• 50.220°N 8.450°E 825 m a.s.l.

Observational platform

Germany

• Goethe University Frankfurt

https://www.goethe-university-frankfurt.de/45679989/Taunus_Observatory

• Andreas Kuerten
  Facility PI (since 1 Aug 2021)

The station is located on the summit of mount Kleiner Feldberg (825 m asl) in the Taunus mountain range. The station was established already in 1913 as an observational site for aerological and seismological measurements. Today, besides the University of Frankfurt the site is used by the German Weather Service (DWD) for routine weather observations and the Hessian Agency for Nature Conservation, Environment and Geology (HLNUG) for PM2.5, PM10 and common trace gas measurements. The station is surrounded mainly by evergreen needle leaf forest extending several kilometers in each direction around the station. Besides the southern and the southeastern sectors, the other sectors are agriculturally dominated but also intersected by forests and meadows. In fall and winter the station is often within clouds. Most of the times it is within the boundary layer. The dominant wind direction is from the west.

In more recent times the station has been used for the in-situ measurement of aerosol particles and trace gases. Due to the elevated location, the site is suitable to monitor the influence of long-range transport on the measured air. But also local emissions (mainly biogenic) and the (aged) anthropogenic emissions from the Rhine-Main area (to the south) can be observed. Within ACTRIS-D extensive in-situ measurements of aerosol particles and trace gases will be performed. One focus will be on investigating new particle formation (nucleation). This includes the measurement of the full size distribution of particles (from 1 nm to several tens of micrometers) and important trace gases (sulfuric acid, ammonia, HOM, ...). The station is also capable of hosting instruments from partner institutes, e. g., there has been a long history of cooperation with the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry during dedicated measurements campaigns.

• https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-10-2795-2010, 2010