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Using a network of surface stations, remote sensing systems, weather balloons, drones and satellite data, researchers are studying the lowest layers of the atmosphere above the Cologne Bay / New machine learning techniques are being used to link these data sources together in order to improve models
The large-scale meteorological measurement campaign VITAL II is under way. The research project aims to improve the monitoring of the lower 1-2 kilometres of the atmosphere, which has proved inadequate to date. Many of the processes that have a decisive effect on thunderstorms, heavy rain and local extreme weather events take place in this region. Led by scientists from the University of Cologne, the research team will be monitoring the atmospheric boundary layer above the Cologne Bay – between Cologne, Bonn and Aachen – at high spatial and temporal resolution over the next three months. The campaign is a research collaboration within the Hans Ertel Centre for Weather Research (HErZ), between the University of Cologne, the German Meteorological Service (DWD), as well as the universities of Bonn, Tübingen, Hamburg, Munich and Frankfurt.
Although weather forecasts have improved steadily over recent decades, short-term forecasts (up to 24 hours) of summer thunderstorms and heavy rainfall events, in particular, are still prone to error. A key reason for this is the lack of measurement data from the atmospheric boundary layer. “Although weather balloons, satellites and measurements taken on board commercial aircraft provide valuable information, they are unable to adequately capture the rapid changes in temperature, humidity and wind in this region,” explains project leader Professor Dr Ulrich Löhnert from the Institute of Geophysics and Meteorology at the University of Cologne. “To make more accurate weather forecasts, we need significantly more information about the processes taking place directly above the Earth’s surface.”
For VITAL II, the project partners have established a dense monitoring network in the Cologne Bay. Seven state-of-the-art remote monitoring stations continuously measure wind, turbulence, temperature and humidity using various remote sensing techniques. These are supplemented by more than fifty automatic surface stations, which record meteorological data near the Earth’s surface. During an intensive observation period from June to August, meteorological drones will also be deployed, enabling measurements to be taken at altitudes of up to around two kilometres. At the same time, students from the Universities of Cologne and Bonn will launch up to 120 weather balloons to carry out reference measurements. For the first time, these data will also be combined with observations from the new geostationary satellite MTG-S1, whose infrared instrument provides continuous three-dimensional temperature and humidity profiles across Europe partially within and above the atmospheric boundary layer.
To this end, researchers at the University of Cologne are developing new machine learning methods that link the different data sources and combine them to create high-resolution profiles of the lower atmosphere. The data sets are then used to systematically investigate the influence of the profiles on weather forecasts and to further develop the representation of turbulent processes in weather models. Furthermore, the campaign offers the opportunity to gain a better understanding of the formation of thunderstorms and so-called ‘cold pools’ – localized cold air currents that have a significant influence on the subsequent development of thunderstorms.
“In the long term, the findings of VITAL II will help to make weather warnings for thunderstorms, heavy rain and other extreme events more reliable.” According to Professor Dr Löhnert, “The measurement campaign also provides important insights for future observation networks and the use of new generations of satellites in weather forecasting”.
Professor Dr Ulrich Löhnert
Institute of Geophysics and Meteorology
+49 221 470 1779
ulrich.loehnert@uni-koeln.de
https://www.herz.uni-bonn.de/wordpress/index.php/vital-campaigns/
Merkmale dieser Pressemitteilung:
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Geowissenschaften, Gesellschaft, Meer / Klima, Umwelt / Ökologie
überregional
Forschungs- / Wissenstransfer, Forschungsprojekte
Englisch
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