ICOS in a nutshell

The level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere rises constantly, heating up our planet. Observing the levels of greenhouse gas emissions is essential to predict climate change and mitigate its consequences.

The Integrated Carbon Observation System, ICOS provides standardised and open data from more than 170 measurement stations across 16 European countries. The stations observe greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere as well as carbon fluxes between the atmosphere, the land surface and the oceans. Thus, ICOS is rooted in three domains: Atmosphere, Ecosystem and Ocean.

The ICOS community consists of more than 500 scientists in both its current Member and Observer countries and beyond. More than 80 renowned universities or institutes are a part of the ICOS community. The ICOS community has strong connections to colleagues and operators outside ICOS. ICOS-based knowledge supports policy- and decision-making to combat climate change and its impacts.

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