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Research | Meteorology
Meteorological Research
The basic goal of the meteorological research is to understand why the atmosphere behaves as observed. Another purpose of the research is to create necessary qualifications and tools for the institute's service activities, which benefit both the society and economy of the country. Internationality is one of the characteristics of our research. Here, as in other projects, we cooperate with other Nordic and European partners. The academic meteorological education in Finland is given by the Meteorological Department of the Helsinki University, which is the other center of the meteorological research in Finland.
The research unit has its premises in the centre of Helsinki. There are about 40 persons out of which 80% have acquired an academic education. 14 researchers have PhD degree. Roughly one quarter of the funding comes from external sources where the EU based source is a substantial one.
The research is concentrated on current topics described below. In respect of ozone and climate change research see also headings Middle and upper atmosphere and Climate change .
Climate. Finland is located between the latitudes 60N and 70N in the Northern Europe. Its climate is, in spite of the northern location, very favorable to living conditions due to the warming effect of the Gulf Stream which orientates the cyclone tracks towards their northeasterly directions. The mean temperature for July in Helsinki is 17 C and that for January -6 C , which are anomalously high for the latitude belt concerned. The climatic balance is evidently very sensitive in this area, and thus it is of crucial importance to properly understand the effects of the predicated man-made changes in the climate. The research group for climate concentrates on these topics.
Ozone. The ozone content in the polar stratosphere during spring has been observed to be very low since the mid 80'ies. The cause of the phenomenon is the man-made release of chemicals into the atmosphere that directly or indirectly destroy ozone. A consequence of this is the increased levels of ultra violet radiation at the surface of the earth, which is detrimental to vegetation and human health. The research group for ozone and UV radiation is studying these aspects above both Antarctic and Arctic regions.
Modelling of atmosphere. The most visible and traditional products of any meteorological institute are the weather forecasts. Today they are based on numerical models that simulate the behavior of the atmosphere. Due to a vast amount of computation and required short delivery time supercomputers are used for the task. The task of the research is to develop these models for the production of accurate forecasts in space and time for the customers of the institute. The research group for atmospheric modelling is responsible for this activity. The modelling group makes also research related to the atmospheric boundary layer. Boundary layer research concentrates on specific issues of the interaction between the atmosphere and the underlying surface.
Energy. The atmosphere provides plenty of wind energy if it only could be extracted in a feasible manner. In Finland the long coast line and fells in the north are favorable regions for this kind of energy production. The research group for energy is investigating the wind energy potential in Finland. An arctic ingredient in this research is the effect of rime on the constructions.
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