Scientists from Germany's Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS) and Leibniz University Hannover have desended on Southland's Te Waewae Bay to research the areas climate as a part of a study into climate change.

Along with New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atomspheric Research (NIWA) , they will be taking ground and air measurements that will ultimately help improve climate model predictions for the Southern Hemisphere

One experiment will involve a tethered balloon which will be floated up to 1km into the air. 

Their research is expected to gain valuable data about particles in the air, turbulence and meteorological conditions in the marine boundary layer – the layer of the atmosphere in direct contact with the ocean – all of which influence the formation of clouds.

The group has previously carried out tests in both Antarctica and the Arctic.