NDACC Goals and Organization

The primary goal of the Network for the Detection of Atmosphere Composition Change (NDACC) is to obtain high quality measurements of a broad range of atmospheric chemical species and parameters. The initial objective of the NDACC was to make observations through which changes in the physical and chemical state of the stratosphere could be determined and understood. While the network remains committed to monitoring changes in the stratosphere, with an emphasis on the long-term evolution of the ozone layer (its decay, likely stabilization and expected recovery), its priorities have broadened considerably to encompass

• Detecting trends in overall atmospheric composition and understanding their impacts on the stratosphere and troposphere,
• Studying atmospheric composition variability at interannual and longer timescales,
• Establishing links and feedbacks between climate change and atmospheric composition,
• Calibrating and validating space-based measurements of the atmosphere,
• Supporting process-focused scientific field campaigns, and
• Testing and improving theoretical models of the atmosphere.

The NDACC is an international activity, involving and requiring the participation of scientists around the world. It has been endorsed by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Ozone Commission (IOC) of the International Association of Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics and by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) as a major contributor of WMO’s Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW).

The NDACC Steering Committee consists of two co-chairs, pairs of PIs representing each of the Working Groups, Independent Scientists who are appointed to act as peer reviewers, and ex-officio members from important NDACC funding agencies.

To ensure quality and consistency of NDACC operations and products, a number of protocols have been formulated covering such topics as primary and complementary measurements, data, instruments inter-comparisons, theory and analysis, and validation.