the Laboratory of Atmospheric Air Monitoring at UHMI.

The AMITRA project is well linked with the ongoing Horizon Europe project “Cloud-aERosol inTeractions & their impActs IN The earth sYstem” (CERTAINTY), CSC HPC projects “PEEX Modelling Platform research and development“ (PEEX-MP-at-CSC), and “Research and development for seamless modelling of meteorology – atmospheric composition on multi-scales for the Pan-Eurasian EXperiment (PEEX) domain for weather, air quality and climate applications” (Enviro-PEEX(Next) on ECMWF).

Text by: Mykhailo Savenets, UHMI & Tuukka Petäjä, Alexander Mahura, INAR-UHEL