The fourth Short-term Staff Exchange (ST4) of the ATARRI project took place at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center / Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC/CNS) from 28 September to 2 October 2026, within the framework of Work Package 4.
PhD students Konstantinos Chrysostomou and Aspasia Pallikaridou visited the BSC/CNS premises. The main aim of the exchange was to lay the groundwork for joint publications under WP8, focused on improving clear-sky solar flux forecasts and refining satellite dust data assimilation using vertical profiling and ground-based observations.
The exchange began with a tour of the BSC/CNS premises, including its server and supercomputing infrastructure.
The participants then received hands-on training on the Nord4 supercomputer, on Virtual Machines, and on GitLab integration, to support efficient data processing. They went on to set up and configure the specialised tools MAPIES and Providentia, which they used to visualise model output (first guess, analysis and increment fields) and to evaluate dust extinction.
A further key activity was the selection of benchmark dust event cases. These were defined by combining MONARCH model outputs with CAMS data, ground-based observations from the CARO station, and GRASP-related retrievals. To keep the work moving towards publication, the two teams also agreed on communication channels, created shared GitLab repositories, and scheduled bi-weekly meetings.
Overall, ST4 strengthened the cooperation between the ATARRI team and BSC/CNS and laid a solid foundation for joint scientific publications. Work will continue through the agreed meeting schedule and shared repositories, and further research results are expected to follow.