The Jülich ObservatorY for Cloud Evolution (JOYCE) is operated jointly by the University of Cologne, the Research Centre Jülich.

JOYCE is a national facility for Cloud Remote Sensing within the European Research Infrastructure ACTRIS since 2021.

JOYCE was established in 2008 and was initially operated in the frame of the Transregional Collaborative Research Centre “Patterns in Soil-Vegetation-Atmosphere-Systems: Monitoring, Modelling and Data Assimilation” (TR32). Today, JOYCE is part of the Cloud and Precipitation Exploration Laboratory (CPEX-LAB), a competence centre within the Geoverbund ABC/J.

Left: Drone view of JOYCE platform, Right: View towards MIRA cloud radar with microwave radiometer in foreground

JOYCE instrumentation aims to observe spatial and temporal variability of the atmospheric boundary layer as well as the water cycle.
Specific goals are

• to disentangle water vapor variations due to advection and to local surface influence
• to better understand the development of boundary layer clouds
• to analyse cloud radiation interaction
• to observe precipitation formation

Most instruments are located on the roof of the Institute of Climate and Energy Systems - Troposphere (ICE-3) IEK-8 at the Research Centre Jülich which is embedded in an agricultural dominated landscape.

• Latitude: 50°54'30.77“ N = 50.908547°N
• Longitude: 6°24'48.73” E = 6.413536°E
• Altitude of the surroundings: 91 m asl
• Altitude of JOYCE roof platform: 111 m asl (= 20 m above ground)
• Google maps link
• Webcam
• WIGOS ID : 0-276-0-10508

• Microwave Radiometer HATPRO - TOPHAT
• Microwave Radiometer HATPRO - JOYHAT

• Cloud Radar JOYRAD-35 (Ka-Band)
• Cloud Radar JOYDURADO (Ka/W-Band)

• Ceilometer
  • Ceilometer Jenoptik/Lufft CHM15k
  • Ceilometer Vaisala CT25K
• Doppler wind lidar

• Micro Rain Radar MRR
• Disdrometer
• Pluviometer

• Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer AERI
• Multifilter Rotating Shadowband Radiometer MFRSR
• Total Sky Imager TSI-AXIS
• Sun photometer
• Broadband radiation observations
• Photovoltaic modules

• CPEX-Lab Polarimetric X-Band Precipitation Radar Sophienhöhe and composite with Bonn
• Meteorology at 120 m tower of FZ Jülich

• Cloud Radar JOYRAD-10 (X-Band)
• Cloud Radar JOYRAD-94 (W-Band)

JOYCE provides a number of resources, which characterize the thermodynamic state of the atmospheric column including vertical profiles of temperarture, humidity and cloud macro- and microphysical properties as well as the aerosol loading. The data is freely accessible for scientific and educational purposes and may be obtained through direct contact to Bernhard Pospichal.

Quicklook browser
Quicklooks of Cloudnet processed measurements and products on Cloudnet database (select Location “Jülich” on the left)

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