AERIS aims to build an international, cross-sectoral network to advance atmospheric sciences by improving vertically-resolved atmospheric characterization techniques, including near-surface regions. The project unites European academic and commercial institutions with North and South American partners (LALINET). AERIS enhances measurement techniques, connects international observation programs, and creates opportunities for early warning systems, business innovation, and job creation. The main objective is to advance retrieval capabilities for biogenic and non-biogenic aerosols over South America, enabling data with applications in health, hydrology, air quality, and climate. This will support a regional early warning system with global implications, benefiting aviation, biodiversity, and space mission validation.

South America is under-sampled in terms of environmental information. One of the most critical challenges in atmospheric sciences in South America, with global implications, is understanding and mitigating the impacts of atmospheric biogenic/non-biogenic aerosols and air pollution. Aerosols, largely generated by biomass burning, wildfires in the Amazon, and industrial and agricultural activities, include particles such as black carbon, sulfates, and volatile organic compounds, which affect air quality and pose significant risks to human and environmental health. Aerosols also alter the Earth’s energy balance by influencing the solar radiation reaching the surface, modifying key atmospheric processes such as cloud formation and precipitation. At a global scale, South American aerosols can be transported by atmospheric currents to other regions, amplifying their climatic and pollution-related effects. The connection between aerosols and the hydrological cycle is particularly relevant, as these particles act as cloud condensation nuclei, altering the physical properties of precipitation, its intensity and spatial distribution. In regions like the Amazon, where forest evapotranspiration plays a critical role in generating local rainfall and regulating global climate, changes in atmospheric composition caused by aerosols can disrupt these natural cycles. Additionally, vegetation loss due to deforestation and fires reduces the region’s ability to recycle moisture, exacerbating aridity and diminishing the ecosystem’s capacity to mitigate climate change.

A major challenge is the insufficient infrastructure and monitoring networks in some parts of the planet, especially in South America, which limit the collection of high-quality data on aerosol emissions, atmospheric transport, and their interactions with climate systems and the hydrological cycle. This lack of information hampers the development of accurate regional climate models that can be integrated with global models, underestimating the planetary impacts of atmospheric changes in South America. Compounding this issue is the need for public policies and international cooperation to strengthen research, reduce aerosol emissions, and promote sustainable management of air quality and water resources in the region. Addressing these challenges is essential not only for environmental and climatic stability in South America but also for mitigating global impacts on health, climate, and water resources. To that end, AERIS proposes to use the combination of quality-assured vertically resolved atmospheric information with near surface in situ imagery, enabling the advanced retrieval of the properties of biogenic and non-biogenic aerosols throughout the entire troposphere, including the near-surface region over South America. Such a kind rich atmospheric database has not been possible yet in that region of our planet.

AERIS will also include educational activities, leveraging real-world data generated by the partners to enhance climate change education. Climate change education and citizen engagement are vital drivers in the transition to a decarbonized society. Research centres, science labs from universities, and environmental-oriented companies are uniquely positioned to address this need. By integrating real-time data from environmental monitoring stations, AERIS aims to provide students with a clear understanding of climate change while offering an immersive experience in scientific research. Using authentic climate data in educational initiatives fosters scientific literacy, critical thinking, and personal engagement, helping to combat misinformation and build trust in scientific evidence, particularly need over the South American area. This approach will empower educators and students to explore the causes, impacts, and mitigation strategies of climate change through innovative, data-driven activities.