The U.K. and Norway will co-host the Ocean Thematic Centre within ICOS (Integrated Carbon Observation System), a European research infrastructure measuring greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, land and oceans.

Long-term measurement of the seas is important since the oceans take up about one-quarter of the carbon dioxide humans release to the atmosphere, reducing the rate of climate change.

ICOS’s ocean measurements, carried out on commercial and research vessels and at fixed stations, enable quantification of the changing role of the ocean in the global carbon cycle.

The Ocean Thematic Centre supports these measurements through training the station personnel, evaluating new sensors and methodologies, and carrying out ICOS quality controls to ensure standardized high-quality data. The Ocean Thematic Centre harmonizes the observations across Europe, integrating these data with international efforts.

Extant hosts of the ICOS Ocean Thematic Centre are NORCE, the Norwegian Research Centre and the University of Bergen. 

In addition to the Ocean Thematic Centre, ICOS has two other thematic centers, concentrating in ecosystem and atmosphere observations. ICOS also runs two central analytical labs for calibration standards and specific analyses on air samples.