MEDITERRANEAN 2017 - Glaciers in the Alps are melting at an accelerating rate! The pessimistic scientific forecasts say they will completely disappear within 50 years.

Since glaciers are one of the important sources of drinking water and energy in Central Europe, they are of vital importance for the people on the continent. The causes for the acceleration in melting lie also in the increased concentrations of black carbon and sand dispersed by winds from the Sahara Desert – particulates deposited on white surfaces increase the rates of heat absorption. We are going to measure the black carbon and Sahara sand influx from Africa to Central Europe in the spring time above the Mediterranean Sea, south and north of the Alps and above the mountain range itself on different altitude levels.