Objective The objectives of ESCOBA (European Study of Carbon in the Ocean,Biosphere and Atmosphere) are to describe, quantify, model andforecast the global carbon cycle, its response to theanthropogenic perturbation and its interaction with the physicalclimate system. Part A, Atmosphere aims to provide theobservational and modelling diagnostic tools needed to validateand constrain direct and model derived estimates of carbon fluxesbetween the atmosphere and the ocean or terrestrial carbon pools.An observational program is conducted to record at several keylocations the concentration of atmospheric CO2 and its13C/12C and 14C/Cisotope ratios, which provide constraints on the current distribution ofsurface sources and sinks of CO2.An atmospheric transport model is developed and applied in order torelate the observations from the global staton monitoring network to thelarge scale distribution of surface sources and sinks.Variations of the past atmospheric CO2 concentration and its13C/12Cratio are determined from analyses on air-bubbles in polar ice cores.These provide a means to assess the natural variability of the carbon cycleduring the Holocene and the industrial period.A series of modelling studies of the past 30 years of directatmospheric observations is conducted, using coupled three-dimensionalcarbon models of the atmosphere, ocean and terrestrial biosphere driven byobserved climate. These studies allow to quantify the regionaldistribution of sources and sinks of CO2 and provide anassessment ofcarbon cycle feedbacks induced by climate fluctuations, in particularduring El Nino/Southern Oscillation events.Using coupled carbon models of the atmosphere, ocean and terrestrialbiosphere, simulations of the atmospheric CO2 concentrationevolution areperformed given prescribed scenarios of future industrial emissions andland use statistics. Fields of science natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesmeteorologybiosphera Programme(s) FP3-ENV 1C - Specific research and technological development programme (EEC) in the field of the environment, 1990-1994 Topic(s) 0102 - Anthropogenic climate change Call for proposal Data not available Funding Scheme CSC - Cost-sharing contracts Coordinator MAX-PLANCK-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FOERDERUNG DER WISSENSCHAFTEN E.V. EU contribution No data Address Bundesstra¯e 55 20146 HAMBURG Germany See on map Total cost No data Participants (4) Sort alphabetically Sort by EU Contribution Expand all Collapse all CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE France EU contribution No data Address Rue Molière 54, Université de Grenoble 1 38402 SAINT-MARTIN-D'HERES See on map Total cost No data Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) France EU contribution No data Address Avenue de la Terrasse 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette See on map Total cost No data INSTITUTO NACIONAL DE METEOROLOGIA Spain EU contribution No data Address Camino de las Moreras s/n 28071 MADRID See on map Total cost No data RUPRECHT-KARLS-UNIVERSITAET HEIDELBERG Germany EU contribution No data Address Im Neuenheimer Feld 229 69117 HEIDELBERG See on map Total cost No data