Institute for Atmospheric Physics

Institute of Atmospheric Physics
Affiliation: Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany

Prof. Dr. Markus Rapp
Head of the Institute, Oberpfaffenhofen-Wessling

Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre

The Institute of Atmospheric Physics investigates the physics and chemistry of the global atmosphere from the Earth's surface up to the upper boundary of the middle atmosphere at about 120 km height. As an institute of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) we answer questions associated with atmospheric processes and with relevance to the research programmes "Aeronautics, Space, and Transportation" and "Energy" of the Helmholtz Association (HGF).

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News

First lidar on a stratospheric balloon

July 2018
The BOLIDE experiment built by the Institute of Atmospheric Physics was the first lidar to fly on a stratospheric balloon. The long duration balloon was launched at July 8th, 2018 at 7:27 UTC from Kiruna, Sweden, during NASA’s summer campaign. From a floating altitude of 39 km, measurements were taken of the atmosphere above. Almost six days later the gondola landed safely in Nunavut, Canada.

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	Increases in European thunderstorm and hail events July 2018 Researchers at the European Severe Storms Laboratory (ESSL), Munich Re, the Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich (LMU) and the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) could show that the number of thunderstorms and the frequency of large hail events have significantly increased in central Europe during past three and a half decades.
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DLR - NASA flight tests on alternative fuels

June 2018
Over the next 15 years, global air traffic is expected to double. Sustainable alternative aviation fuels can play an important role in the environmentally and climate-friendly development of air traffic. Since 2014, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the US Aerospace Agency (NASA) have been jointly testing the emissions and properties of contrails of alternative fuels during flight and ground tests. In 2018, joint research flights were held in Germany for the first time. For this purpose, the DLR research aircraft A320 ATRA (Advanced Technology Research Aircraft) and the NASA research aircraft DC-8 DLR research aircraft were stationed at the Ramstein Air Base for three weeks and carried out eight test flights in German airspace.

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HALO measures emissions of Asian megacities

June 2018
Emissions of large cities and urban agglomerations can spread far beyond the borders of the metropolises in certain weather conditions. Particles and gaseous pollutants are often carried by the wind for more than 1,000 kilometers. In March and April 2018, the DLR Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IPA) carried out extensive measurements of the composition and propagation of emissions from Asian megacities using the HALO research aircraft.

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Comparisons of climate simulations in the target

December 2017
Under the auspices of the World Climate Research Program (WCRP), hundreds of climate researchers in modeling centers around the world are working to share, compare and analyze the latest results of global climate models. Within the CMIP (Coupled Model Intercomparison Project) project, in which the DLR Institute of Atmospheric Physics is participating, simulations of the research community provide important data for the next five to ten years.

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July 2017

IPA contributes to the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project

07/04/2017

Biofuels reduce soot emissions from aircraft

April 2017

Two Petabyte of Data for Climate Research

March 2017

Climate-friendly aircraft routing could significantly reduce climate impact of aviation

March 2017

Atmospheric research around the globe

January 2017