30 years of climate research on scheduled flights with Lufthansa

10 December 2024

Since 1994, the Lufthansa Group has been supporting climate and atmospheric research with unique measurements on scheduled flights, helping to improve weather forecasts and make climate models more accurate. So far, 35,744 flights have been carried out – the next flight of the "Landshut", a Lufthansa Airbus A330-300, will increase the number to 35,745. An important and long-standing partner is the European research project IAGOS (In-service Aircraft for a Global Observing System), which is coordinated by the Jülich Research Centre together with partners from science, meteorological services, the aviation industry and airlines.

With more than 480 scientific publications, including articles in the renowned journals Nature and PNAS, IAGOS has already made a significant contribution to climate research. With the help of measurement data from the Lufthansa Group and other airlines, it has been possible to build up a unique and valuable research database for the particularly climate-damaging greenhouse gases water vapour and ozone.

IAGOS: global research infrastructure with Jülich expertise

The IAGOS research infrastructure equips commercial aircraft with highly specialised measuring instruments that collect data on the composition of the atmosphere – for example, trace gases and aerosols. After each flight, this data is automatically transmitted to the central database of the CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) research centre in Toulouse and is available to around 300 research organisations worldwide. This database helps researchers to gain new insights into climate development and the composition of the atmosphere, to identify long-term changes, to refine climate models and to improve weather forecasts.

The project was recently awarded top marks by the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) as a landmark initiative. Since 2011, three aircraft of the Lufthansa Group have been equipped with IAGOS measuring systems. The foundation was laid in 1994 by the predecessor project MOZAIC (Measurement of Ozone by Airbus In-Service Aircraft), in which passenger aircraft were equipped with compact measuring systems for the first time.

Research for the future

With projects such as IAGOS, the Forschungszentrum Jülich is underlining its key role in international climate research. The cooperation with the Lufthansa Group as a reliable partner shows how science and industry can work together to develop innovative solutions for global challenges and provide valuable insights for political decision-makers.

Find further information in the Lufthansa Group's press release.

Contact Person

Prof. Dr. Andreas Petzold

Leading Scientist Head of department "Global Observation"

• Institute of Climate and Energy Systems (ICE)
• Troposphere (ICE-3)

Building 05.2 /
Room 3048

+49 2461/61-5795

E-Mail

Media Contact

Anna Tipping

Pressereferentin

Building 15.3v /
Room R.3028b

+49 2461/61-5281

E-Mail

Further Information

Lufthansa Press Release

30 years of climate research on scheduled flights

Over the last three decades, the Lufthansa Group, in collaboration with its research partners at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the Jülich Research Center (FZJ), has equipped passenger aircraft in its fleet with scientific measuring instruments that collect information about the state of the atmosphere on regular cheduled flights.

German Pressrelease of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) | 19.09.2024

Forschungsinfrastruktur IAGOS feiert 30-jähriges Bestehen

Seit dem ersten Messflug im Jahr 1994 hat die europäische Forschungsinfrastruktur IAGOS eine Messtechnik für Linien-Flugzeuge entwickelt, die regelmäßig umfangreiche Klimadaten aus der Atmosphäre liefert – mit langjähriger Unterstützung des BMBF.

Research Infrastructure

IAGOS

The European Research Infrastructure IAGOS responds to the increasing demand for long-term in-situ observations of greenhouse gases, reactive trace gases and aerosols, by establishing a monitoring infrastructure based on the use of commercial passenger aircraft as measurement platforms.

Atmospheric Research

IAGOS remains valuable for the European research landscape

The European research platform IAGOS (In-service Aircraft for a Global Observing System), which is coordinated by Forschungszentrum Jülich, was evaluated by ESFRI (European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructure) and assessed as valuable for the European research landscape.

Atmospheric Research

Is Climate Protection Possible in Aviation?

Many researchers are currently working on the question of how climate-impacting contrails can be avoided. Forschungszentrum Jülich is involved in this work via the European research infrastructure IAGOS. Andreas Petzold is one of the coordinators of IAGOS Germany. We spoke to him.

Atmospheric Research

30 Years of IAGOS: How Passenger Aircraft are Researching Climate Change

The European research infrastructure IAGOS (In-service Aircraft for a Global Observing System) is celebrating its 30th anniversary. Since 1994, passenger airplanes have continuously provided valuable climate data from the Earth’s atmosphere. Forschungszentrum Jülich is coordinating the project together with CNRS in France and is supported by BMBF.