Central Institution For Meteorology And Geodynamics
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The Central Institution for Meteorology and Geodynamics (german: Zentralanstalt für Meteorologie und Geodynamik, ZAMG) is the national meteorological and
geophysical Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. The term ''geophysics'' som ...
service of
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
. It is a subordinate agency of the
Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research The Ministry of Education (German: ''Bundesministerium für Bildung, Wissenschaft und Forschung'', ''Bildungsministerium'', historically also ''Unterrichtsministerium'') is the government ministry of Austria in charge of public schools and acade ...
. The ZAMG headquarters are located in
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
, with regional offices in
Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...
,
Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...
,
Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...
and
Klagenfurt Klagenfurt am WörtherseeLandesgesetzblatt 2008 vom 16. Jänner 2008, Stück 1, Nr. 1: ''Gesetz vom 25. Oktober 2007, mit dem die Kärntner Landesverfassung und das Klagenfurter Stadtrecht 1998 geändert werden.'/ref> (; ; sl, Celovec), usually ...
. ZAMG was founded in 1851 and is the oldest weather service in the world. Its task is not only to operate monitoring networks and to conduct research in various fields, but also to make the results available to the public.


Organization

The Hohe Warte in the
Döbling Döbling () is the 19th District in the city of Vienna, Austria (german: 19. Bezirk, Döbling, Doebling). It is located on the north end from the central districts, north of the districts Alsergrund and Währing. Döbling has some heavily populate ...
district of Vienna is the headquarters of the Institution and is the regional office for Vienna,
Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...
and
Burgenland Burgenland (; hu, Őrvidék; hr, Gradišće; Austro-Bavarian: ''Burgnland;'' Slovene: ''Gradiščanska'') is the easternmost and least populous state of Austria. It consists of two statutory cities and seven rural districts, with a total of ...
. Other regional ZAMG offices are: * Regional office for
Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...
and
Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, a ...
(city of
Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...
) * Regional office for
Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( , ; gsw, label=Vorarlbergisch, Vorarlbearg, , or ) is the westernmost States of Austria, state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is ...
and
Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...
(
Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...
) * Regional office for
Carinthia Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German language, German. Its regional dialects belong to t ...
(
Klagenfurt Klagenfurt am WörtherseeLandesgesetzblatt 2008 vom 16. Jänner 2008, Stück 1, Nr. 1: ''Gesetz vom 25. Oktober 2007, mit dem die Kärntner Landesverfassung und das Klagenfurter Stadtrecht 1998 geändert werden.'/ref> (; ; sl, Celovec), usually ...
) * Regional office for
Styria Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...
(
Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...
) Other ZAMG facilities and observatories are: *
Hoher Sonnblick The Hoher Sonnblick (also ''Rauriser Sonnblick'') is a glaciated mountain, high, on the main Alpine chain in the Goldberg Group on the border between the Austrian states of Carinthia and Salzburg. At its summit is the Sonnblick Observatory an ...
Observatory * Conrad
Observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. His ...
,
Muggendorf Muggendorf is a municipality in the district of Wiener Neustadt-Land in the Austrian state of Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, ...
The grounds of the Institution has a radar tower. This office building is now home to a large
meteorology Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not ...
and
geophysics Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. The term ''geophysics'' som ...
library.


Departments

Today the ZAMG, as a semi-autonomous institution, is a modern service provider. ZAMG is divided into departments, including the following: * The synoptic scale metrology department is responsible for providing daily forecasting services using modern technology. * The geophysics department provides information on earthquakes and the geomagnetic field. * The climate department uses data obtained from the Austrian Monitoring Network to create climate statistics and maps. This department also conducts research into Austria's climate and how it is changing, which includes work on
glaciology Glaciology (; ) is the scientific study of glaciers, or more generally ice and natural phenomena that involve ice. Glaciology is an interdisciplinary Earth science that integrates geophysics, geology, physical geography, geomorphology, climato ...
. * The technical department is in charge of the meteorological monitoring network, which consists of semi-automatic weather detection systems (TAWES stations) and semi-automatic climate stations (TAKLIS stations). * The environmental meteorology department studies the spread of pollutants in the atmosphere. One of its tasks is to provide the government with information in the event of a crisis (e.g. radioactivity into the atmosphere). * The data processing department uses the latest equipment to manage the extensive computer-controlled processes.


Climate

One of ZAMG's key tasks is to observe and explore the climate in Austria. A network of over two hundred semi-automatic weather stations (TAWES) throughout Austria is in place for this purpose. Meteorological parameters such as pressure, temperature, wind and precipitation are recorded from
Lake Constance Lake Constance (german: Bodensee, ) refers to three Body of water, bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, ca ...
to
Lake Neusiedl Lake Neusiedl (german: Neusiedler See), or Fertő ( hu, Fertő (tó); hr, Nežidersko jezero, Niuzaljsko jezero; sl, Nežidersko jezero; sk, Neziderské jazero; cs, Neziderské jezero) is the largest endorheic lake in Central Europe, straddl ...
, and from the plains to the mountains (Sonnblick Date Observatory). This data is the basis for climate research and is particularly important for understanding current climate change.


