Studies of Physics at the Technical University of Munich, finished 1994 with a summa cum laude PhD in physical chemistry – molecular spectroscopy. In 1995-1996 postdoc in atmospheric sciences. DLR Science Award in 2000. Since 2000 leader of research group "Atmospheric Variability and Trends" at KIT/IMK-IFU. University lecturer ("Privatdozent") at the University of Augsburg with a Venia Legendi for "Climate and Environmental Sciences".
Research Interests
- Physics and chemistry of the atmosphere
- Biospheric sources and sinks of climate gases (FTIR column measurements of CO2, CH4, N2O)
- Long-term change of the atmosphere (monitoring of international protocols)
- Molecular physics and spectroscopic interaction between radiation and atmospheric trace compounds in the infrared, visible, and ultraviolet spectral range
- Optical remote sounding (inversion theory and instrument development, FTIR, lidar, GPS)
- Satellite validation and synergetic combination of satellite and ground-based remote sounding
Publications
Lectures
Boards and Committees
- Associate Editor of the Journal AMT - Atmospheric Measurement Techniques
- Member of the Steering Committee of the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC)
Projects
- State Government of Bavaria : Virtual Alpine Observatory: Experimental Climate Research for Investigation of the Interaction between Water Vapor, Ice Clouds, Temperature, and Radiation above the Alps
- EU-INGOS : Integrated non-CO2 Greenhouse gas Observing System
- ESA-GHG-cci : A project proposal for generating the Essential Climate Variable (ECV) Greenhouse Gases (GHG) in the framework of ESA’s Climate Change Initiative (CCI)
- State Government of Bavaria : Measurement of the water vapor greenhouse effect in the Arctic and the Alps
- EU-HYMN : Hydrogen, Methane and Nitrous oxide: Trend variability, budgets and interactions with the biosphere
- BMBF/DLR (German Space Agency) : SATVAL-A – Validation of ENVISAT/SCIAMACHY methane columns
- EU-GEOMON : Global Earth Observation and Monitoring
- ESA-TASTE : Technical Assistance To Envisat validation by soundings, spectrometers and radiometers
- HGF-PEP : Pole - Equator - Pole: Variability of atmospheric trace constituents along a North-South Transect
- EU-ACCENT-TROPOSAT-2 : The Satellite Remote Sensing Task of ACCENT, the European Network of Excellence on Atmospheric Composition Change: PI-Contribution R. Sussmann
Networks
- NDACC, Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change, R. Sussmann, Principal Investigator for ground-based FTIR spectrometry at the mountain Zugspitze, Germany
- TCCON, Total Carbon Column Observing Network, Principal Investigator for ground-based FTIR spectrometry at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
Awards
- Science award of the year 2000 of the German Aerospace Center (DLR)
- Two first awards of the “Verein der Freunde und Förderer des IMK-IFU” for best research paper of the years 1999 and 2006, respectively
