Off to Tierra del Fuego

Levels of greenhouse gas CO2 continue to rise and are about to exceed the next threshold. Empa makes sure that this and other air pollutants can be measured correctly and in a globally comparable way. To do this, Empa researchers will even go to the "ends of the Earth". "At first I thought that this long journey wasn't worth it for the small number of measurements needed," admits Empa researcher Christoph Zellweger, "but we want to bring the station at this unique location in terms of air quality up to date technically." So the climate researcher packed his bags after all. His destination: The end of the world. It is situated in Tierra del Fuego, on a group of islands at the southern tip of South America, not far from Cape Horn. The measuring station is located on a peninsula a little distance outside of Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world.