A global methane and carbon dioxide monitoring network run by the Greenhouse Gas Research Group at Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), the Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU), the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) and the University of East Anglia (UEA).

The  Equator-Inter-Atlantic-North-South greenhouse gas network is named in honour of Olaudah Equiano (~1745 to 1797), sailor, explorer, Arctic scientist, humanitarian. Equiano sailed much of the Atlantic and Mediterranean, carried out scientific research in Spitsbergen, and helped found the anti-slavery movement that led later to the permanent settlement of Ascension Island.

There are currently 14 fixed permanent stations measuring minute by minute methane and carbon dioxide atmospheric concentrations, with regular sampling from further sites through tedlar bag and flask sampling which are then analysed by the greenhouse gas research group at Royal Holloway. Further regular sampling sites in Africa and South America are hoped to be added in 2014.

There is a further continuous measurement being made aboard the James Clark Ross research vessel operated by the British Antarctic Survey which began in the Summer of 2012. In 2013 three new continuous measurement stations started at Halley, Antarctica, Marimbio, Antarctica and at Kjolnes in Northern Norway.

Global Coverage

The map below shows the stations and sites covered by the Equianos Network. Blue stations are continuous measurements, red sites are regular flask / bag sampling and cyan stations are partner stations due to come online in the near future. The map is zoomable and click on each site for a little information. More detailed information is available on the “stations” menu.