Applied Meteorology (MET) Department
The atmosphere influences air traffic and the energy sector in many ways: Thunderstorms and turbulence pose risks to aviation. Noise affects residents near transportation routes and wind farms. Wind energy yields and wake vortex behavior depend on dynamic processes in the atmosphere. Microphysical processes determine the formation of contrails, depending on the fuels used and weather conditions. Reliable weather forecasts require an accurate representation of gravity waves, turbulence, and their interactions on small to medium scales.
The department aims to understand and predict dynamic processes in the boundary layer and the upper atmosphere, and to develop tailored analysis and forecasting products for aviation and wind energy — all the way to operational readiness. To this end, numerical and experimental methods are used and improved, and expert systems based on artificial intelligence methods are being developed.
Current research highlights encompass:
- Highly accurate simulation of wake vortices and condensation trails behind aircraft,
- Composition of expert systems for aviation to analyse and predict wake vortices, turbulence and thunderstorms,
- Interaction of gravity waves and turbulence in the entire atmosphere,
- Dynamics of the atmospheric boundary layer flow for wind energy purposes, and
- Propagation of sound from traffic and wind turbine sources.
The technologies employed for these purposes incorporate the development of:
- Micro- und mesoscale numerical atmospheric simulation models, large-eddy simulation models and numerical weather prediction models,
- Measurement strategies for Doppler wind lidars, as well as
- Techniques to analyse and assess data from measurement and simulation.
Since January 2018 the Department hosts the Office of the core project SPARC (Stratosphere-troposphere Processes and their Role in Climate) of the United Nation’s World Climate Research Programme.