Institute of Atmospheric Physics Affiliation: Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
Prof. Dr. rer. nat. habil. Ulrich Schumann
Head of the Institute, Oberpfaffenhofen-Wessling
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Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre
The Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre is located in the DLR Campus Oberpfaffenhofen.
It focusses on the research of the physical and chemical processes of the troposphere and lower stratosphere.
About 100 people work in the institute. It is structured in five departments.
The institute investigates the physics and chemistry of the atmosphere in the troposphere and stratosphere. The knowledge of dynamical, cloud physical, and chemical processes constitute the basis for many aerospace applications. On both, regional and global scales the relevant processes and changes of the state of the atmosphere are quantified and systematically investigated using remote sensing, research aircraft, and computational models. |
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News
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IPA scientists observe less nitrogen oxides in tropical thunderstorms than expected
December 2009
Thunderstorms are not only spectacular weather events. They also have a great influence on atmospheric chemistry and climate. In a lightning channel, substantial amounts of nitrogen oxides (NO) are formed from nitrogen and oxygen. However, it was still an open question how much nitrogen oxide is generated. Researchers of the DLR Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IPA) now achieved a surprising result: tropical thunderstorms produce less nitrogen oxides than expected. |
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Lidar measurements for Germany’s first offshore wind park
June 2009
Scientists of the Lidar department of the Institute of Atmospheric Physics are currently performing lidar measurements at the Multibrid M5000 wind power generator in Bremerhaven. It is the prototype for the first German offshore wind farm “alpha ventus” which is built 45 km off the North Sea island Borkum. With a rated power of 5 MW and a hub height of about 100 m this wind turbine is among the most powerful and largest available ones. |
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Important IPA contributions to the 30th International Conference on Alpine Meteorology
May 2009
This year the International Conference on Alpine Meteorology (ICAM) took place in Germany for the 5th time. The DLR Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IPA) was responsible for the organisation of the event in close cooperation with the research department and the presidential bureau of Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD). As regards science IPA-researchers were widely represented by chairing two of the sessions, four lectures and three posters, inter alia about the systematic determination of hot spots for thunderstorm generation by polarimetric radar measurements or about a combination of thunderstorm monitoring with numerical weather prediction on a probabilistic basis. |
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Iridescent ice clouds from aircraft wings
April 2009
Not all condensation trails are the same. Scientists from the DLR Institute of Atmospheric Physics have, for the first time, been able to describe how condensation trails are created not only from the exhaust gas of jet engines but, under certain conditions, also by the wings of aeroplanes. It is unclear to what extent this new class of condensation trail influences climate change, as up until now it has not been considered in climate models. |
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