Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences

What Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences does

The Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IAP/CAS; 中国科学院大气物理研究所) is a non-commercial government state research institute founded in 1928/1930 and headquartered in Beijing, China, operating under the Chinese Academy of Sciences with 501-1,000 personnel. It conducts fundamental and applied research on atmospheric physics, climate dynamics, ocean-atmosphere interactions, atmospheric chemistry, and earth system science, producing peer-reviewed publications in journals such as Nature, PNAS, Nature Climate Change, and Nature Geoscience, and contributing to international programs including CMIP6, GOOS, SIPN, WCRP-CORDEX, and CPTP.

The institute's core technical assets include proprietary earth system and component models — FGOALS-f3-L (ranked #1 in the 2019 SIPN Arctic sea ice Brier Score), CAS-LSM land surface model, SAL-GPP salt-marsh model, Noah-MP-CN nitrogen-augmented land model, and the IAPCAS/SIF solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence retrieval algorithm — plus the EarthLab (地球系统数值模拟装置) national high-performance earth-system simulation facility, a field observation network including Taklimakan Desert stations, the Atmospheric Data Resource Sharing Platform (dataset.iap.ac.cn), and TanSat satellite data products distributed via CASA. Outputs include four peer-reviewed journals (Advances in Atmospheric Sciences, Atmospheric Sciences, Climate and Environmental Research, and Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Letters), shared research infrastructure via the Public Technology Center, graduate training through the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and policy advisory input to national climate and meteorological bodies.

IAP does not sell commercial products or services and operates no commercial pricing model; revenue derives entirely from government appropriations through CAS, NSFC and MOST national research grants, and institutional partnerships. Its "customers" in the practical sense are the global scientific community (consuming journals, datasets, and models), Chinese government agencies (Hainan Provincial Meteorological Bureau, Yellow River Water Conservancy Research Institute, Ministry of Ecology and Environment), and international collaborators (Max Planck Institute, UK Met Office, US and European universities), with research results distributed via open-access publications, data platforms, and joint program participation rather than commercial channels.

Name

Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Legal name

中国科学院大气物理研究所 (Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

Website

https://iap.cas.cn

Company type

Private

Founded year

1930

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

The Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IAP/CAS) is a non-profit government research institute in Beijing that conducts atmospheric physics, climate, and earth system science research, serving the global scientific community and China's climate policy apparatus through publications, observational datasets, and the EarthLab national simulation facility.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Atmospheric and Climate Science Research

NAICS

Space Research and Technology (927110), Testing Laboratories and Services (54138), Space Research and Technology (92711)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Testing Laboratories (8734)

akta.pro primary industry

Audit-Ready Controls, Assurance & Compliance Workflow Tools (CSRD/SEC/ISSB) (EUABAEAG)

Keywords

• Atmospheric physics research
• Climate modeling
• Earth system simulation
• Atmospheric sciences
• Weather research

Headquarters

HQ city

Beijing

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Operations

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IAP/CAS) is a state-level research institution that conducts fundamental research on atmospheric physics, climate science, ocean-atmosphere interactions, and Earth system dynamics. Its outputs include proprietary earth system models (FGOALS, CAS-LSM, SAL-GPP, Noah-MP-CN), the EarthLab simulation facility, peer-reviewed academic journals, open atmospheric datasets, and policy advisory contributions. The institute does not sell commercial products but provides scientific research platforms, publications, and datasets to the global academic and government community.

