ATM Newsletter Special Anniversary Edition

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SOCIAL IMPACT SMEAR goes GLOBAL Text courtesy of CoE ATM / Mai Allo Finnish atmospheric scientists are well-known for their special observational stations. The SMEAR stations serve basic research, but in the future, they will probably be a worldwide business as well S nce 1991, the Station for Measuring Earth Surface- Atmosphere Relations (SMEAR) observational stations established by a team of Finnish atmospheric scientists have been measuring the atmosphere and its interlinking with the Earth’s surface. The measurement data has been the cornerstone of the scientific contributions the team has made to atmospheric physics and chemistry. The researchers of the team have, for example, revealed the molecular mechanisms governing the formation of atmospheric aerosol particles. The team mentioned above is, of course, the Finnish Centre of Excellence in Atmospheric Science. There are altogether 250 physicists, forest scientists, chemists and other experts working in the centre. They are headed by physics professor Markku Kulmala, the most cited geoscientist in the world. Besides basic research, Kulmala and his team have established two spin-off companies: Airmodus Ltd. develops and manufactures particle counters, and Karsa Ltd. produces special sensors. The success in academic endeavour, or in small-scale business, is not enough for Kulmala and his team, however: they now intend to enter the world market with their expertise in observational technology. “For example, we could plan a whole measurement station for the client on demand, offer expertise to implement it, and train the local staff to maintain the station. Or we could construct early-warning technology and apparatus for industrial parks. We also provide data management, processing and visualisation tools,” says Marjut Kaukolehto, the research coordinator in the Finnish Centre of Excellence in Atmospheric Sciences. Equipment and installation One single SMEAR measurement station consists of numerous measurement devices, vehicles, apparatuses and data processing meaning it is integrated to function as a unit. A station is, in other words, like a laboratory located in a forest or any other ecosystem. It can even be erected in an urban environment. In addition to the technology, maintenance halls, power supply, and shelter for the staff and visitors are usually needed. Up to now, Kulmala and his team have established six stations. ”From the point of view of the potential client, the complete, fully equipped SMEAR station might be too much. This is why we have developed smaller, separate blocks, which are different combinations of technology and knowledge tailored for varying needs,” says Kaukolehto. Are the atmospheric scientists now going to give up basic research and turn to business? No. As Kaukolehto puts it: “Academia and business, 6 ATMNewsletter
Photograph by Lauriane Quéléver although both having their own rules and drivers, can be brought closer to each other. By co-operating they can solve air quality and climate problems, and promote clean technology.” The implementation of the SMEAR concept described above is probably facilitated by the fact that the SMEAR stations are already quite well-known worldwide. Kulmala and his team have published dozens of papers in Nature and Science, and most of the breakthroughs rest upon SMEAR technology. Many people in industry also know Airmodus Ltd., which exports its counters to China, amongst other places. The eventful and partly unbelievable history of the SMEAR stations is much less known. They were established partly as a result of the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe in the former Soviet Union in 1986. “A blessing in disguise” The exceptional story of SMEAR is revealed in a book written by Mai Allo which will soon be published by the Society of Finnish Literature. The book is directed at the general public and explains in a popular way what scientists do in the SMEAR stations. It is also a fascinating success story of a few exceptional individuals. Later, the book will probably be translated into English. “A blessing in disguise.” This is what physics professor Markku Kulmala now says as he looks back at the history of SMEAR. Kulmala was a physics postgraduate and one of the very few young students interested in atmosphere-ecosystem relations at the end of the 1970s. With his senior colleague, Pertti Hari, he started to apply the methods and theories of physics and maths to forest research and environmental issues. It was something unheard of in those days. But what, exactly, has the Chernobyl tragedy to do with atmospheric scientists and their observational stations? “At the beginning of the 1980s, I started to cooperate with Pertti Hari, who is both a physicist and a forest scientist. With the help of an extraordinarily talented blacksmith we succeeded in developing instruments to measure, for example, the dynamics of photosynthesis in a forest. But we were not satisfied. We did not understand how our results were connected to the atmosphere, nor did we have enough data to draw conclusions,” remembers Kulmala. The problem of insufficient data was solved unexpectedly as the research material they needed literally fell from the sky. It can by no means be called a Godsend, however. It was the radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine at the end of April in 1986. Radiating samples Soon after the explosion, Kulmala and Hari were working day and night for several months to collect samples of polluted soil, animals and buildings to be analysed with a gamma spectrometer. During the hectic period it came to their minds where the shortcomings of their earlier research were, and how to fill the gaps. Hari, now professor emeritus, explains: “We understood that it was the energy and material flows which combine the different parts of the ecosystem and the atmosphere. By capturing the flows we could create a coherent, quantitative model of the biosphere as a whole. This is still the basic function of any SMEAR station.” He adds: “The analysis of ‘Chernobyl’s footprint’ also served as a test bed to our instruments, which turned out to be excellent for the measurement of very small contents of, say, trace gases.” The rest of the story is well-known: Hari, Kulmala and a small group of other researchers established their first SMEAR station in Värriö, northern Finland, in 1991, and their second, in 1995, in Hyytiälä in southwestern Finland. They did not only plan the station, but also worked physically in a construction plant, with a shovel in their hand. The extraordinary blacksmith, Toivo Pohja, offered his technical talent and craftsmanship to serve the scientists. Now there are four stations in Finland, one in China and one in Estonia, and the SMEAR concept provides services and products to the private sector, too. “It is sometimes argued that it is serendipity which matters in science, but it is not true,” says Kulmala 30 years after Chernobyl. “First, I really hope that a tragedy like that will never, ever happen again. Second, I think any coincidence in science is useless if a scientist is not prepared. He must have been searching for something to see the possibility behind coincidence.” Contact: Marjut.kaukolehto@helsinki.fi Markku.kulmala@helsinki.fi pertti.hari@helskinki.fi www.atm.helsinki.fi/FCoE ATMNewsletter 7
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