Budapest platform for Aerosol Research and Training (BpART) is a research facility to serve and advance the research of atmospheric aerosols through complex surface based and satellite born measurements, as well as to promote the education and training of students at master or PhD levels and young/postdoctoral researchers interested in aerosol science. It was created within the framework of the Eötvös University (ELTE), Faculty of Science, Institute of Chemistry and was put in operation in October 2013. Since September 2017, the BpART has been operating as a separate research laboratory of the institute.

The platform is based on an insulated metal container with internal dimensions of 2.00 m (width), 2.80 m (length) and 2.10 m (height) dedicated to on-line aerosol measurements and aerosol sample collections. The sampling inlets and sensors are set up in a height between 80 and 150 cm above the rooftop level. The container has several waterproof vertical inlets through the ceiling and some horizontal inlets with diameters of 64, 10, 8 and 6 mm. The aerosol instruments deployed include an FDMS-TEOM, RT-OC/EC analyser, DMPS, CCN-200, SFU sampler, MOUDI sampler, nano-MOUDI sampler and high-volume dichotomous sampler (HiVol virtual impactor). The air pumped inside and processed by the instruments is forwarded to the outdoors via closed internal and external tubing to a distance from the receptor site of at least 3 m in downwind direction. The container is equipped with a split air conditioning facility, an electrical heating device, and a heat barrier curtain at the door. The indoor temperature can be maintained within a temperature range of ±3 °C. There are two independent lines for 230 V, 50 Hz 20 A AC supply available for the instruments via CEE 7/4 (Schuco) plugs and sockets. The platform is equipped by ten local area network computer endpoints with a speed of ca. 800 Mbps, and an IP phone.

The platform is located on the second floor Northern balcony of the Northern block in the Lágymányos Campus of the university. The WGS 84 coordinates (altitude, longitude and height) of the container at the rooftop level - determined with a 3D uncertainty of ±2 cm - are as follows:

The mean rooftop level is located in a height of 11.00 m above the street level of the closest road. The distance of the container from the (right) bank of the river Danube is approximately 85 m. The platform can be moved to other locations.

Meteorological data are available from both the regular Urban Climatological Station (station number: 44505, name: Budapest Lagymanyos) of the Hungarian Meteorological Service operated jointly by the Department of Meteorology within the university campus (in a distance of about 70 meters from the BpART), and from a simpler on-site meteorological station. Aerosol optical thickness data can be retrieved via satellite receivers from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the NASA’s Terra satellite.

Interested partners are invited to join the research and studies at the platform in collaborative activities. For more information contact: Imre Salma.