The international Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC) is composed of more than 70 globally distributed, ground-based, remote-sensing research stations with more than 160 currently active instruments. The NDACC Objectives are:
- to establish long-term databases for detecting changes and trends in atmospheric composition and to understand their impacts on the mesosphere, stratosphere, and troposphere;
- to establish scientific links and feedbacks between changes in atmospheric composition, climate, and air quality;
- to validate atmospheric measurements from other platforms (i.e. satellites, aircraft, and ground-based platforms);
- to provide critical data sets to help fill gaps in satellite observations;
- to provide collaborative support to scientific field campaigns and to other chemistry and climate-observing networks; and
- to provide validation and development support for atmospheric models.
The NDACC began network operations as The Network for Detection of Stratospheric Change (NDSC) in January 1991.
The NDACC has been endorsed by national and international scientific agencies, including the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the International Ozone Commission of the International Association of Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences. NDACC is a major contributor to the Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) Program of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and a key component of the Integrated Global Atmospheric Chemistry Observation (IGACO) initiative.
NDACC Newsletter
Produced approximately every two to three years by the Steering Committee, the newsletter contains articles on Network News, Working Group Activities, Site Status and Development, New Measurements, Steering Committee Activities, etc.