Measurements are performed within NDACC (Network for Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change), formerly NDSC (Network for Detection of Stratospheric Change).

NDACC is an international network for long-term monitoring of the stratosphere and the high troposphere established in 1991. Objectives include the detection of natural or anthropogenic changes in the atmospheric chemical composition and temperature, studies of interactions between atmospheric chemistry and climate, and long-term validation of similar measurements from available satellites.

The international Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC) is composed of more than 70 high-quality, research stations for observing and understanding the physical and chemical state of the upper troposphere, stratosphere and mesosphere, and for assessing the impact of changes in the stratosphere on the underlying troposphere and on global climate. As part of this network, about thirty ground-based Lidar (Light Detection And Ranging) instruments deployed worldwide from Pole to Pole are monitoring atmospheric ozone, temperature, aerosols, water vapour, and polar stratospheric clouds. This laser-based active remote sensing technique has been used widely for several decades in environmental science and chemistry, and has contributed significantly to the validation of space-based measurements. While the NDACC remains committed to monitoring changes in the stratosphere with an emphasis on the long-term evolution of the ozone layer, its priorities have broadened considerably to encompass issues such as the detection of trends in overall atmospheric composition and understanding their impacts on the stratosphere and troposphere, and establishing links between climate change and atmospheric composition. To ensure quality and consistency of the NDACC lidars operation and products, a number of protocols have been formulated covering such topics as validation, measurements and instruments inter-comparisons, and theory and analysis.

The members of the NDACC Lidar Working Group (LWG) are committed to follow the principles of these protocols, and the LWG meets every two years to review and coordinate the activities necessary to the valuable contribution of the lidars to NDACC.

French activities are coordinated in the National Observing Service called NDACC-France of CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)/INSU (Institut National des Sciences de l’Univers) coordinated nationally by OVSQ (Observatoire de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines).

Operations are funded by CNRS/INSU, and CNES (Centre National des Etudes Spatiales).

http://www.insu.cnrs.fr/node/1240
M. J. Kurylo and S. Solomon, Network for the Detection of Stratospheric Change, NASA Report, Code EEU, 1990.

The Atmospheres Laboratory Environments, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS) is a joint research unit specializing in the study of fundamental physical and chemical processes governing the terrestrial and planetary atmospheres and their interfaces with the surface, the ocean, and the interplanetary medium.

For this, the Laboratory has developed a strong instrumental skills, builds innovative instruments deployed from the ground and sometimes put into orbit or out to meet other solar system bodies. Numerical atmosphere models are developed and used to interpret the various observations.