Lindenberg Meteorological Observatory

The excursion to the Lindenberg Meteorological Observatory will take place on Wednesday, 14 September 2011. The bus will leave from the Seminaris Campus Hotel exactly at 13:30 (a small lunch snack will be provided). It will be back in Berlin at around 19:00 with a stop at the Potsdamer Platz which is located in the center of Berlin. The bus will then continue to the restaurant "Alte Pumpe", where the conference dinner will be held.

The Meteorological Observatory Lindenberg – Richard-Aßmann Observatory (MOL-RAO) of the German Meteorological Service (DWD) is part of the business area "Research and Development" and takes care of the long-term monitoring and interpretation of the physical structure of the atmosphere from the surface up to the stratosphere.

The observatory was founded in 1905 by Richard Aßmann, who is known as the discoverer of the stratosphere. Its original task was the systematic measurement and scientific interpretation of vertical profiles of wind, temperature and humidity at a location being representative in a larger-scale surrounding. Using special instruments carried by tethered balloons or kites, more than 25.000 vertical soundings of the troposphere and lower stratosphere have been realized during the first 30 years of the observatory. These measurements formed the basis for a comprehensive scientific description of essential parameters and processes defining the vertical structure of the atmosphere. It furthermore aided in the development of the first warning service for pilots in 1911 in Lindenberg.

In the twenties and early thirties of the last century, scientists from Lindenberg observatory provided the basis for a new quality in vertical sounding of the atmosphere by the development of radiosounding systems. Later in the seventies and eighties, emphasis was set on scientific-technical developments for the utilisation of meteorological satellites in research and operational application as well as on scientific-technical contributions for investigations of the upper atmosphere (in particular stratosphere and mesosphere) using meteorological rockets. Since 1993, MOL-RAO has been upgraded systematically to an international reference and monitoring site where the vertical profiling of the atmosphere, as originally initiated by Richard Aßmann, still defines the main focus of interest.

The measurement program comprises the operation of various ground-based remote sensing systems (e. g., wind profiler / RASS, cloud radar, microwave radiometer profiler, sodar / RASS, Raman lidar), broad-band and spectral radiation sensors, a boundary-layer field site with micrometeorological instrumentation, and a standard synoptic weather and aerological sounding station. Data from these systems are quality-controlled and synthesized into a reference data set of the atmosphere, called the "Lindenberg column".

The current objectives and research activities of MOL-RAO refer to:

  • long-term climate monitoring of the atmosphere (including trend analysis);
  • process validation of NWP and climate models;
  • reference site contribution to various WMO programs (e.g., GCOS, GRUAN, BSRN, CEOP);
  • data provision for the validation of satellite sensors and products, and
  • scientific system responsibility for elements of the DWD operational monitoring networks (e.g. radiation, wind profiler).

The half-day excursion will give an insight into the history and actual research activities of MOL-RAO. It will include a guided tour to some of the basic measurement facilities of the observatory. A short visit to the "Wettermuseum Lindenberg" will allow a closer look into the history of aerological soundings at this place.

For further information see: