The Institute Pierre-Simon Laplace unites the expertise of eight laboratories and two associated teams specialising in one or more aspects of the climate and environmental sciences and the exploration of the solar system. Nearly 1,500 people (researchers and lecturer-researchers, engineers, technicians, administrative staff, doctoral students, post-docs and interns) work on around ten sites in Île-de-France.
Together, these laboratories have built an integrated model of the Earth system, which can simulate the current climate as well as past and future climates, linking them to biogeochemical cycles and atmospheric pollution issues. They have also developed a wide range of observation systems, organised major field campaigns, and developed services around climate data.
Centre d’Enseignement et de Recherche en Environnement Atmosphérique (CEREA)
CEREA is a joint laboratory combining the Ponts ParisTech school and EDF R&D. It studies the physico-chemical processes of air pollution and of the atmospheric boundary layer as well as data assimilation and inverse modelling in geosciences.
The Paris-Sud Geosciences laboratory (GEOPS)
The GEOPS laboratory studies the geological processes produced and / or recorded on the surface of the Earth and solid, earthly planets. It studies the characterisation, tracing, measurement and modelling of these interactions in surface and subsurface environments and reconstructions of them in the past.
Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations spatiales (LATMOS)
LATMOS is a research unit that brings together activities previously developed by the Service d’Aéronomie and by more than half of CETP. It is part of the Observatory of Sciences of the Universe at UVSQ.
The TASQ team at LERMA
The TASQ team at the Laboratoire d’Études du Rayonnement et de la Matière en Astrophysique et Atmosphères (LERMA) applies scientific and instrumental skills from the field of spatial observation, including microwave technology at submillimetre level and atmospheric observation using IR spectroscopy. It also has expertise in high precision spectroscopy and the study of molecular processes for atmospheric and planetary applications.
Laboratoire inter-universitaire des systèmes atmosphériques (LISA)
LISA studies the Earth’s atmosphere (atmospheric pollution and climate), the interface between exobiology and planetology, and the question of the evolution of matter towards complex organic systems in various planetary environments.
Laboratoire de météorologie dynamique (LMD)
The LMD studies climate, pollution and planetary atmospheres by associating theoretical approaches with instrumental developments in observation and digital modelling. It is at the forefront of research on dynamic and physical processes to permit the study of the evolution and prediction of meteorological and climatic phenomena.
Laboratoire d’océanographie et du climat :
expérimentation et approches numériques (LOCEAN)
LOCEAN studies the ocean at a wide range of spatial scales including the role of the ocean on climate variability. The laboratory has also recently undertaken studies on the relationships between climate variability and society as they interact in various contexts (agronomy, economy, health).
Laboratoire des sciences du climat et de l’environnement (LSCE)
LSCE strives to understand climate change at all timescales and to predict the upheavals that our planet will face in the coming decades and centuries due to the rapid increase in greenhouse gases.
Laboratoire « Milieux environnementaux, transferts et interactions
dans les hydrosystèmes et les sols » (METIS)
The METIS joint research unit is governed by Sorbonne University, CNRS and EPHE and has a special relationship with the Centre for Geosciences at Mines ParisTech. METIS studies how continental environments function and the processes that affect the transfer of water, chemicals, nutrients and contaminants in the soil, subsoil and aquatic environments.
The ‘Surfaces & Reservoirs’ team
of the Geology Laboratory at ENS
The ‘Surfaces and Reservoirs’ team of the Geology Laboratory at ENS has been attached to IPSL since 2020 in an effort to work towards the common goal of achieving a better understanding of the Earth system. The team brings its own set of skills in geosciences, especially in soils and subsoils, including material flows (erosion), carbon, and water.