The Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research
SMASH Associate partner
The Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS) is an independent research institution with about 150 employees and is member of the Leibniz Association, one of the German non-university research organizations
TROPOS has a well-defined research profile with focus on aerosol and clouds with expertise ranging from physical and chemical laboratory studies, large field experiments in which in-situ and remote-sensing techniques from ground and on aircraft are applied, to numerical modelling of aerosol and cloud processes.
The remote sensing department of TROPOS, being the associated partner of SMASH, is an active member of EARLINET since 2000 and of CLOUDNET since 2011 and contributes to the respective ACTRIS databases on the four- dimensional distribution of aerosols and clouds over Europe. It has expertise in global and long-term studies of aerosols and clouds and operates several stationary and mobile remote-sensing facilities, including multi-wavelength Raman lidars, Doppler lidars, cloud radar, microwave radiometers, and sun photometers. TROPOS contributes to field experiments and long-term observations worldwide (e.g., ACTRIS-EARLINET ACTRIS-Cloudnet, Polarstern; field experiments in the Sahara, Cape Verde, Barbados, Cyprus, Israel, Amazonian Rain Forest, China, South Africa, Tajikistan). It also collaborates with ESA in projects related to spaceborne lidar developments (Aeolus and EarthCARE).