astronomy

Ulrike Lohmann

Ulrike Lohmann is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Ulrike Lohmann rather than just read about it. In short: Ulrike Lohmann (born 1966) is a climate researcher and professor for atmospheric physics at the ETH Zurich. She is known for her research on aerosol particles in clouds.

Key takeaways

Ulrike Lohmann belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
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Reproduce the core statement of Ulrike Lohmann from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Ulrike Lohmann (born 1966) is a climate researcher and professor for atmospheric physics at the ETH Zurich. She is known for her research on aerosol particles in clouds.

Early life, education, and career Lohmann comes from Kiel as the daughter of a teacher and a politician in the Social Democratic Party of Germany. She did a volunteer year in an SOS Children's Village in Nigeria, and then studied ethnology and geography. Inspired by environmental reports on climate change, she studied meteorology at the University of Mainz from 1988 to 1993. She received her doctorate in 1996 at the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology. She initially worked as assistant professor and associate professor for atmospheric sciences at Dalhousie University. She has been a full professor of atmospheric physics at the Institute for Atmosphere and Climate at ETH Zurich since 2004.

Research Lohmann's research centers on the interactions between global warming, aerosols, and cloud formation. Her early research modeled the influence of cirrus clouds on climate, which she continued in her use of the ECHAM model. Her research also considers the global indirect aerosol effects and the connection to climate change. She also deals with the possibility of geoengineering by thinning cirrus clouds. In the 2017 Science article, she notes "for the time being, cirrus cloud thinning should be viewed as a thought experiment that is helping to understand cirrus cloud–formation mechanisms". She is one of the lead authors on the chapters on Clouds and Aerosols in the fourth and fifth assessment reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and she shared in the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for her contribution to the IPCC reports. Lohmann supports the young people striking to draw attention to climate change, and in 2019 she was one of the scientists signing on to a statement on the school protests for climate protection to draw attention to the climate crisis.

Selected publications Lohmann, U.; Feichter, J. (3 March 2005). "Global indirect aerosol effects: a review". Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 5 (3): 715–737. Bibcode:2005ACP.....5..715L. doi:10.5194/acp-5-715-2005. hdl:20.500.11850/33632. ISSN 1680-7324. Lohmann, Ulrike; Gasparini, Blaž; Haberland, G. (21 July 2017). "A cirrus cloud climate dial?". Science. 357 (6348): 248–249. Bibcode:2017Sci...357..248L. doi:10.1126/science.aan3325. PMID 28729496. S2CID 5090908. Storelvmo, T.; Leirvik, T.; Lohmann, U.; Phillips, P. C. B.; Wild, M. (April 2016). "Disentangling greenhouse warming and aerosol cooling to reveal Earth's climate sensitivity" (PDF). Nature Geoscience. 9 (4): 286–289. Bibcode:2016NatGe...9..286S. doi:10.1038/ngeo2670. Lohmann, Ulrike; Lüönd, Felix; Mahrt, Fabian (30 April 2016). An Introduction to Clouds: From the Microscale to Climate (PDF). Cambridge University Press. Bibcode:2016icfm.book.....L. doi:10.1017/cbo9781139087513. ISBN 978-1-107-01822-8. Retrieved 18 March 2025.

Awards Henry G. Houghton Award, American Meteorological Society (2007) Fellow, American Geophysical Union (2008) The Golden Tricycle from ETH Zurich for family-friendly leadership (2013) Elected member, German National Academy of Sciences, Leopoldina (2014) Peter Hobbs Memorial lecture, University of Washington (2016) Honorary doctorate from Stockholm University (2018) Vilhelm Bjerknes Medal, European Geosciences Union (2025)

Personal life She lives on Lake Zurich, and her passions are endurance sports and rowing.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Ulrike Lohmann

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Ulrike Lohmann claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Ulrike Lohmann before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Ulrike Lohmann ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Ulrike Lohmann

In research: Ulrike Lohmann appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Ulrike Lohmann in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Ulrike Lohmann is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1966 births, Academic staff of ETH Zurich, Atmospheric scientists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Ulrike Lohmann outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Ulrike Lohmann in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Ulrike Lohmann means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Ulrike Lohmann out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ulrike Lohmann in simple terms?

Ulrike Lohmann (born 1966) is a climate researcher and professor for atmospheric physics at the ETH Zurich. She is known for her research on aerosol particles in clouds.

Why does Ulrike Lohmann matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Ulrike Lohmann?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Ulrike Lohmann.