Ecobreves – MEXICO: Taking the Planet's Pulse

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MEXICO CITY, Jul 11 2005 (IPS) - A high altitude climate observation center will begin operating in 2006 in Mexico, the first of its type in the Mesoamerican and Caribbean regions. Located at more than 4,000 meters above sea level, it will measure, among other things, levels of ozone and carbon dioxide, gases that are altering the planet's health. “To make an analogy, we could say that from the new center we are going to take the blood pressure and measure the cholesterol and pulse of the planet,” Luis Roberto Acosta, coordinator of the project and Mexican director of the International System for Environmental Monitoring.

It will be the 24th climate observation center in the world, and will be located at Cofre de Perote in Veracruz state, on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The measuring instruments will be provided by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

“Ten years ago we saw the need to have a high altitude monitoring station in the Mesoamerican zone, and finally we have a timeline and the money to achieve that,” said the scientist. The center will cost approximately 1.8 million dollars.