Overview

The work of the Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research (IMK) focuses on the investigations of the behavior of the stratosphere, the troposphere and the biosphere, and their complex interactions within the global change. Key aspects are the assessment of important processes in the atmospheric water cycle and the biogeochemical cycles of important environmentally relevant trace gases and the aerosols. Comprehensive measurement projects in the field and in experimental chambers, using the data in coupled model systems, are used to quantify the ecological and socio-economic consequences resulting from environmental changes and to gain practical knowledge for the protection against the impacts. The research fields are closely linked by additional long-term station measurements, aircraft and airship measurements aswell as satellite measurements and instrument development. The Institute contributes significantly to the programme "Atmosphere and Climate" of the Helmholtz Association in the research field "Earth and Environment" and carries to a large extent the program of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology with the same name.