Atmospheric Physics: Experiments, Modelling and Current Topics

Atmospheric physics has become an essential sub-discipline of environmental physics and has significantly grown as a field of research in recent decades, because it addresses some of the most urgent global environmental problems, e.g., climate change, air pollution or stratospheric ozone depletion. Atmospheric science in general is highly interdisciplinary and atmospheric physicists work closely together with atmospheric chemists, computer scientists, meteorologist, mathematicians and biologists.

One fundamental problem in the field of atmospheric physics is that research of most atmospheric physicists addresses only a small 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. However, in order to fully understand the complexity of the field, expertise in several different sub-disciplines is required. Understanding, e.g., atmospheric variability requires knowledge on processes of natural or anthropogenic nature, or of physical, chemical or biological nature. One of the main purposes of the Bad Honnef Physics School is to overcome the limitations of (sub-)disciplinary thinking.

The School will give the participants a forum to broaden their scientific horizons, attend expert lectures by internationally renowned scientists, and to engage with these experts in an informal way during the school. The School will exploit the synergy between theoretical and experimental atmospheric physics. On the theoretical side, 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 School will include lectures on the thermodynamic foundation of the Earth System as well as on societally highly relevant topics such as space weather effects and geoengineering by solar radiation management.

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

Further information