Atmospheric Physics: Experiment meets Modelling

The main topic of the School is the physics and chemistry of the Earth’s atmosphere. This field is very interdisciplinary with close connections to atmospheric chemistry, meteorology, biogeochemistry, mathematics and computer science. It has become more and more important in recent decades, mainly because it addresses – amongst other topics – some of the most urgent global environmental problems, such as stratospheric ozone depletion, climate change and air pollution.

The research of most atmospheric physicists addresses only a part of the atmospheric system, e.g., modelling atmospheric processes (climate modelling, modelling of atmospheric chemistry, physical processes or dynamics), observations (in-situ or remote sensing observations in different spectral regions) or fundamental lab studies. In order to fully understand the complexity of the field, expertise in several different sub-disciplines is required. Understanding, e.g., atmospheric variability requires consideration of processes of natural or anthropogenic nature, or of physical, chemical or biological nature. In many cases, knowledge in fields outside of physics is necessary for a thorough understanding.

The main goals of the School are to give the participants a forum to broaden their scientific horizons, to listen to state-of-the-art expert lectures from internationally recognized experts in their respective fields, and to engage with these experts in an informal way during the school. In addition, the school is designed to overcome the limitation of (sub-) disciplinary thinking. Due to the complexity of the Earth System, knowledge in many scientific disciplines is required in order to understand and address global environmental problems. The School will exploit the synergy of the expertise of theoretical and experimental atmospheric physicists. In terms of theoretical methods, experts on modelling atmospheric dynamics and chemistry, as well as the atmospheric effects of large volcanic eruptions have agreed to act as speakers during the physics school. The experimental side will be represented by experts on in-situ and remote sensing observations (both from the ground and from satellites) of atmospheric composition, aerosols and atmospheric background parameters. In addition, the Physics School will include complementary lectures on inversion theory (the numerical basis of all remote sensing techniques), space weather and on the thermodynamics of the Earth system.

The target group of the Physics school are Master & Ph.D. students as well as young PostDocs in atmospheric or environmental physics and related disciplines. 

Further information