Kjølnes Lighthouse is located in the county of Finnmark, Norway; near the town of Berlevåg. It is situated on the northern coast of the Varanger Peninsula within the Arctic Circle, facing the Barents Sea. Berlevåg itself is known for its fishing industry and picturesque coastal landscapes.
Since August 2013, the Kjølnes Atmospheric Observatory (located near the lighthouse) has monitored CO2, CH4, N2O and CO. This is achieved by using two Off-Axis Integrated-Cavity Output Spectroscopy (Los Gatos Inc.) devices connected in series. Quality control is maintained by regular calibration events using three reference tanks and validated against a target tank.
Additionally, hourly measurements taken from a working tank act as a smoothing process to eliminate low-frequency variations.
Figure 1 – Schematics
Sampled air is filtered, dried and trapped (using a series of cryogenic traps set at -90°C). The resultant dry air is subsequently analysed for traces of CO2 and CH4 using the first Los Gatos device (model GGA-24r-EP) before further analysis for N2O and CO concentrations is performed using the second Los Gatos unit (model CO/N2O-23d).
Figure 2 – Target Tank Precision & Accuracy
Figure 2 shows the precision and accuracy calculations of the Target Tank for the period October 2013 through February 2014.
This station is part of the Equianos Network and located in the Arctic Circle
