Annual Meeting of ICOS Germany 2019 at Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Sciences in Freising, Germany

06th to 07th May 2019

This year's Annual Meeting of ICOS Germany took place from 6th to 7th May at Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Sciences (HSWT) in Freising. Participants included scientists involved in ICOS-D, station operators, technical personnel as well as representatives from the involved ministries. Besides status reports from the Central Analytical Laboratories (CALs) and the individual domains (atmosphere, terrestrial ecosystems, and oceans), current scientific activities were presented and discussed. The main focus was on the further development of existing measurement techniques and on synergies of established observation platforms.

In addition, scientists of ICOS-D are taking a leading role in a pan-European study focusing on the dry and warm summer that was observed particularly in parts of Scandinavia and Central Europe in 2018. As part of the study, talks on initial results about the effects of extreme weather conditions on water balances and CO2 exchange between different ecosystems and the atmosphere were given. The high value of the long-term observation data from the ICOS network was once again highlighted.

Further topics included the participation of ICOS-D in the development of an integrated greenhouse gas monitoring system, the joining of new measurement sites to the Atmosphere and Ecosystem Domain as well as a presentation about greenhouse gas measurements in urban areas.

A highlight of the annual meeting was an evening lecture series for students and other interested parties. The work of the ICOS Research Infrastructure and other projects focusing on climate change research were presented. The Bavarian State Minister of Science and Arts, Bernd Sibler, opened the event with a welcoming speech.

The two-day meeting was completed by an excursion to the ‘Freisinger Moos’, led by Prof. Dr. Matthias Drösler (HSWT), and to the observation site ‘Mooseurach’, which is part of the Ecosystem domain within ICOS Germany. The site is located in peatland that was drained at the beginning of the 20th century. Continuous measurements of trace gas exchange between a coniferous forest on organic soil and the atmosphere had already been installed in 2010.