The Institute Pierre-Simon Laplace unites the expertise of eight laboratories and three associated teams specialising in one or more aspects of the climate and environmental sciences and the exploration of the solar system. Nearly 1,500 people (researchers and lecturer-researchers, engineers, technicians, administrative staff, doctoral students, post-docs and interns) work on around ten sites in Île-de-France.
Together, these laboratories have built an integrated model of the Earth system, which can simulate the current climate as well as past and future climates, linking them to biogeochemical cycles and atmospheric pollution issues. They have also developed a wide range of observation systems, organised major field campaigns, and developed services around climate data.
Centre d'Enseignement et de Recherche en Environnement Atmosphérique (CEREA)
CEREA is a joint laboratory combining the Ponts ParisTech school and EDF R&D. It studies the physico-chemical processes of air pollution and of the atmospheric boundary layer as well as data assimilation and inverse modelling in geosciences.
The Paris-Sud Geosciences laboratory (GEOPS)
The GEOPS laboratory studies the geological processes produced and / or recorded on the surface of the Earth and solid, earthly planets. It studies the characterisation, tracing, measurement and modelling of these interactions in surface and subsurface environments and reconstructions of them in the past.
Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations spatiales (LATMOS)
LATMOS is a research unit that brings together activities previously developed by the Service d'Aéronomie and by more than half of CETP. It is part of the Observatory of Sciences of the Universe at UVSQ.
Laboratoire inter-universitaire des systèmes atmosphériques (LISA)
LISA studies the Earth's atmosphere (atmospheric pollution and climate), the interface between exobiology and planetology, and the question of the evolution of matter towards complex organic systems in various planetary environments.
Laboratoire de météorologie dynamique (LMD)
The LMD studies climate, pollution and planetary atmospheres by associating theoretical approaches with instrumental developments in observation and digital modelling. It is at the forefront of research on dynamic and physical processes to permit the study of the evolution and prediction of meteorological and climatic phenomena.
Laboratoire d'océanographie et du climat :
expérimentation et approches numériques (LOCEAN)
LOCEAN studies the ocean at a wide range of spatial scales including the role of the ocean on climate variability. The laboratory has also recently undertaken studies on the relationships between climate variability and society as they interact in various contexts (agronomy, economy, health).
Laboratoire des sciences du climat et de l'environnement (LSCE)
LSCE strives to understand climate change at all timescales and to predict the upheavals that our planet will face in the coming decades and centuries due to the rapid increase in greenhouse gases.
Laboratoire « Milieux environnementaux, transferts et interactions
dans les hydrosystèmes et les sols » (METIS)
The METIS joint research unit is governed by Sorbonne University, CNRS and EPHE and has a special relationship with the Centre for Geosciences at Mines ParisTech. METIS studies how continental environments function and the processes that affect the transfer of water, chemicals, nutrients and contaminants in the soil, subsoil and aquatic environments.
The ‘Surface & Reservoirs’ team
of the Geology Laboratory at ENS
The ‘Surface and Reservoirs’ team of the Geology Laboratory at ENS has been attached to IPSL since 2020 in an effort to work towards the common goal of achieving a better understanding of the Earth system. The team brings its own set of skills in geosciences, especially in soils and subsoils, including material flows (erosion), carbon, and water.
Remote sensing Group (LERMA) (2024-)
The LERMA remote sensing group (which will become part of Labo 2, as yet unnamed, following the restructuring of the Paris Observatory) comprises around ten people, depending on the number of students. This group works in the field of satellite remote sensing, from the definition of instruments and the development of inversion algorithms to the scientific exploitation of databases, for example to study the impact of climate change on agriculture or methane emissions.
Although the group specialises in passive microwaves, it also uses infrared and visible data to reconstruct surface geophysical variables (surface temperature, soil moisture, emissivities, vegetation, surface water, water stock in the soil, etc.), atmospheric variables (temperature and moisture profiles, precipitation, clouds) and oceanic variables (ocean temperature, sea ice fraction, emissivities).
The group has an important link with IPSL, and one of our members is co-leader of the water cycle theme (which is an important component of our group) at IPSL. We use ESPRI's calculation and storage capacities. We work with laboratories such as the LMD and the LSCE. We respond to certain IPSL calls for tender, such as the water cycle theme. We therefore feel that we benefit greatly from the scientific activity of the IPSL, and we feel that we offer a great deal to the IPSL as some of our databases (such as our GIEMS surface water database) are widely used by IPSL members.
It should also be noted that two of the group's members founded (within the LMD and LERMA) an Estellus start-up in 2009 with a licence for know-how from the CNRS, which makes use of the two researchers' previous work. This exploitation of research work can therefore be beneficial to IPSL. Finally, our group has been a pioneer in the use of Artificial Intelligence, and we plan to take part in the IPSL discussions on this subject, which will change many things in the way our community works.
MONARIS associated team
As part of the restructuring project of the Paris Observatory, the TASQ (Télédetection Atmosphérique et Spectroscopie Quantitative) team at LERMA located on Jussieu campus of Sorbonne University has joined the MONARIS laboratory (UMR 8233), taking effect on 1st of January 2024. The team consists out of 8 members (4 teaching-researchers and 4 engineers). The team is actively involved in national and international projects and works in three areas that are relevant to IPSL: the observation of the atmosphere, laboratory and spectroscopic measurements for atmospheric applications and observational and spectroscopic databases. At MONARIS, the group integrates a larger team to form the CIRS-GAZ group (Caractérisations, Interactions et Réactivités: Spectroscopie moléculaire – Phase Gaz), which includes three more researchers (2 SU, 1 CNRS), who work on molecular spectroscopy in the gas phase, spanning the infrared and millimetric/microwave spectral regions.
As part of the former TASQ group, CIRS-GAZ members intend to continue to be part of IPSL due to their close links and common projects with IPSL laboratories, most notably with LSCE, LMD, LATMOS and LISA. The CIRS-GAZ group is PI of the TCCON (Total Carbon Column Observing Network) site at Paris centre, the only such instrument operated by a French group and the only European site in a mega-city. CIRS-GAZ group members also develop metrology grade quantitative spectroscopy methods covering the UV (O3, SO2…) to the mid-IR (O3, CO2…) spectral ranges. Through activities in the committee of the HITRAN database, the host group which has already collaborated with TASQ members on ozone spectroscopy is particularly specialised in the evaluation and maintaining of spectroscopic data for atmospheric and astrophysical research.
The TASQ team at LERMA (2018-2024)
The TASQ team at the Laboratoire d’Études du Rayonnement et de la Matière en Astrophysique et Atmosphères (LERMA) applies scientific and instrumental skills from the field of spatial observation, including microwave technology at submillimetre level and atmospheric observation using IR spectroscopy. It also has expertise in high precision spectroscopy and the study of molecular processes for atmospheric and planetary applications.
