Integrated Carbon Observation System

Science–policy communication in geosciences is not only technical but deeply shaped by language and emotion. Research on bilingual cognition shows that using a second language (L2) can reduce emotional resonance and shift moral reasoning toward utilitarian frames, while first-language (L1) communication evokes stronger emotional and deontological responses. These dynamics matter for geoscience advice, which often crosses linguistic and cultural boundaries, especially in climate services and disaster-risk reduction.This conceptual discussion integrates two perspectives: (1) the SANER Compass (INGSA), a reflective framework for navigating values and roles at the science–policy interface; and (2) language–emotion–ethics research, which highlights how linguistic context influences risk perception, urgency framing, and ethical trade-offs. We argue that multilingual communication is not a neutral conduit but an active variable shaping policy uptake and legitimacy. We propose a conceptual protocol for geoscience communication:Language-aware framing to anticipate moral–emotional shifts across L1/L2;Dual-register messaging combining emotionally legible narratives with utilitarian summaries;Governance of translation and interpretation using Compass prompts to align values and responsibilities;Evaluation metrics for trust, clarity, and ethical coherence.By foregrounding language and emotion as conceptual dimensions, this discussion invites geoscientists to rethink communication strategies beyond technical accuracy toward approaches that are culturally sensitive, ethically transparent, and resilient in multilingual policy arenas. This lens is particularly relevant for climate adaptation and early-warning systems in transnational contexts, where decisions hinge on both evidence and the moral frames through which it is conveyed.

Currently, 25% of global terrestrial ecosystems are degraded, expected to rise by 75% by 2050, threatening 3.2 billion people worldwide. The United Nations launched “UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration” to promote restoration efforts from 2021-2030. Additionally, achieving carbon neutrality has become an international consensus to combat climate change and protect the human living environment. However, there is a lack of existing international scientific programs for ecological restoration and carbon neutrality, coupled with insufficient long-term observations and experimental data, particularly in developing countries facing ecosystem degradation and management challenges. Therefore, it is crucial to integrate global efforts and establish monitoring and assessment systems for global ecological restoration and carbon neutralization. In this talk, we will introduce the Global Ecosystem Restoration and Carbon Neutrality (Global-ERCaN) program, which aims to promote global ecosystem restoration and carbon neutrality through monitoring and assessing the restoration process, exploring changes in carbon sinks and related processes, and summarizing sustainable ecosystem management models. Global-ERCaN plans to establish international cooperation for 1) sharing carbon neutral research methods and technologies, 2) assessing the role of ecological restoration in carbon neutrality, 3) proposing management and policy options for sustainable development of degraded ecosystems, ultimately accelerating carbon neutrality goals.

Abstract. The acquisition and dissemination of essential information for understanding global biogeochemical interactions between the atmosphere and ecosystems and how climate–ecosystem feedback loops may change atmospheric composition in the future comprise a fundamental prerequisite for societal resilience in the face of climate change. In particular, the detection of trends and seasonality in the abundance of greenhouse gases and short-lived climate-active atmospheric constituents is an important aspect of climate science. Therefore, easy and fast access to reliable, long-term, and high-quality observational environmental data is recognised as fundamental to research and the development of environmental forecasting and assessment services. In our opinion article, we discuss the potential role that environmental research infrastructures in Europe (ENVRI RIs) can play in the context of an integrated global observation system. In particular, we focus on the role of the atmosphere-centred research infrastructures ACTRIS (Aerosol, Clouds and Trace Gases Research Infrastructure), IAGOS (In-service Aircraft for a Global Observing System), and ICOS (Integrated Carbon Observation System), also referred to as ATMO-RIs, with their capabilities for standardised collection and provision of long-term and high-quality observational data, complemented by rich metadata. The ATMO-RIs provide data through open access and offer data interoperability across different research fields including all fields of environmental sciences and beyond. As a result of these capabilities in data collection and provision, we elaborate on the novel research opportunities in atmospheric sciences which arise from the combination of open-access and interoperable observational data, tools, and technologies offered by data-intensive science and the emerging collaboration platform ENVRI-Hub, hosted by the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC).

