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Emissions, checked against the atmosphere.

Countries and cities report emissions from inventories. The atmosphere keeps its own account: carbon dioxide and methane measured precisely on tall towers and across cities, tied to the global calibration scales, show whether reported emissions and reductions are real.

Industry

Climate

Measurements

4

Sources cited

6

1. Climate · Greenhouse gas monitoring

   The atmosphere keeps its own account

   Countries and cities report emissions from inventories built on activity data and factors. The atmosphere keeps a second, independent account. Inventory guidelines now recognise atmospheric measurements as a check, and the global greenhouse gas watch is building the operational system to make that check routine.

2. What is measured

   Gases at several heights

   Precision analysers measure carbon dioxide and methane drawn from inlets at several heights on tall towers and rooftops. Reference gases tied to the global scales calibrate them on a fixed sequence, and weather sensors record wind, temperature and the conditions that shape the boundary layer.

   Instruments

   Precision gas analysers · Calibration gases · Weather sensors

3. The base node

   Calibrated at the station

   The node runs the calibration sequence, applies each calibration to the readings, flags local contamination from wind direction and spikes, and computes hourly values with their uncertainty, so every number sent is already tied to the global scales and carries its own quality flags.

4. Radio and links

   Fibre in town, cellular in the country

   Tall towers and rooftops in cities usually have fibre, which carries data and remote diagnostics. Cellular is the second path and the only one at many rural towers. Data reach the network’s data centre and the global centres in their formats.

   Links

   Fibre · Public cellular

5. How it works

   From a tower to an inventory check

   Methane rises at two towers downwind of a landfill region every night. The inversion attributes more emission to the region than the inventory reports. The agency investigates, finds an unreported source, and the next inventory is corrected, with the atmospheric evidence on record.

6. From order to operation · Order

   Scope the question

   The scope starts from the question: a national inventory check, a city’s emissions or a facility region. It reads existing stations, towers and partners. Nexus Observatory Inc. returns a station plan, calibration design, data processing and a price per station and per year.

   Plan a deployment

7. From order to operation · Survey

   Survey towers and rooftops

   Crews survey candidate towers and rooftops: height, footprint over the area of interest, nearby local sources, room for a shelter, power and backhaul. Footprints are modelled from local weather to choose the best inlets. Findings are recorded with drawings. Every finding is kept with the site record for the crews who follow.

8. From order to operation · Permits

   Tower owners and gases

   Tower owners agree to inlets and shelters under their climbing and safety rules, building owners approve rooftop work, and storage of high-pressure calibration cylinders follows gas safety rules. Every agreement is kept with the station record. Approvals are tracked site by site, so nothing waits unseen.

9. From order to operation · Build

   Build and calibrate

   Analysers are tested in the laboratory against reference gases traceable to the global scales, inlet systems are leak-tested, nodes are configured with the calibration sequence, enrolled with their identities and run together for weeks before shipping. Test results travel with the kit to the site.

   Open the Station Builder

10. From order to operation · Install

    Install inlets and shelter

    Crews run inlet lines up the tower to several heights, install the shelter with the analyser, calibration gases, weather sensors and node, and connect power and backhaul. Every line, height and part is recorded with photographs. The site record is updated before the crew leaves.

11. From order to operation · Commission

    Commission against the scale

    Each node proves its identity. Target gases of known value are measured blind, inlets are leak-checked again, and results are compared with a travelling standard. The station enters the network when its compatibility meets the agreed goals. Results are signed and kept with the site record.

12. From order to operation · Operate

    Check emissions continuously

    Scientists and agencies see every station’s readings, calibrations and flags. Atmospheric inversions turn the network’s data into emissions estimates each month, and they are compared with the inventory, with every difference explained or investigated. Reports for owners and funders come from the same record.

13. From order to operation · Maintain

    Keep the scale

    Calibration gases are replaced before they run low and re-tied to the global scales, analysers are serviced on the agreed plan, software updates roll out in rings, and comparisons with neighbouring stations catch drift. Every change is kept with the station record.

