BrainMap

Mr. Marius Mihai Cazacu

Associate Professor, PhD. Eng.

Associate Professor - UNIVERSITATEA TEHNICĂ "GHEORGHE ASACHI" IAŞI

Researcher | Teaching staff | Scientific reviewer | Consultant

Web of Science ResearcherID: H-2075-2011

Curriculum Vitae (21/03/2023)

Expertise & keywords

Nanoscale imaging and spectroscopy studies of atmospheric aerosols to determine their influence on optical parameters Call name: P 1 - SP 1.1 - Proiecte de cercetare pentru stimularea tinerelor echipe independente
PN-III-P1-1.1-TE-2019-1921 2020 - 2022

Role in this project: Project coordinator

Coordinating institution: UNIVERSITATEA TEHNICĂ "GHEORGHE ASACHI" IAŞI

Project partners: UNIVERSITATEA TEHNICĂ "GHEORGHE ASACHI" IAŞI (RO)

Affiliation: UNIVERSITATEA TEHNICĂ "GHEORGHE ASACHI" IAŞI (RO)

Project website: https://esimsim.ro/nanoair-home-en

Abstract:

NanoAir project contributes by providing additional and original data related to physical-chemical properties of atmospheric aerosols including a synergy between inversion products of remote sensing techniques, analytical microscopy and nanoscale imaging & spectroscopy. NanoAir aims to bring complementary and original responses by using for the first time the most advanced scattering-type Scanning Near-field Optical Microscopy (s-SNOM), which combines Atomic Force Microscopy with optical imaging and spectroscopy at the nanoscale (nano-FTIR) in order to better understand the fundamental of some critical physico – chemical transformation of the atmospheric aerosols (pollutants) but also for applications point of view. NeaSNOM nano-FTIR technology is a powerful tool for cutting-edge nano-analytic applications, allowing for nanoscale imaging and nano-FTIR spectroscopy with outstanding spatial resolution down to 10 nm. NanoAir results will be correlated with atmospherically conditions and inversion products in order to fully understand the effects on the optical properties of thinly coated soot aerosols and how ns-soot is coated by, attached to, or embedded within other pollutants. Additionally, NanoAir concept will be dedicated according to the scientific objectives of the international networks (GAW, ACTRIS, AERONET etc.) in order to provide trustworthy absorption characteristics for predominant aerosol light absorbers of anthropogenic and natural origin, targeting the needs of the modelling, in-situ and remote sensing communities. NanoAir will optimize the aerosols component by improving the existing collaborations and infrastructures, data processing and quality assessment, implementing additional observation capabilities and new data products and thus NanoAir will provide new tools to fully exploit the products capable of contributing to aerosol and climate research.

Computational Model for Prediction of the Biomass Burning Emissions and their Impact Call name: Joint Applied Research Projects - PCCA 2013 - call
PN-II-PT-PCCA-2013-4-1798 2014 - 2016

Role in this project: Key expert

Coordinating institution: INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE-DEZVOLTARE PENTRU OPTOELECTRONICA INOE 2000 INCD

Project partners: INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE-DEZVOLTARE PENTRU OPTOELECTRONICA INOE 2000 INCD (RO); INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE-DEZVOLTARE AEROSPATIALA "ELIE CARAFOLI" - I.N.C.A.S. BUCURESTI (RO); ADMINISTRATIA NATIONALA DE METEOROLOGIE RA (RO); ENVIROSCOPY SRL (RO)

Affiliation: ENVIROSCOPY SRL (RO)

Project website: http://mobbe.inoe.ro

Abstract:

The pollution from biomass burning (including wildfires) combined with urban pollution from human activities, the main sources of primary aerosols (fine particles, respirable), can have a significant impact on human health and on climate at local, regional and global scale, through the emissions of high concentrations of aerosol particles containing organic and inorganic matter and black carbon. 40% of the global emission of black carbon comes from biomass burning. The aerosols emitted can became condensation nuclei in the process of cloud formation influencing cloud radiative properties. As of now, cloud formation processes and the influence of aerosols are not fully understood and lead therefore to significant uncertainties in weather forecasts and climate change scenarios.

