Mr. Horst Köhler, President of Germany, and Mr. Horst Seehofer, Prime Minister of the Free State of Bavaria, visited the Environmental Station "Schneefernerhaus (UFS)"

As the focus of interest was on climate research, the scientific coordinator of UFS, Dr. Michael Bittner explicated the organisational structure of the environmental station and gave an overview on recent scientific work, comprising:

Geosystem reseach (atmosphere, biosphere and geosphere)
Validation of satellite-based measurements, and in this context, the interlinking of the UFS with the World Data Center for Rmote Sensing of the Atmosphere WDC-RSAT at DLR-DFD
Investigation of the influence of recent climate change on human health
Development of advanced technological approaches towards early warning, concerning natural disasters such as tsunamis, volcanic activity or hurricanes
President Horst Köhler pointed out, that the impacts of climate change constitute a global threat to human existence, which has to be reduced consequently. Because of this, the efforts to explore the mechanisms of climate change and to minimize its negative effects should not decrease, even in a period of economic recession. He encouraged the scientists working at the UFS to pursue on delivering valuable contributions to climate research.