The ICOS Zeppelin Observatory Atmosphere station is located approximately 1000 kilometers south of the North Pole, in the closely-knit research community of Ny-Ålesund.
The Arctic regions are warming faster than the rest of the world, which is leading to many changes, such as rising air and water temperatures, loss of sea ice and changes in vegetation. At the Zeppelin Observatory, one can already witness yearly changes in temperatures and surrounding glaciers.
The remoteness and untouched environment keep the ICOS Zeppelin Observatory station far away from major air pollutants. Information on this kind of clean air provides a basis for long-term changes in greenhouse gases and represents better the changes in the greenhouse gases composition, compared to the more polluted sites.
However, every now and then, polluted air travels to the station over thousands of kilometers from other parts of the world. Due to its special location, the station can easily trace which part of the world the pollution comes from. Thus, ICOS monitoring at the Zeppelin Observatory improves the world’s understanding of transportation of air pollutants and greenhouse gases to and within the Arctic.
ICOS Zeppelin Observatory station is part of the ICOS Atmosphere Network measuring the atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations in Europe. In Zeppelin, ICOS measures cover most important greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrous oxide (N2O), which are contributing to the increase in the global temperature of the Earth.
