The distribution of the radiatively-active trace gas water vapour in the transition zone between the troposphere, the region where weather takes place, and the stratosphere above is of central importance for the climate on earth but can also play a role for the evolution of weather. At the tropopause strong vertical gradients in water vapour are observed. Upper tropospheric and lower stratospheric water vapour strongly impacts the earth’s radiation budget. Therefore, UTLS vapour changes have a strong impact on climate and vice versa.
The following methods are applied:
Airborne in situ und remote sensing measurements
Climate modelling
Validation of numerical weather- and climate models
The following topics are addressed:
Water vapour in the stratosphere (budget, transport, trends und impact)
Exchange processes of water vapour at the tropopause
Life cycle of ice-supersaturated regions
Uncertainty in the representation of water vapour at the tropopause in weather- and climate models
The matrix group provides a cross-departmental exchange platform for current research and fosters new ideas for collaboration within the institute.
Measurement example of a cross section observed by lidar in the surrounding of a low pressure system over the Atlantic Ocean shows large-scale vertical redistribution of water vapour (in colours) by transport processes and strong gradients near the tropopause (black line) and the jet streams (red line = isotachs of wind speed in m s-1).
Temporal evolution of moisture anomalies (ppmv) against height (hPa) from an ESCiMo simulation (1960-2012). Strong EL Ninos are labelled by a vertical black line.
