Innsbruck Box (i-Box)

Innsbruck Box (or i-Box for short) is a test bed for studying boundary layer processes in highly complex terrain. Designed to be a long-term “reference box” for studying the characteristics of turbulence structure and exchange processes in truly complex topography, i-Box represents an integrated approach combining three-dimensional long-term turbulence observations with high-resolution numerical modeling. Turbulence structure plays an important role in exchange processes of momentum, mass, and energy between the earth’s surface and the atmosphere. These processes are crucial for, e.g., numerical weather forecasts or climate scenario simulations, but are not yet fully understood, particularly not in complex topography. The goal of the project is to form a complete and physically based description of turbulence characteristics in complex terrain.