Alejandra Borunda and Joshua Fishbein get ready to start their session in the freezer by wearing polar suits, boots and gloves. To work on ice cores without compromising them, the temperature in the freezer is at -20°C, a couple of degrees colder than a home freezer. Core Repository, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY, USA

A multi-purpose noble gas mass-spectrometer (MAP 215-50) used to measure isotopes of Helium (He), Neon (Ne), Argon (Ar), Krypton (Kr) and Xenon (Xe). This machine has been custom made by the scientists and it is used to analyze sediment or ice cores, supporting paleoclimate research to reconstruct the climate of the past. Nobel Gas Lab, Geochemistry Building, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY, USA

Solar radiation is measured and analyzed in relation to anthropogenic activities (i.e. derived from human activities) and atmospheric composition, to understand changes and effects in different earth systems. The strong sun rays from the sky of Mexico City, sometimes crispy sometimes hazy, are diverted into this dark room, deflected through a prism that separates them in different wavelengths. Mexico City, Mexico

Odile Crabeck (right) and Rui Shen (left) have extracted a piece of ice that formed from sea water under a condition of controlled atmosphere. The sample will be later analyzed to understand its composition and concentration of the different elements that were present in the atmosphere. In the Roland Von Glasgow air-sea-ice chamber scientists investigate the biogeochemical processes in the sea ice margins under various sea ice states and quantify and provide a mechanistic understanding of bi-directional fluxes of gases that are relevant to climate and atmospheric composition, through various stages of freezing and melting sea ice. Air-sea-ice chamber, University of East Anglia Norwich, UK

Joshua Fishbein starts his session in the freezer wearing polar suits, boots and gloves. To work on ice cores without compromising them, the temperature in the freezer is at -20°C, a couple of degrees colder than a home freezer. Core Repository, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY, USA

Solar radiation is analyzed using a system of mirrors collecting sunlight and diverting it through spectrometers. California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA

Cybelli Barbosa and Stefan Wolff check data from atmospheric measurements carried out during the day from their research groups in their office/dormitory in the middle of the Amazon forest, 150 km from Manus. Amazon Tall Tower Observatory, Max Planck Society and the National Institute of Amazonian Research (INPA), Amazonas, Brazil

The NASA/JPL Charles Elachi control room for extra-planetary missions from where, among others, the Curiosity and the new Perseverance rovers are operated. The study of Mars and its climate is important not only to understand if Mars could host human civilization in the future, if Earth becomes uninhabitable. It is important also to better understand our own planet, its processes, dynamics and climate. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology/NASA, Pasadena, CA, USA

Wolfgang Steinbrecht is checking ozone profiles of the stratosphere measured using a LiDAR system, a laser instrument able to provide precise ozone profiles between 15 and 50 km of altitude. The mirror on the bottom reflects the laser beam that is sent in the sky. Meteorological Observatory Hohenpeissenberg, German Meteorological Service, Hohenpeissenberg, Germany

Inside the fuselage of the Lockheed C-130 “Hercules” aircraft, a four-engine, medium-size utility aircraft, used by NSF/NCAR to study the middle and lower troposphere. NCAR, Boulder, CO, USA

Brendan Martin Buckley is inspecting a tree core to analyze and catalog tree rings. He has conducted several missions into remote pristine forests, tropical and boreal forests, to collect samples to reconstruct the climate of the past. The width of each tree ring is related to the climate of that specific year in the region. Secular trees allow scientists to go back in time for many centuries. Tree Rings Lab, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY, USA

A scientist is setting a light spectrometer to start a session of tests. The instrument they are working on will be on board of future satellite missions to monitor Earth's climate. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratories, Pasadena, CA, USA

Christopher Kenseth, an atmospheric chemist, is setting up the atmospheric chamber of the Wennberg Lab. California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA

An archive of deep-sea corals of the North Atlantic, used to study Earth's climatic past. Not only are they sensitive to changes in the mineral content of the water during their 100-year lifetimes, but they can also be dated very accurately. Ronald and Maxine Linde Center for Global Environmental Science, California Institute of Technology, Palisades, CA, USA

