Scientific impact of ICOS

ICOS improves the quality, spatial resolution and time-series length of greenhouse gas observations in several ways, for example by enabling the combination of diverse datasets from various countries and across domains. The ICOS research infrastructure also provides financial stability for the operation of measurement stations, extending the time horizons from often project-based funding to a more long-term model. Moreover, ICOS sets a high level of standardisation.
 

Innovative community of scientists

The ICOS community consists of more than 500 scientists from more than 70 renowned universities and institutes. The ICOS community has strong connections to colleagues and operators outside ICOS.

ICOS makes a significant contribution to the European and global climate-science community by bringing greenhouse gas scientists across Europe together as a community, increasing collaboration and the sharing of results, as well as improving access to data and data uniformity throughout its network. Moreover, ICOS provides easy access to new methods and instrumentation.

The combination of ocean, atmosphere and ecosystem data and the measurement and/or analysis communities provides added value to scientists. This added value lies in connecting previously separate domains, making cross-comparisons possible and generating original research ideas.

The biannual ICOS Science Conference is a key way for the ICOS community of scientists to present and discuss the latest carbon cycle science. These gatherings of the world’s top scientists have often lead to the formation of new research groups and initiatives. 
 

Providing services for a better science

ICOS’ impact is amplified by its role as an analytics and synthesis service provider for the wider scientific community. ICOS is the main European provider to the globally used Observation Package (ObsPack), CarbonTracker and GLOBALVIEWplus products, which are integrally used by the global climate modelling community.

ICOS also provides physical services through the Thematic Centres and the Central Analytical Laboratories. These are widely used, and the Central Analytical Laboratories are gaining importance in the global reference sample network, being second only to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which has performed this role for decades.

ICOS is a key European contributor to the greenhouse gas observations of the Integrated Global Greenhouse Gas Information System (IG3IS) of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). We also provide data to the European Union's Earth observation programme, Copernicus. The data in the Copernicus service are used, for example, by national weather services or private companies to improve air-pollution predictions and to develop other data products using ICOS data, such as maps of fossil fuel emissions.
 

Collaborative research and scientific coordination

ICOS contributes to coordinated scientific efforts that advance understanding of the carbon cycle and greenhouse gas dynamics across Europe and beyond. In 2022, several ICOS atmospheric stations detected and quantified the methane plume from the Nord Stream pipeline leaks in the Baltic Sea, demonstrating the capacity of the network to provide timely and reliable greenhouse gas observations during major real-world events. ICOS data were used by multiple research groups to assess the magnitude of the emissions, highlighting the importance of sustained, standardised observations. Results have been published in scientific journals such as Nature and Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP).  

Read how ICOS data has been used to study the impacts of other major global events. 

In parallel, the Warm Winter 2020 initiative brought together data from 73 ecosystem stations across Europe, integrating long-term time series to assess how ecosystems respond to unusual winter conditions. The harmonised data product released through the Carbon Portal enabled cross-domain analyses and strengthened collaboration between ecosystem and atmosphere communities.

ICOS also contributes to major European and international projects. Through ICOS Cities (2021-2025), scientists collaborated with urban stakeholders to develop greenhouse gas monitoring systems that support evidence-based climate action in European cities. The KADI project (2022-2025) extended ICOS expertise to African partners, fostering the development of observation and data infrastructures for climate services. In the GEORGE project (2025-2027), ICOS works with other research infrastructures to advance autonomous ocean observing technologies, reinforcing Europe’s capacity for integrated greenhouse gas monitoring.