The WORCC standard group of three PFRs (so-called “PFR triad”) was established in 2005 by WORCC in order to fulfil the WMO mandate on: “Homogenization of global AOD . . .
The WORCC standard group of three PFRs (so-called “PFR triad”) was established in 2005 by WORCC in order to fulfil the WMO mandate on: “Homogenization of global AOD . . .
The Global Atmosphere Watch Precision Filter Radiometer (GAW-PFR) Network is an international network of PFRs to measure aerosol optical depth (AOD) at GAW . . .
The PSR was developed to upgrade and complement the filter-based PFR sun-photometer. AOD and trace gas values can be measured over a continuous range of 320-1040 nm.
A second PFR generation has been developed to secure the continuous operation of the GAW-PFR network and its ancillary stations for the fore-seeable future . . .
The WORCC Section has a number of calibration facilities which allow radiometers to be calibrated outdoors as well as in the laboratory.
Filter Radiometer Comparisons (FRCs) are organised every five years at PMOD/WRC. These AOD comparisons are conducted under various atmospheric conditions . . .
Several instruments have been developed by the WORCC section for R & D as well as monitoring purposes. These include: The Lunar PFR, UV PFR and the ERMIS spectro-radiometer.
Three optics laboratories are available to comprehensively characterise radiometers, each run by the Sections: Solar Radiometry (SRS), UV Radiometry (WCC-UV) and WORCC.
The World Optical Depth Research & Calibration Center (WORCC) develops accurate radiometric references for spectral solar radiometry which are used to determine optical depth.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) instigated the Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) program in 1989 as a successor to the Background Air Pollution Monitoring Network (BAPMoN). In 1993 it was recommended that AOD measurements, conducted previously under BAPMoN, should be discontinued until new instruments, methods and protocols could be established to collect AOD data of known and assured quality. Based on a recommendation by GAW experts, the World Optical Depth Research & Calibration Center (WORCC) was established in 1996 at the PMOD/WRC in Switzerland. WORCC has since been advised by the GAW Scientific Advisory Group for Aerosols.