Product overview

The Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences is a research institute focused on atmospheric and climate science. Its product portfolio consists of research facilities (EarthLab earth system simulation platform), academic publishing (four peer-reviewed journals: Advances in Atmospheric Sciences, Atmospheric Sciences, Climate and Environmental Research, and Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Letters), shared research infrastructure (Public Technology Center), and data services (Atmospheric Data Resource Sharing Platform). The institute does not offer commercial software products but rather provides scientific research platforms and publications to the academic community.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• EarthLab: China's first comprehensive virtual earth laboratory for simulating physical climate system, environmental system, ecological system, solid earth system, and space weather system
• FGOALS-f3-L
• CAS-LSM
• SAL-GPP

Products and services

• EarthLab (地球系统数值模拟装置) China's first comprehensive virtual earth laboratory for simulating the physical climate system, environmental system, ecological system, solid earth system, and space weather system as a whole with a high-performance scientific computing platform. Also known as Earth System Numerical Simulation Facility, made available to universities and research institutes worldwide.
• Advances in Atmospheric Sciences (大气科学进展) Peer-reviewed academic journal published by IAP covering atmospheric sciences research, distributed globally through academic publishers including Springer.
• Atmospheric Sciences (大气科学) Peer-reviewed academic journal published by IAP covering atmospheric science research.
• Climate and Environmental Research (气候与环境研究) Peer-reviewed academic journal published by IAP covering climate and environmental research.
• Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Letters (大气和海洋科学快报) Peer-reviewed academic journal published by IAP covering atmospheric and oceanic science research.
• Public Technology Center (公共技术中心) Centralized facility providing shared research equipment and technical services to IAP researchers and collaborators.
• Atmospheric Data Resource Sharing Platform (大气数据资源共享平台) Open-access data sharing platform for atmospheric research data, providing datasets for scientific research purposes to the global research community.

Quantifiable outcome

• Wildfire dark brown carbon has global direct radiative effect of +0.097 W/m², with upper bound of +0.276 W/m² exceeding black carbon's +0.163 W/m² contribution (Nature Geoscience, 2026)
• +13 more outcomes

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Met Office Hadley Centre: UK's climate modeling center operating the HadGEM3 / UKESM Earth system model. Directly comparable as a national government climate modeling center; partnered with IAP via the Climate Science for Service Partnership China.
• Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI): Germany's polar and marine research institute, comparable to IAP in Arctic sea ice research and earth system observation. Directly relevant given IAP's #1 SIPN ranking in Arctic sea ice prediction.
• European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF): Intergovernmental organization producing global numerical weather predictions and reanalyses (ERA5). Comparable to IAP in operating major Earth system modeling infrastructure and contributing to CMIP6, with overlapping membership in WCRP programs.
• National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR): NCAR is the US premier atmospheric research center, operating major Earth system models (CESM) and high-performance computing facilities analogous to IAP's EarthLab. Directly comparable as a government-funded atmospheric/climate research powerhouse with similar mission and modeling portfolio.
• Institut Pierre-Simon Laplace (IPSL): French climate modeling consortium operating the IPSL-CM Earth system model for CMIP. Comparable to IAP/LASG in earth system modeling scope, CMIP contributions, and earth system science publications.
• Max Planck Institute for Meteorology: Germany's leading climate modeling institute, developer of the ICON/MPI-ESM Earth system models. Directly comparable to IAP in earth system modeling, CMIP participation, and IPCC scientific contribution — confirmed as an active IAP collaborator per company data.
• NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS): NASA's primary climate modeling research center, developer of the GISS ModelE. Comparable to IAP in operating global climate models for CMIP, producing high-impact climate science publications, and contributing to IPCC assessment reports.
• NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL): US government climate modeling laboratory developing CMIP-class Earth system models. Directly comparable to IAP's LASG in earth system modeling, IPCC contribution, and long-term climate projection research.

Regional players

• China Meteorological Administration (CMA): China's national meteorological agency operating weather forecasting and climate services. Comparable as a Chinese government climate/atmospheric institution with overlapping research mission; works closely with IAP on national climate applications.

Emerging players

• Korea Institute of Atmospheric Prediction Systems: Korean government-affiliated numerical weather prediction research center. Comparable in operating regional atmospheric prediction systems and contributing to international programs like CMIP6, though at smaller scale and with narrower geographic focus than IAP.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/IAP_CAS
• Facebookfacebook.com/people/IAP-CAS
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/institute-of-atmospheric-physics-cas
• Instagraminstagram.com/iap_cas

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences