improve our insights into atmosphere and climate variability and change, including insights into forcings and feedbacks and anthropogenic climate change trends, building on the unique benchmark data records from our second research area and further key datasets as well as modeling;

support the science basis for climate action by research better linking climate change causes with impacts, from greenhouse gas emissions via global warming to impacts in terms of weather and climate extremes, with a focus on backing climate solution narratives on “pathways to Paris” and sharing strong synergy with other research in our other research areas;

maintain and enhance the Carbon Management (CM) research pioneered in 2021, with foci on institutional and public carbon management and optional research on personal carbon management, as innovative pathways of research and knowledge transfer for fostering climate action and a low carbon transition compliant with the Paris climate goals.

establish benchmark-quality satellite occultation (primary focus on Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) radio occultation) and ground-based data records of Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) essential climate variables of the atmosphere, such as temperature and water vapor, and of related climate change indicator variables

advance Wegener Center’s Occultation and Climate Analysis System, a core system for new algorithms and science use in other areas, and position Wegener Center’s Earth Observation Processing and Analysis Center for Atmosphere and Climate (EOPAC) as the leading science innovator of the radio occultation community for benchmark data records and climate monitoring;

support next-generation global observing systems for monitoring the climate, e.g., Low Earth Orbit occultation (LEO-LEO climate benchmark observations of thermodynamic variables, greenhouse gases, wind, and clouds) mission concepts, towards a demonstration mission in space.

perform frontier research on climate and hydrology change, to understand processes that govern regional to local variability and changes in the European Alpine region and beyond, with a focus on analyzing heat and hydrological extremes under climate change;

deploy and advance the unique WegenerNet 3D Open-Air Laboratory for Climate Change Research, for studies such as exploring weather and climate extremes, validating other hydro-meteorologic data and satellite observations, evaluating high-resolution climate models, and investigating critical climate and hydrology changes in a warming climate.