Atmospheric and climatic processes

Ecosystems and society are, to a considerable degree, influenced by atmospheric processes: from dangerous, small-scale turbulences in nature to atmospheric processes on a global scale and their interactions with the biosphere and geosphere in the climate system. These processes are investigated by means of comprehensive in-situ high-resolution measurements of space and time, and observations based on methods of remote sensing, as well as modern, high-performance numerical modelling of various degrees of resolution, and high-performance computers – for instance, in the Vienna Scientific Cluster.

The climate has considerable influence on the circulation patterns of the oceans, as well as on erosion and sedimentation, and thus on the formation of mountains, which, in turn, has strong effects on global and regional climate developments. Climate change leads to change in the fauna and to the migration of organisms, or to extinction and sudden change in evolution. The availability of long-term meteorological data series and geohistorical archives permits precise statements on future changes of the climate and their effects on our natural environment.

This key research area provides both important insight into meteorological processes, climate reconstruction and the protection of water resources, as well as the socio-economic effects of  global change on regional development, and contributes to the development of new digital forms of expression