Ojos del Salado 6893 m

The highest volcano on the Earth

The dormant volcano on the Chilean-Argentine border within the Dry Andes is the highest arid mountain on the world

An impenetrable penitentes field

Extreme environment

The transient snow of this extremely cold, dry and windy area is formed into the highest snow needles of the Earth

Steam and gas upsurges, mud volcanoes, hot springs

The Earth’s highest fomaroles

6500 m: The water melted by the geothermal heat bursts through the frozen debris and supply an icy pond in the crater

We discovered the highest ones at 6500 m a.s.l.

The Earth’s topmost lakes

The meltwater accumulates in basins with frozen beds – here at 5900 m – these ponds provide habitat for extremophile bacteria

Will extreme aridity be the future of the Dry Andes?

H2O zero?

Due to the warming climate the desert will expand and the last ice remnants will disappear, the permaforst will also shrink and retreat to higher altitudes. Will the water supplies be depleted?

The biggest and highest ripple system of the Earth

Giant sand ripples

Marks of the extreme winds and aridity: ripples of coarse, few cm across, debris above 5000 m a.s.l.

Colourful salty lake in the high altitude desert

Extreme habitats

When meltwater is present, it accumulates in lake basins creating one of the most extreme habitats of the Earth. Here algae flourish in one of these ponds

Atacama blog

Follow the researchers!

Hungarian Dry Andes research Programme

Földgömb-Atacama Expeditions

Our goal

The goal of our expedition series, which forms the basis of our research programme, is to monitor the long-term environmental changes on the field in the Ojos del Salado area, which represents well the high altitude mountain blocks in the Dry-Andes region. The main aim of our programme is discovering the effects of global warming in the highest desert and tundra of the Earth with particular focus on the changes in water and ice presence. This research project is a special aspect of the global climate change research which will clarify the key elements of environmental change in one of the most extreme environments of the Earth.
Dr. Balázs Nagy leader of the research programme

Our team

Dr. Balázs Nagy
geographer, leader of the research programme
Associate professor at the Department of Physical Geography, Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE); Head of the Centre of Geography, ELTE; Editor-in-chief of the Földgömb magazine (field team: 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016)
Zsolt Heiling
organizer of the research programme
Science manager, publisher of the Földgömb magazine. His tasks include organizing the expeditions and operating the field instruments. (field team: 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016)
Péter Kálló
photographer
His tasks include documenting the expedition professionally and creating 3D terrain models by drones. (field team: 2016)

Ádám Ignéczi
geographer
PhD Student at the University of Sheffield. His tasks include installing instruments, conducting geomorphological investigations and geophysical measurements. (field team: 2016)
Dr. László Mari
geographer
Associate professor at the Department of Physical Geography, ELTE. His tasks include operating field instruments, conducting geomorphological investigations and analyzing remotely sensed data. (field team: 2012, 2014)
Dr. Zsombor Nemerkényi
cartographer
Fellow of the Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences, Hungarian Academy of Sciences. His tasks include installing instruments and creating thematic maps. (field team: 2010, 2014)

Dr. József Kovács
geologist
Assistant professor at the Department of Physical and Applied Geology, ELTE. His task is the mathematical analysis of the field data.
Dr. Andrea Borsodi
biologist
Associate professor at the Department of Microbiology, ELTE. Her task is the analysis of the extremofil micro organisms of the high altitude wet habitats.
Dr. Zoltán Szalai
geographer
Associate professor, Head of the Department of Environmental and Landscape Geography, ELTE. His tasks include the lab analysis of sediment samples, particularly the moisture-, porosity-, and moisture retention properties.

Dr. Gábor Timár
geophysicist
Associate professor, Head of the Department of Geophysics and Space Science, ELTE. His task is processing and interpreting the geophysical field measurements.
Júlia Aszalós
biologist
PhD student at the Department of Microbiology, ELTE. Her task is the analysis of the extremofil micro organisms of the high altitude desert environment.