In a big clean room, NASA scientists and engineers are building the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover. They are working on a big disc, which is the heat shield of the rover. Understanding Mars' climate and the processes that led to its current status could also shed light on Earth’s climate, allowing us to understand what could happen to our planet. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology/NASA, Pasadena, CA, USA

A scientist of NOAA is preparing standards for shipping around the world, to atmospheric stations that will measure concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Standards are calibration material needed by every station in the world to allow for precise and reliable measurement. Global Greenhouse Gas Reference Network, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Boulder, CO, USA

Geoffrey Hargreaves, the curator of the Ice Core Facility, is looking for an ice core in the Ice Core Repository at -36ºC. The temperature is so low to maintain the integrity of the cores, preventing the migration of gas particles along its length. The U.S. National Ice Core Laboratory is a facility for storing, curating, and studying ice cores recovered from the polar regions of the world, and it’s one of the biggest of its kind. National Science Foundation Ice Core Facility, Denver, CO, USA

Florian Pappenberger, lead of the forecast department, and Louise Arnal, a flood forecast scientist, stand next to the ECMWF’s multi-petaflops supercomputer. High computing capacity is necessary to analyze and process weather big-data, for weather forecast and climate analysis. European Center for Medium Range Weather Forecast, Reading, UK

A fully automatic storing rack of magnetic tapes, containing meteorological data. Tapes are still one of the most sicure way to store data. This archive is one of the biggest in the world and can be accessed remotely to retrieve data for meteorological and climatological analyses. European Center for Medium Range Weather Forecast, Reading, UK

A Gulfstream 5, the rockstar’s airplane. Instead of leather seats and champagne, it is loaded with racks full of instruments. Scientists usually conduct very uncomfortable flights, quite bumpy and shaky, up to almost 50,000 feet, close to big storms or at the boundary layer of the atmosphere. Other times, they can fly close to sea level, at 30m height, above the ocean of the ice sheet in Antarctica. National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO, USA

Duane Kitzis checks measurements of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, at the Niwot Ridge station, 3000 m elevation 35 km west of Boulder. Global Greenhouse Gas Reference Network, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Boulder, CO, USA

Nathalie Triches studies fluxes of NO2 and methane from the sub-arctic permafrost to understand their contribution to global warming. Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry Abisko, Sweden

At the highest points on the tundra at Niwot Ridge (3528m), 35 km west of Boulder, scientists collect data on the Earth's atmosphere, climate, and interactions with the Earth’s surface. They measure atmospheric deposition and pollution, use flux towers to understand land-air exchange of carbon and energy, and track changes in temperature and precipitation — many of these records making history as the longest running measures in the continental US. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Niwot Ridge, CO, USA

Maiyai Hocheimy and her assistants collect water and atmospheric data in the river Gambia. Their continuous effort allows scientists to monitor changes in this data-scarce delicate ecosystem. GREAT Insitute, Kanifing, The Gambia

Wild horses surround the southernmost European atmospheric observatory, on top of Mount Cimone, in the italian appennines. The observatory monitors greenhouse gases concentration and is part of the Global Atmospheric Watch network of observatories. Monte Cimone Observatory, Italian National Research Council, Mount Cimone, Italy

Instruments measuring wind profiles, atmospheric precipitations and composition, air quality, black carbon, are mounted on the roof of the department of atmospheric science. Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico

Adesina David Davies collects environmental data from the Atlantic ocean, in front of the urban area of Kanifing. The GREAT Insitute, Kanifing, The Gambia

A close-up a tree trunk in the Amazon forest. Scientists study the amount of biomass that grows on trunks to improve the estimation of the global carbon budget. Amazon Tall Tower Observatory, Amazon forest, Amazonas, Brazil

The Amazon Tall Tower Observatory is a German-Brazilian joint project launched in 2009 and is coordinated by the Max Planck Society and the National Institute of Amazonian Research (INPA). The tower aims at delivering groundbreaking findings which will be the basis for improved climate models. With a height of 325 meters the tower extends the ground-level boundary layer, and provides information taken from approximately 100 square kilometers from the world’s largest forest area. Amazon Tall Tower Observatory, Amazon forest, Amazonas, Brazil