Synoptic scale and environmental metrology

The synoptic scale metrology department deals with areas of remote sensing, using manual and automatic interpretation of satellite and radar data to make forecasts. In the field of numerical models, research focuses on the development of LAM Aladin, as in the new development of nowcasting model INCA.


Environment

The environmental meteorology department deals with the spread of pollutants in the atmosphere and the meteorological processes that affect the spread of pollutants. This is one of the priorities of the department's applied research in this area.


Geophysics

The first regional geomagnetic survey of the Austrio-Hungarian crown lands was conducted by Karl Kreil in 1846–1851. On the occasion of the earthquake in
Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...
,
Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
, in 1895, the Austrian Seismological Service was founded. Since then, research has been carried out continuously in both fields. Today's activities include geophysical and environmental issues.


History

In 23 July 1851
Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
Franz Joseph Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...
approved the establishment of "a central institution for meteorological and magnetic observations", the Central Institution for Meteorology and Earth Magnetism, which dates back to an initiative of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. This sent the request in 1848 to Karl Kreil, director of the observatory at
Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
, and full member of the Academy, a meteorological observation system for the Austrian monarchy designing. Karl Kreil (1798–1862) became the first director of the newly founded Central Institution of Wieden, and also professor of physics at the
University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...
. This personal union between one hand and Director of University Teachers on the other, remained to this day and lasting influence on the scientific research at the Central Institution. Kreil set up a meteorological observation system for the entire territory of the Austrian monarchy and carried out for this also the first country geomagnetic recording. 1865, began at the Central Institution with the publication of a daily weather map. Karl Jelinek succeeded him. 1872 moved to Central, in the new and final quarters of the Hohe Warte in Vienna Dobling which Henry Ferstel built. A year later, in 1873, the Central Institution organized the first international meteorological congress in Vienna, founded the
International Meteorological Organization The International Meteorological Organization (IMO; 1873–1951) was the first organization formed with the purpose of exchanging weather information among the countries of the world. It came into existence from the realization that weather systems ...
(IMO) as a precursor of the
World Meteorological Organization The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for promoting international cooperation on atmospheric science, climatology, hydrology and geophysics. The WMO originated from the Internati ...
(WMO). In 1877 the output of daily telegraphic weather reports carried out, with a synoptic map and the forecast for the next day. The new report contained the morning of 60 observation stations from all over
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, including 24 domestic ones. By decree of 23 February 1904, was transferred to the Central Institution for the entire seismic Austria, which took the name change to Central Institution for Meteorology and Geodynamics after him. In his position as Director Kreil followed by outstanding scientists, including Julius Hann (1839–1921) and Felix Maria von Exner (1876–1930). Hanns was important in climatology and a worldwide began to be in his era as one, meteorologists Austrian school — Hann also wrote the Comprehensive Textbook of Meteorology (1901) talking about — that one remembers Exner as a great theorist and his work of Dynamic Meteorology (1925). Many other researchers such as
Max Margules Max Margules (1856-1920) was a mathematician, physicist, and chemist. In 1877 he joined the Central Institute of Meteorology and Geodynamics (ZAMG) in Vienna as a volunteer.Victor Conrad Victor Conrad (1876-1962) was an Austrian-American physicist, seismologist, and meteorologist. He was the first director of the Austrian seismological service and a reputed academician of international accomplishment. He was politically victimized ...
(1876–1962), discoverer of the discontinuity in the middle of the crust named after him, worked at the Institution. Only once did the tradition of the Central Institution was cut short after the
annexation Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...
of Austria into the German Reich in climate and weather had to be relocated to Berlin, where it to the German Reich Meteorological were placed, and the Central Institution in Vienna in order to be transformed into a research institution. After
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
the Institution was restored to its original state and there was a considerable human and geographic expansion of the Central Institution, which also reflected in the numerous scientific research. In 1957 a house on the neighboring property was purchased and subsequently adapted for office use; between 1967 and 1973 a radar tower, a balloon-filling house and a new office building including specialised libraries were built at the site of the Central Institution.


See also

*
Meteoalarm Meteoalarm is a website developed by EUMETNET, a network of European states' national meteorological services, providing severe weather warnings. Maps are used to show where and which type of dangerous weather events are forecasted to occur within ...


External links

* {{Authority control Governmental meteorological agencies in Europe Government agencies established in 1851 1851 establishments in the Austrian Empire