VIDEO: The scientific secrets of a weather station on Quelccaya ice cap

The Quelccaya ice cap of Peru sits at an average altitude of 5,500 metres and is the largest piece of ice in the tropics, but it has been melting at an accelerating pace.

A team of researchers from the University of Massachusetts has been working at a satellite-linked weather station since 2003. They are documenting the impact of El Nino on the ice cap.

“El Nino is driven by Pacific Ocean sea surface temperatures, which we know are very closely correlated or related to temperatures throughout the Andes, through Bolivia up through Peru,” explained Douglas Hardy, Senior Research Fellow University of Massachusetts.