    Book field services

14. Data products

    For scientists and inventory agencies

    Scientists and global centres receive calibrated greenhouse gas records; inventory agencies and cities receive atmospheric emissions estimates; network managers receive station quality reports; governments and the public receive policy evaluation reports, each tied to its stations, its calibration history and the period it covers.

    See the data products

15. Evidence

    Traceable to the global scales

    Measurements meet the compatibility goals of the global atmosphere watch experts and the research infrastructure station specifications, estimates follow the inventory guidelines’ use of atmospheric data, and results support the transparency framework of the Paris Agreement. Every reading keeps its calibration history.

    Drawn against

    GAW Report No. 255 · ICOS Atmosphere Station Specifications · 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines · Paris Agreement, Article 13

16. What you get

    Environmental and permit monitoring

    Emissions, water quality, noise and dust monitoring for permit conditions, with traceable calibration and evidence bundles. Delivered as managed service and data licence, for industrial operators, municipalities, regulators. Scale: Site to portfolio. Service levels are written as numbers you can measure on your own dashboard.

    Talk to sales

17. Next step

    Plan greenhouse gas monitoring with us

    Tell us the site, the measurements and the rules it answers to. We reply with a survey proposal, a design and a scope for greenhouse gas monitoring. An engineer replies with a survey proposal and a scope, and the plan grows from one site to the network you need, at your pace.

    Plan a deploymentOpen the Station BuilderOpen the Studio

01The place and its hazards

Where it runs, and what can go wrong.

Operating contextCountries report greenhouse gas inventories under the transparency framework of the Paris Agreement, compiled with international inventory guidelines that now recognise atmospheric measurements as a check. Measurements must meet the compatibility goals set by the global atmosphere watch experts, research infrastructures publish station specifications, and the global greenhouse gas watch is building an operational system on them.

Hazards

• Measurements not tied to the global calibration scales
• Local sources near the inlet distorting background readings
• Analysers drifting between calibrations
• Gaps when cylinders run out or pumps fail
• Emissions estimates that no one checks against the air

02What must be measured

What, where, how often, and under which rules.

Each measurement names where it is taken, how often, and the public standard or regulation behind it. Numbers in the sources column open the cited source below.

03The observation stack

From one base unit to a network.

The same blocks at every scale: instruments and a base node, a site with its radio, a fleet run as one, and a network federated on the open protocol.

1. 01

   Base unit

   A station: a precision gas analyser with its inlet system and calibration gases, weather sensors and an edge node.

   Build a station →
2. 02

   Site

   A site: the station on a tall tower or rooftop, with a shelter, conditioned power and a backhaul.

   Plan a site →
3. 03

   Fleet

   A national or city network of stations run to one calibration plan, with one data centre.

   Managed offers →
4. 04

   Network

   Networks exchange data with global centres and research infrastructures, tied to the global calibration scales.

   The open protocol →

• 01Air quality monitor
• 02Compact weather station
• 03Sensor and instrument gateway
• 04Edge node (Wedge)
• 05Fibre terminal
• 06Cellular modem/router
• 07Lattice tower
• 08Shelter

Radio and links

Fibre

Tall towers and rooftops in cities usually have fibre; data and remote diagnostics ride it.

Radio and links

Public cellular

Cellular is the second path and the only one at rural towers.

Edge computeThe node runs the calibration sequence, applies the calibrations to every reading, flags local contamination from wind and spikes, and computes hourly values with their uncertainty before sending them.

PowerMains with an uninterruptible supply; the analyser and inlet system need stable power and temperature, so the shelter is conditioned.

04How it works

From the instrument to the product.

One observation’s path, tier by tier, with the interface on every link and a bill of materials below; then how the one node grows to a site, a fleet and federated networks.

05From order to operation

Every step, from the first call to a running site.

The same crew and the same record carry the work from scope to maintenance.

