“Observations and modelling over complex terrain” is a course conceived as a joint module with Master students from IDEA-S4S network (UniBo, KIT). The course is also open to students from the universities involved in TEAMx (UIBK, Uni Trento). It is planned during the summer semester 2025 in hybrid mode (lectures in person in Cologne streamed via zoom) and should give the possibility of earning 6 ECTS credit points as an elective module (only relevant for Master students in Germany).

Course general description: The course is planned to form master students both from a theoretical and experimental perspective. In the first part, we plan to provide a theoretical background on dynamics and convection and an introduction to ICON model performance over orography. Then, they will be introduced to the theory behind the measuring principles of the ground-based remote sensing instruments used in the campaign: they will familiarize with how the instruments work and will monitor instrument data flow, also performing some preparatory data analysis. Then, during the planned 10 days excursion, they will be involved in the campaign activities and will perform observations themselves. They will choose to be part of a research project that will be prepared during the semester and carried out during the excursion, under the supervision of an advisor.

Module objectives and skills to be acquired: You will learn theory about the currently most used and modern remote sensing profilers, how to carry out measurements and analyse them in the framework of a measurement campaign. You will also get introduced to the theory of dry and moist processes over orography. Moreover, you will be learning to work in small groups to develop a research project and you will practice writing and summarizing scientific work in written form in English.

Teaching methods: 6 planned preparatory seminars (hybrid format) Mondays at 14:00 (see dates in the course program), 2 data analysis and group work sessions in which students can work on the observations from the campaign being collected in real time, 10 days excursion (1-10 August 2025) including: visit of measurement sites of the campaign, carry-out of observations, visit to research centers and meteorological agency, and mini-conference on the last day in which students will present their project. Presentations will count as a module examination together with a poster presentation to be submitted by the end of August. A poster session (also hibrid) will be organized at the Institute for Geophysics and Meteorology in Cologne on Friday 5th September.

All important information will be given during the kick-off on Monday 5th May 2025 (participation mandatory). Meanwhile, you can find the latest information about the course here.
Important: if you are interested in taking this course, please register officially via KLIPS (possible only until 20.03.2025) AND send an email to expats.ideas4sgmail.com by 31.03.2025. Then you will receive further information in due time.

Responsible contact for the course: Claudia Acquistapace (cacquistuni-koeln.de)

Course program (preliminary):

• Lecture 1 (2h) - 19th May (Nikki Vercauteren) Boundary layers over orography. Introduction to mountain boundary layer and idealised flow regimes: valley and slope wind circulations.
• Lecture 2 (2h) - 26th May (Annika Oertel) ICON (Introduction on ICON, modeling framework, operational NWP model of DWD, skillful operational NWP model, flexibility and powerfulness of modeling framework).
• Lecture 3 (2h) – 2nd June (Federica Gucci) Typical wind circulations in mountains and associated measurement and modelling challenges.
• Lecture 4 (3h) – 16th June (Claudia Acquistapace) Introduction of TEAMx campaign (campaign plan, goals, instruments, observations) proposal of project topics of research (relation between local and synoptic circulation, cloud patterns and cloud types, water vapor and temperature variability in space and time, wind patterns and circulations).
• Lecture 5 (2h) – 23rd June (Claudia Acquistapace) Ground-based remote sensing instrument overview (ABL profiling instrument introduction, radiosondes, passive and active sensors, microwave radiometer, Doppler wind lidars, cloud radars, micro rain radar, disdrometers, applications i.e. data assimilation, process understanding).
• Hands on (2h) - 30th June (Daniele Corradini, Claudia Acquistapace, Paula Bigalke) Practical exercise on observations from the sites. Hands on session. Brainstorming on project ideas.
• Lecture 6 (2h) – 7th July (Claudia Acquistapace) Overview of Geostationary satellite sensors MSG and MTG; which channels, radiances, what we can see, which data products we can use. Groups formation (3/4 groups), project and supervisor assignment.
• Hands on (2h) - 14th July – practical session (Claudia, Daniele, Paula): group work with supervisors, planning for excursion work.
• Excursion and final presentations - 1-10th August (Claudia Acquistapace, Paula Bigalke, Daniele Corradini)
• Report submission and final grading: deadline for report submission 31st August.
• Poster session (2h) - 5th September (tbd), Pohligstrasse 3.

Observations and analysis planned:

• Radiosonde launching (tbd)
• MWR radiometer scans
• MRR observations setup
• High-resolution model evaluation
• Comparison with MTG satellite data
• Visit to different sites and research facilities

Excursion plan (daily plans might change based on weather conditions):

• Travel by car/train to the site (Friday 1st August)
• Visit the sites on Ritternhorn: perform scanning with MWR, Radiosonde launching (tbd) (Saturday, Sunday 2-3 August)
• Visit the meteorological agency of Bolzano and EURAC (tbd 4th August)
• Finalization of projects /work on sites depending on the weather (5-6th August)
• Transfer to Innsbruck (Wednesday 6th August late afternoon) (tbd)
• Visit of the Innsbruck university and observation sites in the Inn Valley (Thursday 7th August) (tbd)
• Student conference (Friday 8th August, UIBK, tbd)
• Trip back to Cologne (Saturday 9th August)

Important notes:

1. Link to METFUT? METFUT II is NOT in any way linked to the course METFUT held by Prof. Dueben and Dr. Bohm. The two modules are independent and each can be taken without any participation to the other one. In case of additional doubts, do not hesitate to ask questions to Dr. Acquistapace or Dr. Bohm.
2. Costs for excursion: Accommodation costs for the excursion are covered for the students taking part in it. We are trying to also cover the costs for travel. More detailed info will be provided in the kickoff mandatory meeting of the 5th May 2025.

Background:

In 2025, the Multiscale Transport and Exchange Processes in the Atmosphere over Mountains - program and Experiment (TEAMx) campaign will take place over the Alpine region. TEAMx is an international research program that will cover a broad Alpine region and describe processes occurring at various scales for a year duration (September 2024 - September 2025). Moreover, the campaign will include two intensive periods, one of which from 16 June to 25 July 2025. The aims of the campaign are multiple: produce a unique observational dataset for better understanding transport and exchange processes over mountainous terrains, evaluate and improve weather and climate models and share gained results with weather and climate services.
The IDEA-S4S research framework was funded in 2023 to strengthen cooperation between Germany and Italy in meteorology, climatology, and related disciplines, acquire new knowledge to improve weather services in Germany and Italy, and train qualified graduates in Earth system prediction. Three core IDEA-S4S partners, i.e., the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the University of Cologne (UoC), and the University of Bologna (UniBo), are actively contributing to the campaign by deploying their instrumentation in the Adige Valley and over the Alpine crest target areas. To contribute to the IDEA-S4S network's aim of preparing the next generation of scientists with strong expertise and background in observations and modelling, we propose this master’s degree course for the summer semester 2024-2025 focusing on “Observations and modeling on complex terrains”.