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What is Integrated Remote Sensing about?

 

The focus of the research group of Prof. Susanne Crewell and Prof. Ulrich Löhnert lies on the combination of state-of-the-art remote sensing methods and atmospheric models. Overall theme is an improved understanding of the atmospheric component of the Earth's hydrological cycle. To this end

  • measurements are used for evaluation/improvement of atmospheric models.
  • model simulations are also for an optimization/improvement of observational methods.

Microwave radiometry forms a central component in this research group. Novel microwave radiometers for an improved survey of the atmosphere are conceptually designed and tested. Also, studies for future satellite-based instruments are conducted. Especially relevant parameters are liquid and snow water content, as well as the spatial distribution of water vapor. The latter also has applications in satellite communication and astronomy.

The synergetic use of microwave radiometers, cloud radar, and lidar has a large potential for the accurate detection of the state of the atmosphere (temperature- and humidity profiles, as well as cloud parameters). To this end, combined algorithms ("Integrated Profiling Technique - IPT") are developed, which also enable the characterization of the observational error, and long-term measurements are analysed.

The research group collaborates closely with members of the modeling community most notably Roel Neggers and Yaping Shao at University of Cologne. Within the High Definition of Clouds and Precipitation for Climate Prediction HD(CP)2 initiative a comprehensive data set of atmospheric observatories including our own Jülich ObservatorY for Cloud Evolution (JOYCE), ground-based networks and satellite observations are homogenized to evaluate the high resolution ICON (ICOsahedral Non-hydrostatic) model. Of particular interest is the improvement of snow microphysical parameterizations where we collaborate with partners from KU Leuven and NOAA on the exploitation of measurements in Antarctica and Greenland.