Urban climate

For several years now, IPSL has been contributing to the strengthening and improvement of urban climate observations, whether in terms of meteorology, atmospheric dynamics, atmospheric composition, plant ecophysiology, water or biodiversity. Several of IPSL’s research themes are concerned with the urban environment: Urban climate, Compos’Air, Water cycle, BIOTECA.

Innovative in-situ and ground-based remote sensing measurements are continuously exploited at the SIRTA site in Palaiseau, in a peri-urban environment, at the QUALAIR platform in the heart of Paris, and at other urban sites such as the UPEC and UPCité sites. Other instruments and mobile platforms complement the permanent measurements taken at super-sites during dedicated field campaigns (ACROSS, H2C, etc.), which are particularly useful for improving our knowledge of the various interactions between all the compartments and scales involved. Satellite observations are also increasingly sought-after for analyzing urban climate, fostering new collaborations and new lines of research. 

To enhance the synergistic exploitation of all these observations, IPSL supports the development of the AERIS-PANAME database in the Paris region, and is particularly involved in the various projects funded by the PEPR Villes Durables et Bâtiments Innovants (Sustainable Cities and Innovative Buildings) program.