Continuous atmospheric CO₂, CH₄ and CO measurements at the Observatoire Pérenne de l'Environnement (OPE) station in France from 2011 to 2018

Abstract

Abstract. Located in north-east France, the Observatoire Pérenne de l'Environnement (OPE) station was built during the Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS) Demonstration Experiment to monitor the greenhouse gases mole fraction. Its continental rural background setting fills the gaps between oceanic or mountain stations and urban stations within the ICOS network. Continuous measurements of several greenhouse gases using high-precision spectrometers started in 2011 on a tall tower with three sampling inlets at 10, 50 and 120 m above ground level (a.g.l.). Measurement quality is regularly assessed using several complementary approaches based on reference high-pressure cylinders, audits using travelling instruments and sets of travelling cylinders (“cucumber” intercomparison programme). Thanks to the quality assurance strategy recommended by ICOS, measurement uncertainties are within the World Meteorological Organisation compatibility goals for carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and carbon monoxide (CO). The time series of mixing ratios from 2011 to the end of 2018 are used to analyse trends and diurnal and seasonal cycles. The CO2 and CH4 annual growth rates are 2.4 ppm yr−1 and 8.8 ppb yr−1 respectively for measurements at 120 m a.g.l. over the investigated period. However, no significant trend has been recorded for CO mixing ratios. The afternoon mean residuals (defined as the differences between midday observations and a smooth fitted curve) of these three compounds are significantly stronger during the cold period when inter-species correlations are high, compared to the warm period. The variabilities of residuals show a close link with air mass back-trajectories.