The QUALAIR platform is located in the heart of Paris on the roofs of Sorbonne University (35 and 90 m above ground level). It is equipped with a varied range of instruments (20 atmospheric observation instruments), some of which can be transported to the field, to measure various variables of climatic, chemical and dynamic interest.

This urban observatory is a centre of instrumental innovation: the development, validation and implementation of new means of observing the atmosphere are at the heart of its field of activity and its scientific objectives.

QUALAIR is involved in the current scientific issues concerning :

• Pollution (local and regional) and its interactions with public health and the environment.
• Urban climate (especially heat islands) and its interactions with urban planning and urban ecology.
• Biogeochemical cycles (including water, carbon, and nitrogen cycles) in the urban environment.
• Process studies by coupling chemical, physical and dynamic measurements.
• Satellite validation in urban areas.