EUROTRAC had its roots in two separate initiatives. A group of senior European atmospheric scientists wanted to form a project devoted to the chemistry of the atmosphere, and the German government wished to see environmental projects within the EUREKA framework. The scientists drew up the proposals which were presented by the German government at the second EUREKA Ministerial Conference held in Hannover in November 1985 where EUROTRAC was approved as the first environmental project.
After a phase of definition and introduction of the projects, EUROTRAC entered in its operational phase in 1989.
The proposals were welcomed by the scientific community as a unique opportunity for extensive European co-operation in the field of atmospheric sciences. Scientists from the participating countries were invited to formulate proposals for subprojects with contributions from designated principal investigators and to suggest the names of individuals to form a steering group and act as subproject coordinators. These were evaluated and approved by the Scientific Steering Committee (SSC); 14 subprojects were soon formed within EUROTRAC (EUROpean experiment on TRAnsport and transformation of environmentally relevant trace Constituents in the troposphere over Europe) .
The implementation phase started in January 1988 and by the end of that year a good proportion of the participating research groups had received funds from their own governments.
EUROTRAC was thus in essence defined by the participating scientists and as such is a truly "bottom-up" project.
The scientific focal points are:
- The elucidation of the chemistry and transport of ozone and other photo-oxidants in the troposphere.
- The identification of the processes leading to the formation of acidity in the atmosphere, particularly those involving aerosols and clouds.
- The understanding of the uptake and release of atmospheric trace substances by the biosphere.
The direction and general coordination of the project are controled by three organs:
1. "International Executive Committee" (IEC)
The overall responsibility for EUROTRAC is held by the International Executive Committee (IEC), which consists of one representative from each of the EUREKA countries involved.
2. "Scientific Steering Committee" (SSC)
The scientific direction is provided by the Scientific Steering Committee (SSC), whose members are distinguished scientists appointed by the IEC. The scientific focus of EUROTRAC was set by the SSC, and it regularly reviews the scientific progress to ensure that the various aims will be achieved.
3. "International Scientific Secretariat" (ISS)
The International Scientific Secretariat (ISS) co-ordinates EUROTRAC. It is responsible for implementing the decisions of the IEC and SSC, for maintaining regular contact with the coordinators and principal investigators in the subprojects, and for liaison with other organisations, both national and international. The ISS is situated at the Fraunhofer Institute for Atmospheric Environmental Research (IFU) in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
E7/ASE/1: Elementary composition and sources of atmospheric aerosols above and around the North Sea
E7/ASE/2: Atmospheric transport, deposition and air-sea exchange of Hg
E7/ASE/3: Chemical transformation processes and measurement of volatile acids and ammonium salts above the North Sea
E7/BIATEX: BIATEX (BIosphere - ATmosphere EXchange of pollutants): emission of C1-C3 hydrocarbons and NH3 from the soil
E7/JETDLAG: JETDLAG (Joint European Development of Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy for Measurement of Atmospheric Trace Gases) :gas spectroscopy with high solubility and dynamic aspects
E7/LACTOZ: LACTOZ (Laboratory Studies of Chemistry Related to Tropospheric Ozone): description and modelling of chemical processes in connection with the tropospheric ozone budget
E7/TOPAS/1: EUROTRAC-TOPAS (Tropospheric OPtical Absorption Spectroscopy), study of the troposphere by optical spectroscopy
E7/TOPAS/2: EUROTRAC-TOPAS (Tropospheric OPtical Absorption Spectroscopy), study of the troposphere by optical spectroscopy
E7/TOPAS/3: EUROTRAC-TOPAS (Tropospheric OPtical Absorption Spectroscopy), study of the troposphere by optical spectroscopy
E7/TOR/1: TOR (Tropospheric Ozone Research), determination of the total column density and vertical distribution of the atmospheric components
E7/TOR/2: TOR (Tropospheric Ozone Research): vertical profiles of ozone and meteorological parameters in Ukkel, obtained with free balloons and one cable balloon
