marcus neumann heads this environmental measuring station. 11 institutions use this exposed location on germany's highest peak including the german environment agency that. no man has brought a new measuring instrument for chemical engineer said he could take the french scientists to studying air pollution yeah. we can measure impurities that come from very far away from africa or canada. you know other than bush did for instance so horrid dust we can measure very high concentrations of. the location is ideal for studying the atmospheres microstructure the latest findings have shown a greater rise in c o 2 than the long term average. from inside the station in the 800 metre long tunnel where tourists were once cautioned about the thin air leads through the mountain geophysicists hill team looks after equipment that measures melt water. despite global warming the permafrost the ice frozen into the rock is currently fairly stable. and offers a spectacular natural display in a side tunnel. after a disastrous avalanche in 1965 an avalanche warning service was established here. specialist