• A new international project aims to improve weather and climate models in southern regions
• Laser and radar systems will study how aerosols affect cloud formation and rainfall
• Invercargill’s clean air and existing weather facilities make it ideal for this long-term study
A powerful laser is now scanning the skies over Invercargill as part of a large international project designed to improve weather forecasting and climate modelling in the Southern Hemisphere.
Launching this week, the goSouth-2 campaign is a joint effort between German and New Zealand research organisations. Based near Invercargill Airport, it brings together Germany’s University of Leipzig and the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS), alongside MetService, the University of Canterbury, and The Air Quality Collective from New Zealand.
The research focuses on how clouds form and change depending on the presence of aerosols – tiny airborne particles like sea salt, dust, smoke, pollen, and volcanic ash.
TROPOS researcher Patric Seifert told 1News, “The less aerosol particles are available, the less cloud particles can form, and vice-versa.”
These aerosols act as a base for cloud droplets and ice crystals to form. The type and amount of aerosols can affect how clouds reflect sunlight, develop, and how much rain they produce.
Invercargill is considered a prime location for this type of study due to its clean, variable air influenced by both Antarctica and continental sources like Australia. “The atmosphere in this region can be very clean when air masses approach from Antarctica but can also be burdened with continental-sourced aerosols when air masses approach via Australia,” Seifert said.
The site also benefits from established weather monitoring by MetService, including balloon soundings and solar radiation measurements.
To support the research, the team has deployed laser-based LIDAR systems and radar systems to detect aerosol levels and monitor cloud structure and rainfall.
Currently, most climate and weather models are based on data from the more polluted Northern Hemisphere, meaning they often fail to capture the cloud patterns typical of the Southern Hemisphere.
The goSouth-2 study works in tandem with the HALO-South airborne mission, which operates out of Christchurch. HALO is equipped with PINE-Air, a new ice particle counter that can measure cloud particles in extreme cold – from minus 35 to minus 60 degrees Celsius.
“Looking into the cleaner atmosphere around Antarctica is also a glimpse into the future,” said Professor Joachim Curtius of Goethe University.
The HALO-South flight campaign will run from September 6 to October 11, while goSouth-2 is set to continue until March 2027.