The purpose of the project MOBBE (Computational Model for Prediction of the Biomass Burning Emissions and their Impact) is to quantify and to predict the effects of the aerosols from biomass burning and their impact on two major environmental issues: (a) air quality and (b) climate and meteorology at local, regional and global scale. The project aims to investigate the potential sources and the properties of aerosols from biomass burning, urban aerosols and long-range transport aerosols over Romania performing a first research case study in the Bucharest area, using improved inversion algorithms. The results (a new parametrization scheme of the physical processes of the biomass burning aerosols, sources and properties) will be implemented during the project in the FLEXPART aerosol dispersion model based on the Lagrangean particle dispersion mechanism. As meteorological input data, the model will use new data from COSMO model. Anthropogenic and natural emissions of biomass burning will be compared with the daily analysis and the fine mode aerosol optical depth (AOD) at 550 nm provided by the radio-spectrometer MODIS launched by NASA on the Aqua and Terra satellites, MAAC II, and with an independent dataset of AOD from the AERONET network. All the above information will be integrated in a “MOBBE Web Tool”.

The project will improve significantly the quantification of the present and future impact of biomass-burning emissions on the composition of the Earth’s atmosphere. This project will also provide relevant information concerning the aerosols radiative contribution in the context of climate change at global level. The data will be integrated in the ACTRIS-EBAS database.

The MOBBE research project is an interdisciplinary environmental research infrastructure based on continuous measurements, two intensive experimental field campaigns (summer and winter campaign) and eight flight hours of a research aircraft, that integrates in-situ monitors, ground-based and airborne observations, with a detailed analysis of satellite data and numerical modeling results. The satellite data are provided by the MODIS instruments from the satellites Terra and Aqua, by the Caliop lidar from the satellite CALIPSO and by EUMETCast.

MOBBE is a national consortium of two national institutes of research, National Institute of R&D for Optoelectronics (CO-RADO) and National Institute for Aerospace Research “Elie Carafoli” (P1-INCAS), the National Meteorological Administration (P2-NMA) and a service provider and instruments manufacturing company related to environmental monitoring (P3-ESYRO). All partners will join their expertise, infrastructure and efforts in order to develop an innovative methodology and a new powerful modelling tool “MOBBE Web Tool” for air monitoring, available for atmospheric and environmental research groups, as well as for environmental agencies, urban air quality agencies, industries, and decision makers.

Combined use of LIdar - RAdar for the evaluation of phenomena associated with cloud seeding for efficient prevention of hail Call name: Joint Applied Research Projects - PCCA 2013 - call
PN-II-PT-PCCA-2013-4-2074 2014 - 2016

Role in this project: Key expert

Coordinating institution: ENVIROSCOPY SRL

Project partners: ENVIROSCOPY SRL (RO); ELECTROMECANICA PLOIESTI S.A. (RO); ADMINISTRATIA NATIONALA DE METEOROLOGIE RA (RO); INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE-DEZVOLTARE PENTRU OPTOELECTRONICA INOE 2000 INCD (RO); UNIVERSITATEA BUCURESTI (RO)

Affiliation: ENVIROSCOPY SRL (RO)

Project website: http://lira.inoe.ro

Abstract:

Hail events represent an important natural disaster associated with great economic losses, especially in agriculture. The most vulnerable regions in Romania are in Central – South, where there is a large probability that convective clouds are formed. Although hailstorms affect crop yield and/or quality dramatically, 40% of the total agricultural land is not protected against hail.

Anti-hail rockets program is based on dispersing pyrotechnical mixtures of silver-iodide. They act as condensation nuclei, creating a large number of small hail particles which melt and fall in form of drops. Nevertheless, it is extremely difficult to validate the effect of the seeding, due to superposition of strong natural atmospheric variations.

