Welcome to the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology (MPI-M), Hamburg

The Max Planck Institute for Meteorology (MPI-M) is an internationally renowned institute for climate research. Its goal is to understand the changing climate of our Earth.

 

The MPI-M comprises three departments:

The Atmosphere in the Earth System

The Land in the Earth System
The Ocean in the Earth System


and three independent research groups:

 

Scientists at the MPI-M investigate what determines the sensitivity of the Earth system to perturbations such as the changing composition of its atmosphere, and work toward establishing the sources and limits of predictability within the Earth system. MPI-M develops and analyses sophisticated models of the Earth system, which simulate the processes within atmosphere, land and ocean. Such models have developed into important tools for understanding the behaviour of our climate, and they form the basis for international assessments of climate change. Targeted in-situ measurements and satellite observations complement the model simulations.

 

Together with several other non-university research institutions the MPI-M and the University of Hamburg constitute the KlimaCampus, a centre of excellence for climate research and education in Hamburg, Germany.

Research News

Multi-year prediction of the AMOC at 
26.5 °N possible

Climate scientists around Dr. Daniela Matei and Prof. Dr. Jochem Marotzke from MPI-M and Prof. Dr. Johanna Baehr from Hamburg University's Cluster of Excellence "CliSAP" have now shown for the first time that the strength of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation at 26.5 °N can be skillfully predicted for up to four years. Their results have been recently published in Science.

 

 

 

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) - colloquially known as "Gulf Stream" - transports warm surface waters into the high latitudes, where they cool, sink and return southwards at depth as cold North Atlantic Deep Water. Variations in AMOC can significantly affect the northward ocean heat transport and therefore the European and North Atlantic climate... Initiates file downloadread more (download pdf)