The “Scientist at Work” photography contest, hosted by the journal Nature, celebrates the rigorous yet inspiring fieldwork of scientists for the sixth year in a row. This year, one of the six winning photographs highlights atmospheric measurements taken by a Swiss research team under challenging weather conditions on Helmos Mountain in the Peloponnese.
Lionel Favre and his team from the Laboratory for Extreme Environment Research at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) are part of the CleanCloud project, funded by Horizon Europe. This initiative aims to deepen understanding of cloud formation and how it is influenced by pollution, even in remote regions. One of the project’s key sites is Helmos Mountain, where the researchers, involved in the fieldwork known as “Chopin,” endured nearly a month of unseasonably mild conditions before clouds finally appeared for their measurements. When the right moment came, they quickly set up their equipment and launched a tethered weather balloon, completing eight flights that lasted several hours each.
A captivating moment on November 5, 2024, shows team member Michael Lonardi managing the weather balloon amidst fog, prompting him to capture the scene with his camera. This image was among those recognized in the Nature contest.
In a recent interview with the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (AMNA), Lionel Favre described the experience as “magical.” He reflected, “It was an exhausting day; managing a weather balloon in low visibility is challenging. You have to ensure the tether stays intact and that all instruments are functioning properly.”
Despite the difficulties, he expressed gratitude for the opportunity to work in such conditions, noting, “We eagerly awaited this type of weather for nearly three weeks under clear skies before low clouds finally approached Helmos Mountain.”
Michael Lonardi, also from the team, highlighted in his comments to AMNA that “in environmental science, our experiments often take place in nature, the most realistic laboratory we have. We witness atmospheric processes unfold before our eyes, observing clouds form where there was only blue sky moments earlier. It’s fascinating. While it can be exhausting to deal with cold temperatures and long hours for what might seem like mere numbers, the challenge drives us to better understand our planet.”
Lonardi added that working in mountainous regions presents unique challenges, particularly due to the unpredictable weather phenomena they study. “For instance, sudden wind shifts can threaten the safety of our equipment. Our project partners have faced the task of maintaining instruments during winter and accessing the mountain station in snowy conditions.”
The CleanCloud research initiative
CleanCloud includes researchers from 20 institutions across twelve European countries, aiming to understand and quantify the interactions between aerosols and clouds through a combination of in-situ measurements, remote sensing, laboratory studies, and weather simulations. The fieldwork on Helmos Mountain is coordinated by Athanasios Nenes, a professor of atmospheric processes at EPFL and a visiting professor at the University of Patras as well as a researcher at the Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences (FORTH/ICE) in Patras. The Extreme Environment Research Laboratory team from the same institution, led by Professor Julia Schmale, contributed by developing the weather balloon used for studying the lower troposphere’s aerosol particles and cloud droplets.
As Michael Lonardi explained, Helmos was selected for its unique position at the intersection of air masses from the Balkan Peninsula and maritime air from the Mediterranean. “These air masses carry both anthropogenic particles, natural sea salt, and Saharan dust, allowing us to investigate the role of these different particles in cloud formation.”
He further noted, “Helmos is home to a longstanding atmospheric data monitoring station operated by Greece’s National Centre for Scientific Research ‘Demokritos,’ which provides invaluable data on the long-term evolution of atmospheric phenomena and microparticle concentrations. Our study captured just a snapshot in time, while Demokritos’ data helps advance research. Conducting extensive field measurements also necessitates robust logistical support, so their experience has been crucial.” It’s worth noting that similar measurements for CleanCloud were also conducted in northern Greenland.
This striking photo from Helmos was one of six awarded in this year’s “Scientist at Work” competition by Nature, which received over 200 entries. The overall winner was a photo by doctoral student Emma Voggel from the University of Tromsø, depicting biologist Audun Rikardsen battling rough waves to locate whales in a fjord in northern Norway. Other awarded images included microscopic frogs in California, a telescope stationed at the South Pole, ice core drilling in Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, and the silhouette of a scientist entering a cabin under a starry sky.
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