Spanish Network
A national network of atmospheric, ocean and ecosystem observation platforms contributing to ICOS.
Starting the first of January in 2021, the Spanish ICOS consortium consists of AEMET, the Spanish meteorological institute, and the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), both bringing in one station. The ULPGC station is actually a commercial ship, with measurement equipment onboard. The ship travels from the Canary Islands on the Atlantic Ocean to Barcelona at the Mediterranean Sea and back, gathering water samples during the journey.
The AEMET Izaña atmosphere station is also on the Canary Islands, where it provides important background information on the concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane in the subtropical atmosphere, as well as other greenhouse gases.
Within the next few years, different institutes will join the consortium: the Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands, the Mediterranean Center for Environmental Studies and the National Institute for Aerospace Technology. The partners have a leading role in climate modeling and research, and in regional greenhouse gas measurements in Spain.
A semi-arid ecosystem station in Almería, identified in the ICOS metadata as Aguamarga (ES-Agu). The site represents open shrubland conditions in south-eastern Spain and provides a valuable Mediterranean dryland context for future ecosystem carbon-cycle observations. A ship-of-opportunity ocean station installed aboard a commercial vessel operating regular routes between the Canary Islands and Barcelona. CanOA provides repeated surface ocean CO2 observations across the subtropical North Atlantic, the Strait of Gibraltar region and the western Mediterranean. A continental atmospheric station north of Valladolid, located at the Lower Atmosphere Research Center. Its 100 m tower is designed to provide greenhouse gas measurements at different heights and to represent inland lower-atmosphere conditions in central Spain. A coastal atmospheric station in Huelva, operated by INTA, located close to the Atlantic coastline and Doñana National Park. Its 100 m tower supports greenhouse gas and meteorological observations that help study air-mass transport between the Atlantic, the Mediterranean and the Iberian Peninsula. A fixed ocean time-series station located 60 nautical miles north of Gran Canaria. Since 1994, ESTOC has provided meteorological and oceanographic observations representative of the central-eastern North Atlantic, supporting long-term climate and ocean carbon studies. An associated urban greenhouse gas monitoring activity in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona, led by ICTA-UAB. The network measures urban CO2, CH4 and CO concentrations across different land-use contexts and contributes data to the ICOS Cities framework. A high-mountain atmospheric station in Tenerife, located at the historic Izaña Observatory at 2,373 m a.s.l. Its position above the local temperature inversion layer makes it a key site for long-term greenhouse gas observations under free-troposphere conditions in the subtropical North Atlantic. A Mediterranean dehesa ecosystem station in Cáceres, measuring CO2, H2O and energy fluxes continuously since 2003. The site represents a holm oak savanna system of high ecological, economic and social importance in the Iberian Peninsula.
Aguamarga Ecosystem Station
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CanOA Ocean Station
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CIBA Atmospheric Station
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El Arenosillo Atmospheric Station
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ESTOC Ocean Station
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ICOS Cities Barcelona
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Izaña Atmospheric Station
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Majadas de Tiétar Ecosystem Station
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