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COSMAS

Aims and objectives

The overall aims of COSMAS were to promote advanced instrument development and laboratory studies in atmospheric science, and to provide the research tools and data to underpin a broad range of science, with a view to developing fundamental knowledge of the behaviour of the atmosphere, and an understanding of its chemical, microphysical, radiative and dynamical processes.

Objectives

The objectives of the programme were:

  • To achieve the programme's scientific objectives through an integrated programme based on interdisciplinary collaborations, partnership between industry and researchers, and an international perspective.
  • To facilitate efficient and timely distribution and exploitation of data from the programme. Data to be published in peer-reviewed journals and archived with the British Atmospheric Data Centre.
  • To provide advanced training in atmospheric science and wider disciplines. Technical skills - working with lasers, advanced optics, mass spectrometry, computer-interfacing - are highly transferable.
  • To serve the user community. The main users of the output from COSMAS will be other scientists who use the data and tools to enhance the quality from thematic and non-thematic research. In this respect, COSMAS was part of the infrastructure for research coming under NERC's Atmospheric Science and Technology Board.
  • To provide opportunities for established scientists from diverse backgrounds and for young researchers to enter the field of atmospheric science.