Modern and past climate: Investigation of atmospheric water supply to the Atacama Desert and comparative studies with the Namib Desert (A01)

• Subject Area: Atmospheric Science
• Term: since 2016
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 268236062

The controlling factors regulating moisture supply across the CRC study area in Chile are dominated by the transport of water vapor and the formation of fog. This project will resolve the related multi-scale circulation features and quantify their impact on the Atacama Desert moisture supply by employing state-of-art observations and high-resolution (~100 m) modelling. Furthermore, the goal is to identify robust characteristics of the large-scale circulation during the present climate (by means of longest available satellite data time series and reanalysis) as a proxy for moisture supply which can serve the interpretation of paleo records.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1211: Earth - Evolution at the Dry Limit
• Applicant Institution: Universität zu Köln
• Project Heads: Professorin Dr. Susanne Crewell; Professor Dr. Ulrich Löhnert