The Danish Minister for Higher Education and Science has allocated EUR 2.7 million to set up measuring stations in Denmark and Greenland, which make it possible to better document the countries’ emissions of greenhouse gases.
As part of the Danish government’s pool for research infrastructure—intended to give Danish researchers access to modern laboratories and state-of-the-art research equipment—the Danish Ministry of Higher Education and Science is today awarding two grants for infrastructure projects.
Established in collaboration between DTU, the University of Copenhagen, Roskilde University, and Aarhus University, the ICOS/DK project will increase our understanding of the emission of greenhouse gases in Denmark and Greenland and receives a grant of EUR 2.7 million.
The climate change we are witnessing is caused by the increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. They come in particular from man-made emissions which interfere with the natural cycle of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O). The level of CO2, for example, in the atmosphere has increased by 30 per cent since the industrial revolution, with the concentration of methane tripling in the same period. In fact, we need to go 25 million years back in time to find higher concentrations of CO2 and methane in the atmosphere than those found today.
“Thanks to the grant, we’ll now be able to set up stations for measuring greenhouse gases in both Denmark and Greenland. This will allow us to better document the total Danish and Greenlandic impact on the climate, and provide us with a much better understanding of the effects of climate change on the ecosystem,” says Professor Kim Pilegaard from DTU Environment.
ICOS/DK consists of a network of measuring stations in Denmark and Greenland intended to measure the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and their interaction with the ecosystems. The measuring stations will be set up in typical Danish and Greenlandic ecosystems such as agricultural areas, meadows, forests, and tundra.
The measuring stations will also serve as a Danish contribution to the European ICOS RI which connects similar measuring stations already established in other European countries, and which, among other things, ensure that measurements across national borders will be comparable, and that data are shared across research environments.
“The fact that the emission of greenhouse gases is first and last a global issue, I’m pleased that we will at the same time get access to data from other European measuring stations. This will ensure Denmark’s participation in a very large network of researchers and strengthen our opportunities to participate in projects in both Europe and globally. And, in this way, we can ensure that Denmark remains at the forefront of research in measurement and modelling of greenhouse gases,” says Kim Pilegaard, and adds that the international network also offers good opportunities for Danish companies which, for example, develop and market measuring instruments.