retrieval of the aerosol optical depth at 8 wavelengths from 340 to 1640 nm, including polarization observations. The CIMEL instrument is a part of NASA's AERONET (Aerosol Robotic Network). The data are processed on a daily basis and are available at AERONET's webpage along with aerosol inversion retrievals, useful for aerosol characterization purposes (e.g. classification of Saharan dust advection, smoke or volcanic ash episodes etc.). ARSS is additionally equipped with a UV-MFR instrument for radiation measurements in the UV spectral region. The instrumentation of IAASARS constitutes a state-of-the-art passive remote sensing suite for atmospheric research, the first one that ever operated in Athens with such specifications. Satellite Receiving Stations Meteosat Second Generation SEVIRI Ground Station System Since 2007, the Institute has installed and has been using on a 24/7 operational basis a ground station for systematically receiving satellite imagery from the MSG-SEVIRI system maintained by EUMETSAT. The operating agreement for the collection, archiving, and exploitation for research purposes of MSG images, signed between IAASARS and EUMETSAT, was recently renewed in 2012. On an operational level, the main application of the MSG/SEVIRI ground station is the detection, monitoring and mapping of forest wildfires in near-real time (every 5 minutes) for the entire Greek territory, the briefing of the public authorities and stakeholders involved in the management and suppression of wildfires, and informing the citizens whose properties are threatened by ongoing catastrophic fire events. X/L Band Satellite Acquisition Station IAASARS/NOA ground segment has been expanded in the framework of the BEYOND project with the installation of an X-, and L-band satellite acquisition station for reception, acquisition, and processing of the direct broadcast downlinks from satellite missions including the EOS Aqua & Terra satellites (MODIS), the NPP (VIIRS, ATMS, etc.), the future NPOESS, the NOAA, the FYI, and the MetOP satellites. The IAASARS/NOA ground segment is equipped with the proper processing, archiving, and cataloging facilities for handling in real time image data from the missions above, as well as the future Copernicus satellite missions (Sentinels) through ESA's ground segment. Those ground segment facilities foster the development of a wide range of environmental monitoring services, such as: aerosol pollution indexes assessment, dust and volcanic ash alerts, smoke dispersion forecasts, wildfire detection and monitoring, geo-hazard activity monitoring and assessment (earthquakes/volcanoes/landslides), and urban heat Island mapping. References External links Webpage of IAASARS/NOA Web page of the National Observatory of Athens (NOA) 2012 establishments in Greece Research