The Zeppelin Observatory in Ny-Ålesund

The Zeppelin Observatory belongs to a group of very important global observatories for atmospheric measurements, and is part of several regional and global monitoring networks.

Owned by the Norwegian Polar Institute, which is responsible for development, maintenance, daily management and safety. The Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU) is responsible for scientific coordination.

The primary users of the Zeppelin Observatory are NILU, Stockholm University (SU) and the Norwegian Polar Institute. Other institutions also have instruments and measurement programmes here, run permanently or on a campaign basis.

Main focus areas

Research on long-transported atmospheric contaminants.
(greenhouse gases, ozone, persistent organic pollutants (POPs), aerosols, environmental toxins)
Characteristics of the Arctic atmosphere and studies of atmospheric processes and changes.
Measurements aimed at increasing the understanding of feedbacks between aerosols, clouds and radiation, and how these affect the Arctic climate.

Measurements

A substantial amount of parameters are continually monitored at the Zeppelin Observatory.

The Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU) and Stockholm University (SU) also offer their own overviews:

See also our overview of scientific publications using data from the Zeppelin Observatory.

Atmospheric research in Ny-Ålesund

The Zeppelin Observatory belongs to a group of very important global observatories for atmospheric measurements, and is part of several regional and global monitoring networks, such as:

The atmospheric research in Ny-Ålesund is coordinated in the Atmosphere Research Flagship programme as part of the Ny-Ålesund Science Managers Committee (NySMAC) science plan. The flagship programme aims to establish a unique international long-term atmospheric monitoring and observation platform supported by all research institutions represented in Ny-Ålesund.

The flagship document also include appendices which give an overview of other atmospheric stations and atmospheric parameters measured in Ny-Ålesund:

Atmospheric research in Ny-Ålesund – a flagship programme (PDF 2.4MB)

Facilities

The Zeppelin Observatory has several air inlets, and also meteorological instruments, radiation instruments and other samplers mounted on the roof.

The building itself consists of several rooms, where the users keep their instruments. One room, «the campaign-room», is reserved for project-based measurement campaigns.

History

Officially opened in 1990, but after some time of operation the building did not satisfy the requirements for operation of advanced instruments. The old observatory was demolished in 1999, and a new one was built on the same location. Officially re-opened in May 2000.