The ICOS Central Analytical Laboratories (CAL) is located in Germany and consists of two laboratories: the Flask and Calibration Laboratory (FCL) in Jena, which is hosted by the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, and the Central Radiocarbon Laboratory (CRL) in Heidelberg, which is operated by the Institute of Environmental Physics of the University of Heidelberg.
The building of the unique CAL was based on earlier findings that differences between laboratories analysing flasks or producing calibration gases can substantially reduce the accuracy of a whole observational network. The aim of the CAL is to ensure the accuracy of ICOS atmospheric measurements.
The FCL does analyses of greenhouse gas concentrations and of other tracers that carry suplementary information on the origin of the air samples. It also produces calibrated real air reference gases to ensure the compatibility of the ICOS atmospheric greenhouse gas observations with data from other global monitoring networks, such as WMO, and provides support on the material involved.
The CRL quantifies the radiocarbon (14C) content of carbon dioxide (CO2) in air samples and develops methods to derive the fossil fuel contribution to atmospheric CO2 (ffCO2).
Contact CAL
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Head, ICOS Flask and Calibration Laboratory (FCL) |
Head, ICOS Central Radiocarbon Laboratory (CRL) |