Geographical Coordinates: - Latitude: 39.315965 N - Longitude: 16.423240 E Altitude: 1768 m asl Originally located near the town of Longobucco (1379 m above sea level), the new sites was selected following an analysis of representativeness as part of I- AMICA. The station is part of the GMOS network (www.gmos.eu) and belongs to the sub-network of high altitude stations. This measurement site has a clear 360 degrees horizon enabling measurement of low stratosphere air masses. The formerly skylift station was completely adapted and now holds all I-AMICA instruments that are directly connected to the Internet. A number of facilities make the station suitable for high level research, which include: Internet through a satellite network, service facilities (gas distribution, electrical system, air conditioning), UPS and a video surveillance system. The following are measured: Gaseous Elemental Mercury, Reactive Gaseous Mercury, Particle Bounded Mercury, Sulphur dioxide, Carbon oxide, Carbon dioxide, Ozone, Methane, Nitrogen oxides, PM10 and 2,5, Black Carbon, Particulate scattering, Number of particles and meteorological parameters.

During the recent Italian expedition ‘K2 2004 – 50 years later’ (June–July 2004) on Baltoro glacier, Karakoram, Pakistan, glaciological field experiments were carried out on the debris-covered area of this high-elevation glacier. The aim was to investigate the ice ablation and its relations with debris thermal properties and meteorological conditions. Ablation measurements along the glacier up to about 5000m and within a dedicated test field were combined with meteorological data from two automatic weather stations located at Urdukas (4022ma.s.l.) and at K2 Base Camp (5033ma.s.l.). In addition, temperature measurements of the debris cover at different depth levels along the glacier allowed the calculation of debris surface temperature and of the debris thermal resistance (R). Using the air temperature, the local mean lapse rate (0.00758 K/m) and the measured ablation, the degree-day factors (K) at different locations on the glacier were calculated. The ice ablation rates were related to debris thickness and elevation. They are typically on the order of 4cm/ day during the observation period. However, it was found that the surface topography (slope, aspect) has an influence on the total ablation similar to that of the debris thickness. Thermal resistance of the debris cover and its distribution over the glacier were estimated. Finally, a best-guess estimate of the total meltwater production was calculated from available climate data.

Monte Curcio (MCU) instruments: Picarro G2401 methane, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and water analyser. The Model G2401 is based on cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS), capable of measuring the concentrations e compounds. This technique enables measurement of absolute optical extinction by samples that scatter and absorb light. A laser is used to illuminate a high-finesse optical cavity, which consists of two highly reflective mirrors. When the laser is in resonance with a cavity mode, intensity builds up in the cavity due to constructive interference. The laser is then turned off in order to allow the measurement of the exponentially decaying light intensity leaking from the cavity. During this decay, light is reflected back and forth thousands of times between the mirrors giving an effective path length for the extinction on the order of a few kilometres.

Baltoro glacier in the Karakoram, Pakistan, is one of the world’s largest valley glaciers. It drains an area of about 1500km2 and is >60km long. In 2004 an Italian/German expedition carried out a glaciological field program on the ablation zone of the glacier, focusing on the ablation conditions and the dynamic state of the glacier. As Baltoro glacier is a debris-covered glacier, ice ablation also depends on the debris properties. Stake measurements of ice ablation and debris cover in combination with meteorological data from automatic weather stations close by have been used to determine the local melt conditions. Results from these calculations have been combined with an analysis of different classes of surface cover and information about precipitation, using remote-sensing techniques, in order to calculate mass fluxes for the upper part of Baltoro glacier. The dynamic state of the glacier has been investigated by GPS-based surface velocity measurements along the stake network. A comparison of these short-term measurements during the melt season with surface velocities computed from feature tracking of satellite images shows a high seasonal variability of the ice motion. We have shown that this variability is up to 100% of the annual mean velocity. On the basis of these investigations, the mass fluxes at the Concordia cross-section have been quantified. This approach can now be used together with the ablation calculations to reconstruct the variability of glacier extent and volume in the past using available climate data from the central Karakoram. From the comparison of historical measurements and photographs it is shown that the snout of Baltoro glacier is oscillating back and forth a couple of hundred metres. Otherwise it seems not to react with the same magnitude as other glaciers to the climatic change. Elevation changes at Concordia are a few tens of metres at the most.

Monte Curcio (MCU) instruments: TSI Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS). The Model SMPS is designed for long-term measurement of aerosol particles and over there in highly burden regions. It is a mobility particle size spectrometer, which can measure continuously the particle number size distribution in a size range from 10 to 800 Nanometres. The temporal resolution to measure a complete particle number size distribution is approximately 5 minutes. Equipment is based on TSI CPC 3775.