The RV Celtic Explorer has been officially recognised as Ireland’s first Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS) ocean station, marking a significant milestone in the country’s contribution to global climate monitoring.
The Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS) is a European Research Infrastructure (RI) network that monitors the movement of carbon through the atmosphere, oceans, and terrestrial ecosystems. Established to support high-quality climate change research, ICOS provides long-term, standardised observations of greenhouse gases essential for understanding and responding to climate change.
Ireland joined ICOS in 2023, proposing a national network of ten observation stations: four atmospheric, five terrestrial, and one ocean station. At its recent General Assembly meeting, ICOS officially accepted the RV Celtic Explorer as a Class 2 Ocean Station—the first of its kind for Ireland.
Onboard, the General Oceanics pCO2 system semi-continuously monitors atmospheric and surface ocean carbon dioxide, enabling high-resolution, real-time data collection. Together with Clara Bog, which was also recently accepted as an associated terrestrial station, these are the first two Irish sites to complete the ICOS certification process and be formally labelled.
The global ocean absorbs approximately 25% of human-generated CO2 emissions each year. Without this vital sink, the effects of climate change would be even more severe. However, the strength of this ocean sink is variable and projected to decline, which could further accelerate global warming. Additionally, the increasing absorption of CO2 is driving ocean acidification, posing a growing threat to marine ecosystems.
Monitoring air-sea CO2 exchange is therefore critical to understanding and predicting these environmental changes. Ireland is uniquely positioned for this research, and the RV Celtic Explorer’s operational zone in the European continental shelf and North Atlantic provides an ideal setting for routine, high-quality measurements.
The 65.5-metre RV Celtic Explorer, operated by the Marine Institute, is a purpose-built (2003) ocean-going research vessel. The General Oceanics equilibrator system has been operational since 2017, continuously measuring surface seawater and atmospheric CO2.
Principal Investigating Scientist Margot Cronin remarked: “These essential climate data, along with other carbon data collected on ship-based oceanography surveys, are reported to the Surface CO2 Atlas and other international data centres. The data are widely used in national, regional and global scientific assessments, including the Global Carbon Budget, IPCC reports, OSPAR Convention assessments, and the UN Sustainable Development Goal indicator 14.3 on ocean acidification.
This has been a highly successful group effort, thanks in no small part to the support of the P&O Instrumentation team, the ICOS Ocean Thematic Centre, and the Marine Institute’s RV Operations team.”
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