ICOS Sweden
- part of a European research infrastructure on the carbon cycle
The Integrated Carbon Observation System Sweden, ICOS Sweden, is part of the European research infrastructure ICOS RI, which is an ESFRI, the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructure, landmark. ICOS RI makes critical measurements of climate forcing trace gases (greenhouse gases, GHGs), using an in situ observation network. These data are integrated to provide a knowledge base for necessary climate action. ICOS RI also measures every component needed to contribute to a deeper understanding of the carbon cycle and its perturbations.
This is accomplished by the integration of standardized observation networks in multiple domains (atmosphere, terrestrial ecosystems, and oceans) and their connections between the carbon balance of pristine and perturbed ecosystems. ICOS Sweden contributes to this goal of a continental scale understanding with measurements within each of these domains across the unique latitudinal gradient that characterizes Swedish environments.
Deeper understanding of the driving forces of climate change requires full quantification of the greenhouse gas sinks and sources and their development. The mission of ICOS is to make accurate measurements of greenhouse gas fluxes and concentrations in order to allow estimation of source/sink distributions at different spatial and temporal scales, which will be of key importance to verify the effectiveness of mitigation activities.
ICOS Sweden currently covers three atmosphere stations, six ecosystem stations from Abisko in the north to Skåne in the south, one fixed ocean station and one shipline-based ocean station.
Cooperation partners besides Lund University are Gothenburg University, Uppsala University, the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, and SMHI. Equipment and running costs are jointly funded by the Swedish Research Council and the partner organisations.
ICOS Sweden invites research groups to use the infrastructure for performing own measurements at the sites.
