June 21 – Charmex, the international project to study the atmosphere of the Mediterranean basin, was presented in Lampedusa. The projects consists in a measurement campaign to assess the present and future state of the atmosphere in this region, which is densely populated and is particularly sensitive to climate change. Charmex (Chemistry and Aerosol Mediterranean Experiment) makes use of the ENEA Climate Observatory on the island of Lampedusa since 1997, considered a “super site” because of its strategic location in southern Europe. ENEA also contributes its expertise in the framework of international programs on climate and its participation in global measuring networks. The project, born from a French initiative, involves research groups from all over Europe: and in Lampedusa numerous international research institutes collaborate with Enea, and in particular: for France Lisa, Loa, LSCE, Ircelyon; for Spain, the University of Valencia; for Germany, Kit; and for Switzerland Pmod. After a first campaign to collect intensive measures, already underway and that will last about a month, the phases of observation for a period of two years will kick-in, their objective is to study the variability of daily/seasonal, and long-term measures for the assessment of climate change taking place in the Mediterranean.
