luftmassers

Luftmassers are instruments and methods used in meteorology and atmospheric science to observe, characterize, and track air masses and their properties as they move through the atmosphere.

They measure variables such as temperature, humidity, pressure, wind speed and direction, and chemical composition, enabling researchers to determine air-mass origins, paths, and mixing with surrounding air.

Luftmassers can be deployed in situ or remotely. In situ approaches include radiosondes on weather balloons, aircraft-based probes, and ground-based towers; remote sensing includes LIDAR, Doppler radar, and satellite instruments.

Data from luftmassers support weather forecasting, climate research, and studies of transport phenomena, including pollution dispersion and stratosphere-troposphere exchange.

The term is more common in German and Dutch-language literature; in English, related concepts are usually described under air masses, atmospheric profiling, and tracer measurements. As such, luftmassers represent a family of observational strategies rather than a single device.