ICOS-OTC pCO2 inter-comparison

When: 28. June - 09. July 2021
Where: Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) in Oostende, Belgium
Contact: ICOS OTC, Tobias Steinhoff (e-mail: tost@norceresearch.no)
 

In recent years, new technologies have been evolving with a whole new generation of sensors and instruments measuring pCO2 in both the ocean surface and sub-surface entering the market. These include «classical» equilibrator based systems with new CO2 detectors to membrane based sensors that can be submerged. 

 

The practical part of this exercise is over, but the post-processing is still going on. If you want to get an impression of what we did, please wath the videos from our webinars right before and after the exercise:

1st Webinar to kick-off the inter-comaprison: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksjPIobyuoA

2nd webinar to present preliminary results: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHr1gC9DIjE


The aim of this exercise was

  • to compare the performance of instruments and sensors that are (or will be) used within the ICOS community over a range of temperatures and pCO2 levels. 
  • to engage instrument suppliers and manufacturers to work together with the observational community to reach a high level of standardization in operating pCO2 sensors and instruments.
  • to give answers to the community of choosing the appropriate sensor for their application.
     

More than 30 scientists from around the world were participating either with their instruments or passively with their expertise. The aim was not only to compare different instrumentation, but also to improve the handling of instrumentation and of data, in order to achieve the best possible measurement quality being delivered.