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WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION |
UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME |
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A number of total ozone and spectral UV instruments are in operation in Greece from the Laboratory of Atmospheric Physics (LAP) of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the Laboratory of Meteorology University of Athens. LAP operates 2 Brewer instruments in Greece and one in Reykjavik measuring columnar Ozone and spectral UV - fluxes. The University of Athens is operating a Dobson spectrophotometer. Both Laboratories collaborate with the National Meteorological Service in sporadic ozonesonde observations and participated in both EASOE and SESAME campaigns. LAP has the longest available total ozone and spectral UV-B records in Greece and operates along with Iceland, Hungary and Poland a UV network publishing an annual bulletin. It also coordinates European Projects on spectrophotometer intercomparison and standardisation as well as a LIDAR European observing network.
Most noteworthy is the WMO Ozone Mapping Centre which operates in Greece (LAP) since 1991-1992. Following the call by the WMO Congress for provision of near-to-real time ozone information to the members, WMO did ask and the Laboratory of Atmospheric Physics (LAP) of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) agreed through the Hellenic Meteorological Service to serve as WMO provisional ozone mapping centre in the following years. It's aim is to prepare and distribute daily maps of the total ozone field from data of all collaborating stations in the WMO/GO3OS aided by additional satellite information.
During its present operation of the WMO Northern Hemisphere Ozone Mapping Centre collects total ozone observations from about one hundred northern hemisphere stations at latitudes from about 30 °N to 80 °N. Thanks to the cooperation with the NASA/TOMS Ozone processing team and to the scientific collaboration with several scholars from different institutions, the daily total ozone geographical coverage has been improved. These maps and related information are produced by staff in the LAP and dispatched on a regular schedule to more than 60 destinations. This near-to-real time exercise has been appreciated by member countries as noted in the report of the WMO Executive Council in June 1993. This long-term collaboration of our University with WMO is the result of an endorsement of WMO Regional Association Vl upheld with appreciation by the WMO Executive Council at its 46th session in Geneva (June 1994). Since June 1995, following the WMO Congress decision, the Centre is permanently hosted at LAP. The objectives of the centre are the following:
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