idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
idw - Informationsdienst
Wissenschaft
The WIVERN research project has been selected for the European Space Agency’s (ESA) eleventh Earth Explorer satellite mission. For the first time, WIVERN will provide global measurements of winds within clouds. This will enhance our understanding of storms and precipitation and lead to more accurate weather forecasts. At Leipzig University, meteorologist PD Dr Maximilian Maahn is contributing to the mission.
Accurate weather forecasts are vital in daily life, especially for supporting emergency management during severe weather events. Wind, clouds and precipitation are the key variables in modern weather forecasting and climate models. Winds determine where storms form, where rain falls and how temperatures vary from place to place. However, when it comes to wind, meteorologists have so far lacked reliable global data. For the first time, WIVERN will make wind measurements within clouds available worldwide, closing a crucial gap in the global observation system.
The planned cloud radar on board a new satellite will scan the atmosphere and use the Doppler effect to determine wind from the cloud signals it receives. In addition, WIVERN will provide high-resolution measurements of rain, snowfall and clouds with far better temporal and spatial coverage than is currently possible with satellites. WIVERN will also record snow cover and the extent of sea ice, as well as provide direct observations of ocean surface currents – all of which are of great importance for understanding the polar climate and ocean dynamics.
At the heart of the ESA Earth Observation Programme are the Earth Explorer satellites, which use highly innovative measurement techniques. Germany, supported by the German Space Agency at DLR, provides the largest contribution. The programme focuses on highly precise observation of the Earth in order to deepen knowledge of the Earth system and, in particular, of climate change. The international WIVERN research team applied over a period of several years to become ESA’s eleventh Earth Explorer mission. By autumn 2023, two proposed mission concepts were still in contention. In July 2025, an ESA panel of experts recommended that WIVERN be selected for the mission. This recommendation has now been endorsed by the ESA Programme Board for Earth Observation. The mission is scheduled for launch in the first half of the 2030s.
WIVERN was conceived by scientists at the University of Reading and the Polytechnic University of Turin. From Germany, researchers from Leipzig University, the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, and the German Weather Service (DWD) are involved.
PD Dr Maximilian Maahn from Leipzig University’s Institute for Meteorology is part of the twelve-member research team and responsible for developing the mathematical algorithms that convert the raw data into rainfall and snowfall rates. He says: “I am absolutely delighted by ESA’s decision. In the coming years, we will work hard to develop WIVERN. Our focus at the Leipzig Institute for Meteorology is polar research, so in the years ahead we will mainly be preparing for WIVERN’s snowfall measurements in the polar regions. With a 70-fold improvement in coverage, we will for the first time be able to observe how snowfall changes regionally from month to month. This is crucial, for example, to understanding the mass balance of the ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland.”
“WIVERN is the first international satellite project in whose design our institute has been closely involved, contributing important ideas and expertise,” says Professor Manfred Wendisch, Director of the Leipzig Institute for Meteorology. “Maximilian Maahn was one of the driving forces within the consortium of scientists who pushed this project forward. We are now looking forward to putting these ambitious plans into practice.”
PD Dr. Maximilian Maahn
Leipziger Institut für Meteorologie
Phone: +49 341 97 32853
maximilian.maahn@uni-leipzig.de
https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/FutureEO/ESA_selects_WIVERN...
https://wivern.polito.it WIVERN project
https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/FutureEO/Earth_Explorers_ES... Explorer Mission
Model of what the WIVERN satellite could look like.
Source: Tom Cesalek Photography
Copyright: ESA
PD Dr. Maximilian Maahn
Source: Christian Hüller
Copyright: Leipzig University
Criteria of this press release:
Journalists
Oceanology / climate, Physics / astronomy
transregional, national
Cooperation agreements, Research projects
English
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