Laboratoire de Physique Moléculaire pour l'Atmosphère et l'Astrophysique
Organisation
LPMAA (Molecular Physics Laboratory for the Atmosphere and Astrophysics) is a joint laboratory of
Université Pierre et Marie Curie
and
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
. About 30 persons work at LPMAA, including postdocs and visitors. Located at UPMC site in Ivry, near Paris, part of its scientific activities is being conducted on UPMC Jussieu site, through its Fourier transform spectormeter (FTS QualAir), which is part of the IPSL experimental platform, to measure atmospheric composition and air quality from the Jussieu towers. LPMAA has joined IPSL on January 1st, 2009.
Research themes
LPMAA studies molecular physics and its applications on atmosphere, astrophysics and planetology. Within IPSL, its primary focuses of research are atmosphere's physicochemical interactions and far-distance soundings of troposphere and atmosphere composition through infrared spectroscopy. LPMAA aims at maintaining a good equilibrium betwwen three types of activities :
- Basic research at the heart of vibration-rotation physics of molecules in the gas phase with experimental developments for acquiring high resolution spectra (diode laser and Fourier transform spectrometry) and high precision quantitative spectroscopy measurements as well as through the analysis and theoretical studies of molecular spectra, contributing in this manner to the improvement and extension of spectroscopic databases for the applications.
- Research studies in the field of atmospheric physics and chemistry using experimental data acquired by spectroscopic means and leading tho the development of radiative transfer codes and of tools for the inversion of atmospheric spectra and relatively simple photo-chemical models to interpret the observations.
- Laboratory experiments and analysis work to understand elementary processes in molecular physics having a significant impact in astrophyscis of planetology (molecular clouds, comets, grains, surfaces of icy satellites).
Main international projects
- Envisat : earth observation satellite that provides measures on atmosphere, oceans, terrestrial and frozen surfaces over a five-year period.
- IASI : this intrument, embarked on MetOp satellite, enables to improve middle course meteorological forecasts and contributes to atmosphere composition measures (study of trace gases).
- ESA SENTINEL satellites for the GMES project.
- SIFTI (Static Infrared Fourier Transform Interferometer) : this instrument, being developed at CNES, will measure ozone and carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations in the lower atmosphere (between 0 and 3 km) by infrared sounding, and will supply the information profiles that are necessary for pollution monitoring at different heights.
- the CHINOOK project of the canadian space agency and the SWIFT instrument : travaux de spectroscopie pour un sondeur infrarouge au limbe dédié à la mesure de l'ozone et du vent dans la stratosphère par effet déplacement Doppler d'une raie de O3.
- ESA TRAQ mission (TRopospheric composition and Air Quality) : pollution and air quality monitoring.
Collaborations
LPMAA collaborates with several laboratories in IPSL :
- with LATMOS : trace species remote sensing with IASI onboard the MetOp satellite and new experimental and analysis work for interpreting cometary or dense molecular spectra.
- with LMD : atmospheric spectroscopic databases and inversion of infrared atmospheric spectra
- with LATMOS and LSCE : preparation of TRAQ (TRopospheric composition and Air Quality), a candidate for the Earth Explorer missions of ESA
LPMAA is developing a diode laser spectrometer for very precise measurements of the total and isotopic concentration of carbon dioxyde (12CO2 and 13CO2) in atmospheric air. Comparison of infrared spectrometry results with gas phase chromatography/mass spectrometry/mass (GC/MS) is done in close cooperation with LSCE.
This demonstrates the good links established between LPMAA and several components of IPSL, which will be reinforced and formalized with the expected creation of OSU-PC. Within this new structure the atmosphere team of LPMAA will contribute to the research activities on atmospheric environment.
In the field of atmospheric physicochemistry, LPMAA mainly collaborates with CNES and ESA, with different spatial experiments of atmospheric composition observations which are now operating (IASI, Invisat) or being developed (TRAQ, Sentinel, SIFTI).
Tools / instrumental developments
- development of radiative transfer codes and of tools for the inversion of atmospheric spectra through stratospheric balloons (Limb Profile Monitor of the Atmosphere (LPMA)) and from the ground with the Fourier transform spectrometer of the QualAir platform (FTS Qualair)
- development of theoretical models for calculating collisional transfer rates between atoms and molecules and by enhancing the contribution of the laboratory to spectroscopic databases for astrophysics and planetology.
Management team
Director : Marie-Lise Dubernet-Tuckey (marie-lise.dubernet-tuckey @ upmc.fr)
Contact
Laboratoire de Physique Moléculaire pour l'Atmosphère et l'Astrophysique
Postal address : Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Box 76 - 4 place Jussieu - 75252 Paris Cedex 05 - France
Location : 3 rue Galilée - 94200 Ivry sur Seine - France
Tel : +33 (0)1 44 27 44 81