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Faculty of Mathematics and Natural SciencesInstitute of Geophysics and Meteorology

Exploiting Observations in Meteorology

There are much too few observations in the lowest 1-2 km of the atmosphere, the so-called atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). We perform research on new meteorological observation systems and investigate if and how these can improve our knowledge on the structure of the ABL, e.g. temperature, humidity and winds. Developing such methods can help us shed light on the physical processes in the ABL such as turbulent fluxes or cloud and precipitation formation. Also, we investigate the impact of these observational methods on short-term weather forecasts and high-resolution re-analyses.  

Work with us?

Have a look at our open positions or contact Ulrich Löhnert if you are interested in a student assistance job, are looking for exiting BSc ode MSc thesis themes!

Some recent publications

  • Nomokonova, T., Griewank, P.J., Löhnert, U., Miyoshi, T., Necker, T. & Weissmann: Estimating the benefit of Doppler wind lidars for short-term low-level wind ensemble forecasts. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 1– 19, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.4402

  • Steinheuer, J., C. Detring, F. Beyrich, U. Löhnert, P. Friederichs, and S. Fiedler, 2022: A new scanning scheme and flexible retrieval for mean winds and gusts from Doppler lidar measurements, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 3243–3260, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3243-2022.

  • Schween, J. H., C. del Rio, J.-L. García, P. Osses, S. Westbrook, and U. Löhnert: Life Cycle of Stratocumulus Clouds over one Year at the Coast of the Atacama Desert, Atmos. Chem. Phys. 22, 12241–12267, 2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-12241-2022.

  • Böhm, C., J. H. Schween, M. Reyers, B. Maier, U. Löhnert, S. Crewell, 2021: Towards a climatology of fog frequency in the Atacama Desert via multi-spectral satellite data and machine learning techniques, Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology https://doi.org/10.1175/JAMC-D-20-0208.

  • Turner, D. D. and U. Löhnert, 2021: Ground-based temperature and humidity profiling: combining active and passive remote sensors, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 3033–3048, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3033-2021.

  • Kneifel, S., S. Crewell, U. Löhnert, B. Pospichal, L. von Terzi, M. Hagen, B. Mayer, T. Zinner, M. Puh, 2021: Long-term cloud and precipitation statistics observed with remote sensors at the high-altitude Environmental Research Station Schneefernerhaus in the German Alps, Meteorologische Zeitschrift, https://10.1127/metz/2021/1099

  • Cimini, D., M. Haeffelin, S. Kotthaus, U. Löhnert, P. Martinet, E. O'Connor, C. Walden, M. Collaud Coen, and J. Preissler, 2020: Towards the profiling of the atmospheric boundary layer at European scale—introducing the COST Action PROBE, Bulletin of Atmospheric Science and Technology, 1, 23-42 https://doi.org/10.1007/s42865-020-00003-8

  • Maahn, M., D. D. Turner, U. Löhnert, D. J. Posselt, K. Ebell, G. G. Mace, and J. M. Comstock, 2020: Optimal Estimation Retrievals and Their Uncertainties: What Every Atmospheric Scientist Should Know. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, E1512–E1523, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-19-0027.

  • Schemann, V., K. Ebell, B. Pospichal, R. Neggers, C. Moseley, and B. Stevens, 2020: Linking large‐eddy simulations to local cloud observations. Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, 12 (12), e2020MS002209. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020MS002209

  • Schween, J. H., D. Hoffmeister, and U. Löhnert, 2020: Filling the Observational Gap in the Atacama Desert with a new Network of Climate Stations, Global and Planetary Change, 184, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2019.10303

  • Toporov, M., and U. Löhnert, 2020: Synergy of Satellite- and Ground-Based Observations for Continuous Monitoring of Atmospheric Stability, Liquid Water Path and Integrated Water Vapor, Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, 59(7), 1153-1170, https://doi.org/10.1175/JAMC-D-19-0169.1

  • more (2021 and after)

  • more (before 2021)