Polar Meteorology
The climate, i.e. the typical weather pattern over longer periods of time (e.g. 30 years), including its variability, results from the interplay between many individual processes in the Earth system in combination with solar and terrestrial conditions. Such processes in the atmosphere include the formation of clouds and precipitation, radiation transfer and vertical exchange of heat, mass and momentum.
Scientists of AWI section Polar Meteorology investigate physical processes in the polar troposphere, including the interactions between atmosphere, sea ice and ocean, placing the focus on processes with spatial dimensions of approx. 1 to 50 km.
To study these processes, researchers of AWI section Polar Meteorology collect data on expeditions as well as at observatories over a period of decades, observe large regions using remote sensing methods, develop physical-mathematical models of the atmosphere and in this way simulate weather developments as well as examine the quality of model data records for polar regions by means of in-situ measurements. Compiling and interpreting many physical details lead to a better understanding of the short-term processes. This helps, among others, to develop methods for a better representation of such processes in large-scale models.
To learn more about our scientific studies please follow the links on the left column.
Our research is positioned in the Helmholtz Research Programme PACES in Topic 1 ("The Changing Arctic and Antarctic") in workpackages 1.1 and 1.3 and in Topic 6 ("Large Scale Facilities").
Polar 5
Photo: AWI
Temperature profiles over sea ice.
Graphic: Christof Lüpkes (AWI)
Neumayer III Station
Photo: Bernd Loose, AWI
Photo: Jörg Hartmann (AWI)