1. 01 Order

   Scope the question

   The scope starts from the question: a national inventory check, a city’s emissions or a facility region. It reads existing stations, towers and partners. Nexus Observatory Inc. returns a station plan, calibration design, data processing and a price per station and per year. 46

2. 02 Survey

   Survey towers and rooftops

   Crews survey candidate towers and rooftops: height, footprint over the area of interest, nearby local sources, room for a shelter, power and backhaul. Footprints are modelled from local weather to choose the best inlets. Findings are recorded with drawings. Every finding is kept with the site record for the crews who follow. 2

3. 03 Permits

   Tower owners and gases

   Tower owners agree to inlets and shelters under their climbing and safety rules, building owners approve rooftop work, and storage of high-pressure calibration cylinders follows gas safety rules. Every agreement is kept with the station record. Approvals are tracked site by site, so nothing waits unseen.

4. 04 Build

   Build and calibrate

   Analysers are tested in the laboratory against reference gases traceable to the global scales, inlet systems are leak-tested, nodes are configured with the calibration sequence, enrolled with their identities and run together for weeks before shipping. Test results travel with the kit to the site. 1

5. 05 Install

   Install inlets and shelter

   Crews run inlet lines up the tower to several heights, install the shelter with the analyser, calibration gases, weather sensors and node, and connect power and backhaul. Every line, height and part is recorded with photographs. The site record is updated before the crew leaves.

6. 06 Commission

   Commission against the scale

   Each node proves its identity. Target gases of known value are measured blind, inlets are leak-checked again, and results are compared with a travelling standard. The station enters the network when its compatibility meets the agreed goals. Results are signed and kept with the site record. 12

7. 07 Operate

   Check emissions continuously

   Scientists and agencies see every station’s readings, calibrations and flags. Atmospheric inversions turn the network’s data into emissions estimates each month, and they are compared with the inventory, with every difference explained or investigated. Reports for owners and funders come from the same record. 5

8. 08 Maintain

   Keep the scale

   Calibration gases are replaced before they run low and re-tied to the global scales, analysers are serviced on the agreed plan, software updates roll out in rings, and comparisons with neighbouring stations catch drift. Every change is kept with the station record. 1

06Data products and integration

What it delivers, to whom, and into which systems.

Data products

• Calibrated greenhouse gas recordsScientists and global centres
• Atmospheric emissions estimatesInventory agencies and cities
• Station quality reportsNetwork managers
• Policy evaluation reportsGovernments and the public

Integration

• National inventoryAtmospheric estimates are compared with the inventory in the agency’s own tools.
• Global centresData are submitted to global data centres in their formats.
• City climate plansUrban estimates feed the city’s climate reporting.

Exchanged through WMO WIS 2.0, netCDF-CF, OGC SensorThings API.

07Questions buyers ask

Before you scope it.

Can it check our inventory?

Yes, through atmospheric inversions compared with reported emissions.

Are measurements traceable?

Yes, to the global calibration scales through reference gases.

How many stations do we need?

It depends on the question; the scope models it.

Can it see a single facility?

With inlets downwind and enough data, regional sources can be resolved.

08Resources

The sources behind this page.

Public standards, regulations and guidance, cited where they apply. Each applies only where its jurisdiction or scope does.

1. 1GAW Report No. 255: 20th WMO/IAEA Meeting on Carbon Dioxide, Other Greenhouse Gases and Related Measurement Techniques (GGMT-2019)World Meteorological Organization · 2020
2. 2ICOS Atmosphere Station SpecificationsIntegrated Carbon Observation System
3. 3WMO-No. 8: Guide to Instruments and Methods of ObservationWorld Meteorological Organization
4. 42019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas InventoriesIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change · 2019
5. 5Global Greenhouse Gas Watch (G3W)World Meteorological Organization
6. 6Paris Agreement, Article 13: Enhanced transparency frameworkUnited Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change · 2015

09Related

Use cases and solutions.

10Climate: specialized fields

Other fields of this industry.

Bring us the site.

Plan a deployment, configure a station, model it in the Studio or talk to sales. The form names who receives your details.