The cave of Erba (Italy) becomes a monitoring station for the UCC Project with temperature sensors.[1]
A new underground climate monitoring station in Lombardy
December 28, 2025 marks a significant date for Lombard speleology and for climate-change research: on that day, temperature sensors from the international UCC (Underground Climate Change) research project were installed in the Buco del Piombo cave, located in Erba in the Province of Como.[1]
The cave thus officially becomes an underground climate monitoring station.[1]
It is the first station in Lombardy to join this important scientific research program dedicated to studying the effects of climate change in underground environments.[1]
Why underground monitoring matters
This installation is a major step forward in understanding climatic phenomena that occur below the Earth’s surface.[1]
Underground climate monitoring has become a research priority, because caves provide valuable indications of how global warming manifests in hypogean (subterranean) environments.[1]
Sensor placement strategy
The installation followed protocols recently updated by the UCC project.[1]
A first sensor was positioned near the entrance, sheltered from air currents and direct solar radiation, providing reference data for the outdoor environment.[1]
Four other sensors were installed in the same internal location, each with different placement characteristics to create a multi-layer configuration.[1]
What the five sensors measure
One sensor is immersed in a small container that collects a permanent drip (seepage), to measure the influence of infiltrating water.[1]
A second sensor is positioned in free air, to record the temperature of the cave’s internal atmosphere.[1]
A third sensor is inserted 10 cm into the rock, and a fourth reaches 40 cm depth, making it possible to study thermal inertia and heat propagation with depth.[1]
Local coordination and the UCC project
The installation was coordinated by speleologists from Speleo Club CAI Erba, who will manage data collection and submission in the coming years.[1]
Support also came from the Buco del Piombo Museum Guides association and from the Lombard Speleological Federation, whose financial backing was crucial for installing the sensors.[1]
For those who want to learn more about the UCC Project and its monitoring methods, documentation is available at www.progettoucc.it.[1]