Home Radar Observations Observation sites Publications People Contact RADAR METEOROLOGY AND CLOUD PHYSICS                                           Our research group is part of the University of Helsinki's atmospheric science division. We study cloud and precipitation processes using a variety of instruments. Our main research instrument, Kumpula dual-polarization weather radar is clearly visible on the roof of the department of Physics building. In addition to it, we are using a variety of remote sensing as well as in situ instruments, such as ground and aircraft based particle imagers. The group has extensive links to national and international partners, such as Finnish Meteorological Institute and Colorado State University.                                             RESEARCH TOPICS On of the main research topics of the group is characterization of high latitude precipitation, that includes understanding of winter weather precipitation processes and improvement in quantitative precipitation estimation. The study extends from precipitation microphysics to regional and global scales, by utilizing weather radars, NASA CloudSat and upcoming NASA GPM and ESA EarthCARE satellites. Another major research subject is improvement in warning process for such high impact phenomena as hail, thunderstorms, heavy rainfall and urban floods. The group is also involved in improvement of weather radar data processing and radar signal processing algorithms, and development of new operational radar applications. Group members acquire a wide variety of skills, from carrying out filed experiments to analysis of remote sensing data. This work requires knowledge in a large range of subjects from cloud physics and physical meteorology to electro-magnetics and signal processing.