The virtual institute studies convective storms in Europe with respect to

•  their inherent dynamical and hydrological processes, 
•  the damage risk they impose, and
•  their predictability by numerical weather prediction models.

Different mechanisms determine the intensity and transport efficiency of convection on different scales, from intense boundary layer turbulence up to deep convection and embedded convection in synoptic systems. 

 will combine modelling and measuring efforts, being linked through data assimilation techniques, to obtain a deeper understanding about processes initiating and modifying convective storms. Particularly, the predictability of convection in operational weather forecasts shall be assessed.

The measurements will be performed as contributions to several field experiments planned between 2005 and 2007: Convective Storm Initiation Project (CSIP 2005, UK), Prediction, identification and tracking of convective cells (PRINCE 2006, Germany) and DFG-Schwerpunktprogramm “Quantitative Niederschlagsvorhersage” (Convective and Orographically-induced Precipitation Study, COPS 2007, Germany).

Due to risks from hail, lightning, severe winds as well as heavy precipitation, convective storms are the most frequent atmospheric disasters in mid-latitudes. The Figure documents a dramatic increase of damages due to hail and storms (including storm “Lothar”) between the periods 1996-1998 and 1999-2001, whereas floods caused less damage, but also increased.
 

Insured losses as caused by storm, hail, and floods in the periods 1996-1998 and 1999-2001 (SV Versicherung in Baden-Württemberg, 2000).

There are 4 partners from Helmholtz Centres and Universities collaborating in

  Presentations given by the COSITRACKS partners at the combined annual workshop of the three Helmholtz Virtual Institutes PEP, IMACCO and COSITRACKS in December 2006 in Karlsruhe.

J. Trentmann, Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Universität Mainz:
Hochauflösende Simulation von Konvektion im Schwarzwald: Fallstudien basierend auf Beobachtungen im Rahmen von VERTIKATOR und PRINCE

M. Radlach, Institut für Physik und Meteorologie, Universität Hohenheim:
Hochauflösende Temperatur- und Aerosolmessungen mit abtastendem Rotations-Raman-Lidar 

RHI_withsmooth_UHOH_color.avi 

H.-S. Bauer, Institut für Physik und Meteorologie, Universität Hohenheim:
Systematische Fehler von Wettervorhersagemodellen in Mittelgebirgen

H. Höller, Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, DLR Oberpfaffenhofen:
Neuartige Blitzbeobachtungen und ihre Bedeutung für die Gewitterforschung

Ch. Keil, Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, DLR Oberpfaffenhofen:
A novel displacement-based measure to assess the quality of mesoscale EPS forecasts

P. Groenemeijer, Institut für Meteorologie und Klimaforschung, KIT, Karlsruhe:
Labilität, Windscherung und Konvektion am Beispiel des Birminghamer Tornados

A. Wieser, Institut für Meteorologie und Klimaforschung, KIT, Karlsruhe:
PRINCE: Doppler-Lidar Windmessungen

Ch. Barthlott, Institut für Meteorologie und Klimaforschung, KIT, Karlsruhe:
PRINCE 2006: Konvektionsantrieb durch Grenzschichtprozesse über komplexem Gelände