Svartberget stations complete ICOS labelling!

ICOS RI (Integrated Carbon Observation System Research Infrastructure) recently announced that both research sites operated by Svartberget Forest Research station have now passed their strict standardisation and quality control programme. Svartberget achieved Class 2 Ecosystem Station status in May and Degerö celebrated Class 2 Ecosystem Station status in November. Svartberget also gained Class 1 Atmospheric Station status in spring 2018.

The labelling process, including testing and training can take up to a year. There are three steps to the process, after a station makes its initial application to join ICOS:

1. The Thematic Centre (Ecosystem, Atmosphere or Ocean) produce an evaluation report based on the location of the site, measurement infrastructure and station characteristics. The Director General then checks and approves the evaluation report.
2. After station approval, there is a more in-depth analysis of the stations compatibility with ICOS measurement protocols and standards. This focuses on equipment setup, data transfer and data quality, supported by the Thematic Centre. In many cases, equipment needs to be changed, new instrumentation installed, and staff trained in new procedures and data handling.
3. Finally, the General Assemby for ICOS approves the station based on the evaluation report by the Thematic Centre, and recommendations from the Director General.

ICOS is a European-wide distributed research infrastructure, operating standardised, and high-precision long-term measurements. The aim is to facilitate research to understand the carbon cycle, feedbacks and possible tipping points because of climate change. ICOS Sweden operates ten sites from Abisko-Sordalen in the far north, to Hyltemossa in the south, including three Atmospheric Stations, six Ecosystem Stations, and one Ocean Station. The stations represent the different biomes found in Sweden, and are unique in the continental scale of ICOS RI.

Easily accessible and high-quality data is a central tenet of ICOS. The data is available to researchers, government and NGO’s that require science-based information on greenhouse gases in policy efforts to mitigate the consequences of climate change. The data are open and free to access at the ICOS data portal site.