Enhancing capabilities to monitor greenhouse gases
Within the past decade of research two complementary methods capable of monitoring the carbon balance of European ecosystem have been established. Eddy flux measurements on small scales (1km) constitute the core of bottom-up methods. On the other hand, atmospheric CO2 and tracer concentration measurements on larger scale (>100km) are the basis of top-down methods. Within the TACOS-Infrastructure project, existing atmospheric CO2 measurements made by European laboratories at 35 stations and flux towers measurements from 19 sites have been integrated into a central data archive. For this purpose, an on-line transmission system was implemented, which features real-time archiving and quality control capabilities. Furthermore, an off-line database was developed with supplementary flux and other meteorological data. The introduction of a standardised methodology and common protocols for quality check reduced uncertainties associated with site specific measurements and thus comparisons across sites were made possible. In particular, eddy covariance measurements required a robust and consistent data filling method since these are usually performed on monthly or annual sums. Both atmospheric and flux tower measurements have already been made available to end users on a common data centre found at: http://gaia.agrania.unitus.it/tSites.asp(opens in new window). This will lay the foundation for a fully operational observing system of the terrestrial sources and sinks of CO2 related to the European commitments under the Kyoto Protocol.
