Institute

Institute

Our Mission

The Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium Davos/World Radiation Center (PMOD/WRC):

  • Serves as an international calibration center for meteorological radiation instruments.
  • Develops radiation instruments for use on the ground and in space.
  • Researches the influence of solar radiation on Earth’s climate.

Mission Assignment

Since its establishment in 1907, the Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium Davos (PMOD) has been studying the influence of solar radiation on the Earth’s climate. In 1926, the Observatory joined the Swiss Research Institute for High Altitude Climate and Medicine Davos and has since become part of this foundation. At the request of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the Federal Council decided in 1970 to finance a calibration center for radiation measurement as Switzerland’s contribution to the World Weather Monitoring Program of the WMO. Following this decision, the PMOD was commissioned to establish and operate the World Radiation Center (WRC).

Core Activities

The World Radiation Center maintains the primary standard for solar irradiance consisting of a group of high-precision absolute radiometers. In response to further inquiries from the WMO, a calibration center for atmospheric longwave radiation measuring instruments was established in 2004, and in 2008 the calibration center for spectral radiance measurements to determine atmospheric turbidity. Since 2013, the European UV calibration center has also been operated by the World Radiation Center. The World Radiation Center today consists of four sections:

  • Solar Radiometry (WRC-SRS)
  • Infrared Radiometry (WRC-IRS)
  • Atmospheric Turbidity (WRC-WORCC)
  • UV Radiometry (WRC-WCC-UV)

The calibration activity is embedded in an internationally recognised quality system (ISO 17025) to ensure reliable and traceable compliance with the quality standard.

The PMOD/WRC develops and builds radiometers that are among the most accurate of their kind in the world and are used both on the ground and in space. These instruments are also available for purchase and have long been used by Meteorological Services worldwide. In addition, a global network of atmospheric turbidity monitoring stations is equipped with precision filter radiometers developed by PMOD/WRC.

Data collected in space and by means of ground measurements are analyzed in research projects on climate change and solar physics. This research activity is integrated into national (in particular with ETH Zurich) and international projects.

The PMOD/WRC is a department of the Swiss Research Institute for High Altitude Climate and Medicine (SFI) in Davos. The SFI encompasses both the PMOD/WRC and the Swiss Institute for Allergy and Asthma Research (SIAF).

Non-Profit Mission Statement

Legally, PMOD/WRC is part of the Foundation “Schweizerisches Forschungsinstitut für Hochgebirgsklima und Medizin in Davos” (SFI). Since the SFI is non-industry and non-profit oriented, it has been exempted from tax. For more information on finances, please see the latest PMOD/WRC Annual Report.

The institute holds a mandate from the WMO to maintain a world-wide standard for radiation measurements. Several of its staff members are associate professors or lecturers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ETH Zürich (ETHZ). These include:

  • Prof. Dr. Louise Harra, Director of PMOD/WRC, affiliated Professor in the Department of Physics, ETH Zürich.
  • Dr. Julian Gröbner, Co-Head of WRC-IRS, WORCC and WCC-UV Sections at PMOD/WRC, and Lecturer at the Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zürich.

PMOD/WRC also teaches students as a part of its research mission. PhD students are registered at the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zürich) and the Universities of Zürich and Bern.