The Division’s total usable area is 3280 m2, of this 1030 m2 office area and 2250 m2 laboratory area. Laboratories are equipped with chemical and physical measurement instruments and systems and allow for the execution of complex measurement tasks and experiments. In addition, the Division possesses extensive computer equipment with a high-performance computer for simulation calculations of the regional climate, chemistry and transport of pollutants, and dynamic behavior of the biosphere and its interaction with the atmosphere. To execute scientific tasks and contracts placed by industry and public institutions, the Division has developed air chemistry and meteorological instruments that are constantly extended or adapted to new tasks.
The Division runs measurement stations in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (730 m), on the Wank (1800 m) as well as on the Zugspitze summit (2962 m). These stations form part of the NDACC (Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change) and measure environmentally relevant parameters for determining the change of the chemical composition of the atmosphere as a function of time. In cooperation with the South African Weather Service (SAWS), the Division runs the “Cape Point” measurement station near the Cape of Good Hope, where major air chemistry and meteorological parameters are measured under the WMO-GAW program (World Meteorological Organization-Global Atmosphere Watch). Presently, another station is being set up on Mount Kenya.
The Division possesses biochemical, biophysical, microbiological, and genetic engineering laboratories that allow for studies of plants and microorganisms from the intact organism to the molecular level. This equipment is complemented by phytocells and exposure chambers, where the effect of climatic and air-hygienic changes as well as of an increase in UV radiation on plants is investigated under defined conditions. In cooperation with several universities, additional stations are run in the "Höglwald" (near Augsburg), Basle, and the Black Forest. These stations are used jointly for field measurements with respect to the exchange between atmosphere and biosphere.
The Center of Stable Isotopes (CSI) of IMK-IFU operates four isotope-ratio mass spectrometers with different periphery for ecosystem matter flux and process studies.
Several mobile facilities equipped with remote sounding systems (SODAR, LIDAR, FTIR, DOAS) are available for determining various pollutants and the wind field. With these facilities, emission rates of difficult-to-access sources, e.g. stacks, engines, or heterogeneous sources, were determined under a contract. Last, but not least, an ultra-light aircraft equipped with miniaturized instruments to measure environmentally relevant parameters is employed and has proved to be an excellent instrument for air quality measurements in air layers close to the ground.