UK-ICOS proposed stations (2015)
MARINE STATIONS
Description
What: Ocean mooring, with met office surface buoy
Location: NW Atlantic, abyssal plain (49N, 16.5W)
Environment: Open Ocean
Operational history: 2002 - present
Scientific Purpose: To understand how ocean and atmosphere processes regulate our climate and influence deep sea ecosystems using a eulerian approach
ICOS core parameters: CO2, pH, T, S, O2, NO3, Chlorophyll, Wind speed & direction, Atmospheric pressure, Atmospheric temperature, sea surface pCO2, sea surface temperature, sea surface oxygen, sea surface salinity, sea surface nutrients, sea surface chlorophyll, sea surface pH
Non ICOS parameters: Particle flux, Zooplankton, Light, Benthic Biology
Funding: Mostly NERC with EU top-up mainly for management costs. MetOffice funds some pieces of hardware.
Security of funding: Funding to date has been continuous and is viewed as fairly secure
Funding end date: No absolute end date but subject to regular review
Description
What: Voluntary Observing Ship, repeat line
Location: UK – Caribbean 15 to 50 N and 72 to 0 W
Environment: Open Ocean
Operational history: 2002 - present
Scientific Purpose: Seasonal to internannual variability of (i) sea surface pCO2, (ii) air-sea CO2 flux, and (iii) physical and biological drivers of the observed variability in the mid-latitude North Atlantic
ICOS core parameters: CO2 concentration, Wind speed & direction, Atmospheric pressure & temperature,
Sea surface pCO2, temperature, oxygen, salinity, nutrients
Non ICOS parameters:
Funding: NERC
Security of funding: Short term project funding
Funding end date: RAGNARoCC funding ending 2015
Description
What: Ocean mooring, with met office surface buoy
Location: NW Atlantic, abyssal plain (49N, 16.5W)
Environment: Open Ocean
Operational history: 2002 - present
Scientific Purpose: To understand how ocean and atmosphere processes regulate our climate and influence deep sea ecosystems using a eulerian approach
ICOS core parameters: CO2, pH, T, S, O2, NO3, Chlorophyll, Wind speed & direction, Atmospheric pressure, Atmospheric temperature, sea surface pCO2, sea surface temperature, sea surface oxygen, sea surface salinity, sea surface nutrients, sea surface chlorophyll, sea surface pH
Non ICOS parameters: Particle flux, Zooplankton, Light, Benthic Biology
Funding: Mostly NERC with EU top-up mainly for management costs. MetOffice funds some pieces of hardware.
Security of funding: Funding to date has been continuous and is viewed as fairly secure
Funding end date: No absolute end date but subject to regular review
ATMOSPHERIC STATIONS
Description
What: Coastal Station
Location: East Anglia coast, 52.95056 N 1.121944 E
Environment: Coastal, grassland, heathland, marshland and beach all close by.
Operational history: 1993 - present
Wider context: This station is used to make long term measurements of trace gases related to air quality and climate, in addition to mounting intensive campaigns to examine reactive tropospheric chemistry. Long-term measurements of O3, CO, VOCs and NOx began in 1993. CO2 and O2 and H2 measurements began in 2008, with CH4 in 2013 and N2O and SF6 in 2014.
ICOS core parameters: CO2, CH4, N2O, SF6, CO, O2, wind speed and direction, temperature, pressure and relative humidity
Non ICOS parameters: H2, O3, SO2, CN and periodically VOCs, along with 13CH4 analysis of bag samples
Funding: NCAS, UEA, NERC, EU
Security of funding: Long and short term funding
Funding end date: NCAS/UEA funding 31/03/2020
ECOSYSTEM STATIONS
What: Ecosystem flux station co-located with air quality supersite
Location: South East Scotland
Environment: Peatland, patchy mix of grasses and sedges covering a Sphagnum base layer on a typical peatland hummock/hollow microtopography.
Operational history: Net Ecosystem Exchange measurements since 2002
Wider context: Serves multiple networks, including: EMEP Air Quality network, WMO Regional Site status, CEH Carbon Catchments, former EU projects Carbomont, NitroEurope, ECLAIRE; has been reporting CO2 fluxes to the European Flux Database (www.europe-fluxdata.eu) since 2002.
ICOS core parameters: : NEE (closed-path IRGA), air and soil temperature, Rainfall, Phenocam, Radiation (total solar, PAR, net radiation), Water table depth, , EC flux of CH4 (at times), plant & soil analyses (depending on project funding); measurements do not currently comply with ICOS standards (some of which are still being finalised)
Non ICOS parameters: EMEP air quality supersite (Level-2/3) (> 300 air quality parameters such as concentrations of O3, NO, NOx, many VOCs, aerosol chemical composition, aerosol size distribution, N and S gases, POPs mercury etc.); WMO GAW regional sites; serves numerous national Defra networks; Fluxes of NH3, NOx, SO2, VOCs, O3, soil chambers for CH4, N2O, NO – depending on project funding, currently fluxes of O3 ongoing; DIC/DOC in stream water outflow + CO2 loss to atmosphere.
Funding: Mainly Defra and NERC NC, with funding from ACTRIS and other funding (EU & NERC RM)
Security of funding: Subject to Defra spending review and transition to new NERC NC model, but highly likely to be continued to funded at some level
Funding end date: Defra contract will be up for renegotiation Dec-2016; to date NC funding had to be applied for every financial year, but will hopefully migrate onto a longer-term funding rotation