Research topics Research Topics

Solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) serves as a proxy for plant photosynthetic activity. Remote sensing of SIF facilitates scaling of leaf-level physiology to ecosystems and global scales, improving the quantification of terrestrial carbon fluxes.
We develop Fabry-Pérot interferometer (FPI)-based spectrometers that enable accurate and scalable SIF measurements, providing (1) comprehensive SIF datasets across scales for improved quantitative carbon flux studies and (2) establishing SIF measurements as a practical tool for ecosystem monitoring and precision agriculture.

Volcanic gas emissions carry information on magmatic composition and dynamics. Remote sensing of volcanic gases after their release into the atmosphere therefore offers a window into volcanic systems and their activity.
Our FPI-based spectrograph developments aim to provide continuous remote sensing measurements of several volcanic gas species. These data in combination with our complementary model developments enable the integrated analysis of volcanic degassing beyond equilibrium with the aim to support next-generation volcanic monitoring systems.

Further work includes the study of atmospheric multi-phase chemistry and how it is influenced by transport processes on local scales. In cold regions, shallow trapping of urban emissions leads to high concentrations of hazardous particulate matter. Vertical profiling of trace gases allows to trace the complex dynamics of pollutions. Process-based atmospheric chemistry and transport simulations reveal the particle formation mechanisms and identify atmospheric mixing with clean background air as a widely ignored process controlling urban air quality in cold environments and respective mitigation efforts.