VITAL (Vertical profiling of the troposphere: Innovation, opTimization and AppLication) is a measurement campaign of the Hans Ertel Centre for Weather Research that focuses on the vertical structure of the troposphere. While FESSTVaL investigated the horizontal structure of cold pools with high spatial resolution, VITAL's focus is on closing the observation gap in wind, water vapor and temperature profiles in the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). For more information see the  VITAL Website.

Data access: The data collected will be linked here as soon as it is available. If you are interested in preliminary data sets from VITAL I, please contact the HIRES-APP Team.

Goals of VITAL I (2024, Jülich):

• Acquisition of a comprehensive data set of vertical profile measurements using state-of-the-art methods
• Application of new evaluation algorithms for remote sensing data
• Testing of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for vertical profiling and combination with ground and satellite-based measurements
• Providing data for improving the DWD observation system
• Training of young researchers in state-of-the-art measurement methods as part of the HErZ Summer School 2024 (more information here and there)

Measuring instruments:

• Raman Lidar and Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL)
• Regular radiosonde ascents
• Passive remote sensing from the ground (microwave radiometer, infrared spectrometer AERI)
• more