ENVRIplus co-coordinator Paolo Laj has hosted a Hyytiälä Research Station visit by Ambassador of Morocco in Finland. His Excellency Mohamed Ariad visited Hyytiälä Research Station, located in Southern Finland, in mid-March, as Morocco is investigating a possible establishment of a sister station in the mountain range of the Middle Atlas. Visit to Hyytiälä offered an excellent opportunity for a first-hand experience and a better view on the research station and measurement instruments of number of research infrastructures involved in the ENVRIplus.

During the visit, Professor Markku Kulmala, Head of the Division of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Helsinki, and his team have provided Moroccan Ambassador with an in-depth guided tour of the Hyytiälä field station. It is owned by the Department of Forest Sciences at the University of Helsinki and it is part of several environmental research infrastructures and research networks, including ICOS – Integrated Carbon Observation System which uses Hyytiälä station to measure and monitor the atmospheric greenhouse gases and the exchange of gases between the ecosystem and the atmosphere. Hyytiälä also participates in the European LTER Network measurements and its instruments operate as part of ACTRIS and AnaEE Research Infrastructures.

You can find more information about regional environmental state and trends in Africa in the ‘GEO-6 Regional Assessment for Africa’ e-book.