Who likes tinkering in the lab?
Today, Mika and I were once again at the Leipzig Institute of Meteorology. While we were strolling through the new building, we saw a room with “Laboratory” written on the door. Curious, we poked our noses in. Behind a large measuring device, we saw Michael Schäfer. He has already given us wonderful insights into research trips and Mika in particular knows him very well…
Michael, can you please introduce yourself briefly?
Hello you, I have been working in the atmospheric radiation working group at the Leipzig Institute of Meteorology for about 10 years now, where I have a very varied range of tasks. In addition to my own research with a focus on Arctic cloud cover, I supervise several doctoral students, am involved in teaching and look after most of the measuring equipment, which is why I am also happy to take part in most measurement campaigns. I particularly enjoy this mixture of theoretical and practical work.
And what do you do in your free time?
In my free time you can find me gardening, playing with my two sons, Richard and Theodor, doing handicrafts or fishing. I love travelling because I want to see as much of the world as possible. I also immerse myself in other worlds by reading. I like to read a lot because it’s a good way to switch off. It’s like a trip around the world between closing time and a good night’s sleep.
You’re often seen in the lab room. What do you always do there?
I’m usually checking the measuring devices that we use on our research trips. These are mainly camera systems. They often only display some kind of numerical values at first. Of course, that’s not very meaningful. In order to be able to assign physical measured values to this information, I compare them with other measuring devices. However, as the devices often behave differently under different conditions, this also needs to be checked. I then come up with various experiments to create such different conditions and try to understand what this means for the measuring devices.
Mika was on research trips with you in the Arctic. What was it like for you with the little guy at your side?
It was a very funny experience. People around me had already noticed that I was always taking photos of the little Arctic fox and asked me about it. It was also really cool to be able to mention that we were travelling to the Arctic together. The trip with Mika also helped me to be more aware of my surroundings. I usually arrive in a new place and notice every detail at first. But after a few days, many things become normal and you no longer concentrate so much on your surroundings. But there are often still lots of new things to discover. Thanks to Mikas, I was always on the lookout for great photo opportunities and kept discovering new and exciting things. It was a great enrichment and a lot of fun! 🙂
How did you feel about your first encounter with the Arctic? Is it everything you imagined it would be?
I had my first encounter with the Arctic in 2014 in Inuvik, Canada. It didn’t look at all like the Arctic to me! There were forests everywhere and not just barren ice landscapes, as I had imagined. That changed quickly after we started the first measurement flights with the Polar 5 research aircraft heading north. When we reached the marginal ice zone, the image I had in my head of the Arctic matched the surroundings again. It was fascinating to see the ice floes in different shapes and sizes and to fly over them, sometimes very low. The contrast between the dark water, light ice and clouds alone was breathtakingly beautiful! But the lack of any color was hard to grasp at first – it was like being on another planet!
What would you like to explore in the future?
As a famous scholar said: “what holds the world together at the core”.
Joking aside, I don’t know. I’ll let myself be surprised. I don’t have a list on which I have to tick off all my research priorities. Rather, I always let myself be surprised by where current research takes me. From time to time, I come up with new ideas and see what they lead to. Some are often discarded straight away. Others lead to new ideas. And so it goes on and on.