Volunteer researchers in Japan have spent 20 years running atmospheric observations from the Mount Fuji Research Station, a former weather facility at the 3,776 meter summit. The site is useful for tracking long term carbon dioxide trends because it sits far from urban sources and above much of the local pollution. Researchers there have also detected airborne microplastics, a sign that plastic pollution is moving through the upper atmosphere. The group, MFRS, runs dozens of summer projects on topics from ozone and volcanic gases to high altitude health. But the facility only has reliable electricity during the climbing season. Off season, it runs on batteries, so continuous year round CO2 monitoring is not possible. Funding is the main constraint. MFRS needs more than 60 million yen a year, about $380,000, for equipment transport, communication, and safety staff. That money comes mostly from membership fees, donations, and researchers covering costs themselves. The group wants stable support to keep producing data from what it calls one of the best observation points on Earth.
