SWITCH brings high-speed internet to the Jungfraujoch

March 25, 2010 / Marco D'Alessandro


SWITCHlan 2010 The Jungfraujoch high-altitude research station, at 3500 metres above sea level, is now connected up to SWITCHlan, the Swiss Education and Research Network. The research station on the Jungfraujoch was recently equipped with a 1-gigabit/second connection to SWITCHlan, the Swiss Education and Research Network. The Jungfraujoch is thus the first Swiss research station to have taken a decisive step in respect of high-speed data transfer. Enormous scientific prospects have now been opened up for the international researchers engaged on projects there thanks to SWITCHlan, working in cooperation with the University of Bern and the Jungfrau Railways. At the Jungfraujoch research location, more than 50 percent of research projects are based on automatic measurements with data being transmitted in real time. The new high-speed connection from SWITCH has lifted the restrictions on bandwidth and opened up the way to new applications. A unit used to conduct spectroscopic studies of the absorption of sunlight by airborne pollutants can now be remotely controlled by a team of researchers in Belgium, for example. "This marks a quantum leap forward in the global cooperation between universities, remote research stations and research laboratories", says a delighted Prof. Erwin Flückiger, President of the International Foundation of the High Altitude Research Stations Jungfraujoch and Gornergrat. More information on SWITCHlan, together with other articles, may be found in the current issue of SWITCH Journal.

Attachments:	SWITCHlan 2010 map

Links:	SWITCH Journal Website Website of the International Foundation of the High Altitude Research Stations Jungfraujoch and Gornergrat.