By combining different remote sensing instruments, a much better estimation of the microphysical cloud properties can be made, including the efficiency of the AgI dispersion and hail crystals modification.

The main goal of LIRA's project is to investigate cloud transformations as consequence of seeding, and determine best operational procedures to enhance efficiency and reduce side effects in case of hail suppression, using a smart combination of remote sensing techniques (passive and active): lidar, radar, microwave radiometry, satellite imagery. LIRA aims at: a) Design of an experimental model using radar, lidar and microwave radiometry to monitor ice formation inside clouds, before, during and after cloud seeding; b) Identification of application-driven suitable parameters for efficient cloud seeding, based on modeled and experimental data; c) Increasing visibility, protecting intellectual rights.

This project brings together research, operational and economical institutions to produce new knowledge and introduce new techniques and methods for early warning of the hailfall, objective selection of the seeding parameters and quantitative assessment of the intervention's efficiency. Our approach is to actually measure inside the cloud. We will use the synergy between radar, lidar and microwave radiometer, but we add the depolarization capability of the lidar, which will permit, by combination with radar, to monitor remotely the changes in the ice / liquid water content of the cloud. We will visualize the dispersion of the seeding agent inside the volume before activation, to look for correlations between seeding parameters (target location, rocket speed, time of spreading the agent, etc.) and efficiency in suppressing hail. Original work will be done for the design and upgrade of the depolarization lidar, but also for the development of data processing and analysis algorithms. The possibility of forecasting hail based on EUMETCAST data will also be analyzed. Several algorithms will be improved by direct validation with measurements (retrieval of wind speed from radar - validation with sodar, cloud height from EUMETCAST - validation from lidar, cloud particle depolarization from lidar - intervalidation with radar). Moreover, we will put our knowledge at the service of the society, by transferring experimental techniques to operational procedures.

Apart from the scientific knowledge which will be achieved during the experiment (subject of 6 communications at prestigious international conferences and 4 ISI papers), LIRA intends to elaborate 1 patent, related to the algorithm for combining radar and lidar data in order to extract the 3D map of the mixed clouds.

By combination of techniques, expertise and knowledge, LIRA will bring weather modification from empirically accepted to scientifically proved. Several noticeable results are envisaged: >>elaboration of a new technology to dynamically monitor cloud seeding effects; >>advances in understanding physical phenomena associated to cloud seeding; >>development of an experimental method for the objective assessment of cloud seeding efficiency; >>identification of opportunities to extend the methodology from hail suppression to rainfall generation.

Romanian Lidar Network Call name:
PNCDI II Contract 31002/2007 2007 - 2010

Role in this project: Key expert

Coordinating institution: INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE-DEZVOLTARE PENTRU OPTOELECTRONICA INOE 2000 INCD

Project partners: INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE CERCETARE-DEZVOLTARE PENTRU OPTOELECTRONICA INOE 2000 INCD (RO); ADMINISTRATIA NATIONALA DE METEOROLOGIE RA (RO); UNIVERSITATEA POLITEHNICA TIMIŞOARA (RO); UNIVERSITATEA "ALEXANDRU IOAN CUZA" IASI (RO); UNIVERSITATEA BABES BOLYAI (RO); ENVIROSCOPY SRL (RO)

Affiliation: ENVIROSCOPY SRL (RO)

Project website: http://rolinet.inoe.ro/

Abstract:

The envisaged Romanian Lidar Network represents an initiative of the consortium to concentrate all available resources and to exploit new opportunities in order to establish a well-equipped, well-trained and well-recognised network for environmental researchbased on lidar technologies. The mission of this network is not only to operate within European anf global networks of the same type, but to act as nuclei for a possible lidar network in SE Europe.

FILE DESCRIPTION	DOCUMENT
List of research grants as project coordinator or partner team leader	Download (14.19 kb) 09/07/2021
Significant R&D projects for enterprises, as project manager
R&D activities in enterprises	Download (182.72 kb) 26/05/2017
Peer-review activity for international programs/projects	Download (198.83 kb) 05/07/2020