Eight observatories have started to track the GHG concentrations and fluxes in Europe for the first time in a highly standardized and coordinated way. Four of them are measuring the absorption of GHG by terrestrial ecosystems. The other four are measuring how their concentrations vary in the atmosphere. This is the pilot phase of the European project ICOS (Integrated Carbon Observation System, www.icos-infrastructure.eu/), funded by the European Commission with the aim to build a research infrastructure for measuring the carbon balance of Europe. The project involves institutions from 17 countries (Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and UK) plus associated partners in Ireland, Poland and Portugal.

In the past, measurements of GHG in Europe have suffered from heterogeneity, discontinuity and lack of sustainability in the long term. The ICOS Preparatory Phase, coordinated by France, aims at filling these gaps by laying the foundations for a long term European network of GHG observations that will integrate atmospheric, terrestrial and marine monitoring in order to provide the observational basis for a full European carbon balance and its trends.

Once operational, ICOS will consist of over 100 monitoring stations, coordinated by 3 thematic central facilities for the atmospheric, terrestrial and marine networks, a central analytical laboratory, and the ICOS headquarters, responsible for the whole infrastructure. These data will provide for the first time the ability to know the carbon balance of Europe, and the extent to which emissions of greenhouse gases are being absorbed by the land surface. Researchers will be able to better inform policy, providing annual updates of the carbon balance of Europe, and to evaluate climatic surprises like the impact of drought and estimate the contribution and reaction of terrestrial ecosystems to the changing climate.

The pilot phase, referred to as the ICOS Demonstration Experiment, is focused on the atmospheric and terrestrial components of the system, and will serve to test the operating ability of the future network. The measuring performance and the communication between the field sites and the central facilities will be evaluated. The four stations monitoring the GHG atmospheric concentration are located in France (OPE-Haudelaincourt – managed by Andra), Ireland (Mace Head – managed by EPA), Netherlands (Cabauw – managed by ECN) and Finland (Puijo – managed by FMI) and are coordinated by the Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives in France). The four monitoring stations of the terrestrial ecosystems are located in Denmark (Soroe), Finland (Hyytiälä), Poland (Rzecin) and Spain (Las Majadas), managed respectively by Risø-DTU, University of Helsinki, University of Poznan and CEAM while the data flow is coordinated by the University of Tuscia in Italy.

The ICOS Demonstration Experiment will end mid-November 2011. Preliminary results are foreseen to be presented end of October 2011 and field visits to the monitoring sites will be organized in the first half of November 2011.

The image is taken from the dissemination meterials available for downloads at the ICOS web site: http://www.icos-infrastructure.eu/