Global population projections foresee the biggest increase to occur in Africa with most of the available uncultivated land to ensure food security remaining on the continent. Simultaneously, greenhouse gas emissions are expected to rise due to ongoing land use change, industrialisation, and transport amongst other reasons with Africa becoming a major emitter of greenhouse gases globally. However, distinct knowledge on greenhouse gas emissions sources and sinks as well as their variability remains largely unknown caused by its vast size and diversity and an according lack of observations across the continent. Thus, an environmental research infrastructure—as being setup in other regions—is more needed than ever. Here, we present the results of a design study that developed a blueprint for establishing such an environmental research infrastructure in Africa. The blueprint comprises an inventory of already existing observations, the spatial disaggregation of locations that will enable to reduce the uncertainty in climate forcing’s in Africa and globally as well as an overall estimated cost for such an endeavour of about 550 M€ over the next 30 years. We further highlight the importance of the development of an e-infrastructure, the necessity for capacity development and the inclusion of all stakeholders to ensure African ownership.

This document describes the [MCSQ]: Multilingual Corpus of Survey Questionnaires (MCSQ), a database of survey questionnaires’ texts. The report summarizes technical information about Version 1.0 (Ada Lovelace) of the MCSQ, dated in June 2020. It links to the repository to access the code and files generating the database. The corpus is compiled from questionnaires from the of European Social Survey (ESS) and the European Values Study (EVS) in the English source language and their translations into Catalan, Czech, French (produced for France, Switzerland, Belgium and Luxembourg), German (produced for Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Luxembourg), Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish and Russian (produced for Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Russian Confederation, Ukraine, Estonia). The MCSQ is temporarily stored in a virtual machine provided by Universitat Pompeu Fabra. This document summarizes the research output of Task 4.2: Preparing tools for the use of Computer Assisted Translation, of the Social Science and Humanities Open Cloud (SSHOC) project. This document is closely related to D4.4, “Guidelines for building survey-specific corpora: the compilation of the [MCSQ]: Multilingual Corpus of Survey Questionnaires.” D4.4 provides a detailed description of the design and implementation of the corpus, whereas D4.3 includes the database itself

An optimal network design was carried out to prioritise the installation or refurbishment of greenhouse gas (GHG) monitoring stations around Africa. The network was optimised to reduce the uncertainty in emissions across three of the most important GHGs: CO2, CH4, and N2O. Optimal networks were derived using incremental optimisation of the percentage uncertainty reduction achieved by a Gaussian Bayesian atmospheric inversion. The solution for CO2 was driven by seasonality in net primary productivity. The solution for N2O was driven by activity in a small number of soil flux hotspots. The optimal solution for CH4 was consistent over different seasons. All solutions for CO2 and N2O placed sites in central Africa at places such as Kisangani, Kinshasa and Bunia (Democratic Republic of Congo), Dundo and Lubango (Angola), Zoétélé (Cameroon), Am Timan (Chad), and En Nahud (Sudan). Many of these sites appeared in the CH4 solutions, but with a few sites in southern Africa as well, such as Amersfoort (South Africa). The multi-species optimal network design solutions tended to have sites more evenly spread-out, but concentrated the placement of new tall-tower stations in Africa between 10ºN and 25ºS. The uncertainty reduction achieved by the multi-species network of twelve stations reached 47.8% for CO2, 34.3% for CH4, and 32.5% for N2O. The gains in uncertainty reduction diminished as stations were added to the solution, with an expected maximum of less than 60%. A reduction in the absolute uncertainty in African GHG emissions requires these additional measurement stations, as well as additional constraint from an integrated GHG observatory and a reduction in uncertainty in the prior biogenic fluxes in tropical Africa.

Abstract. The effects of atmospheric nitrogen deposition (Ndep) on carbon (C) sequestration in forests have often been assessed by relating differences in productivity to spatial variations of Ndep across a large geographic domain. These correlations generally suffer from covariation of other confounding variables related to climate and other growth-limiting factors, as well as large uncertainties in total (dry + wet) reactive nitrogen (Nr) deposition. We propose a methodology for untangling the effects of Ndep from those of meteorological variables, soil water retention capacity and stand age, using a mechanistic forest growth model in combination with eddy covariance CO2 exchange fluxes from a Europe-wide network of forest flux towers. Total Nr deposition rates were estimated from local measurements as far as possible. The forest data were compared with data from natural or semi-natural, non-woody vegetation sites. The carbon sequestration response of forests to nitrogen deposition (dC / dN) was estimated after accounting for the effects of the co-correlates by means of a meta-modelling standardization procedure, which resulted in a reduction by a factor of about 2 of the uncorrected, apparent dC / dN value. This model-enhanced analysis of the C and Ndep flux observations at the scale of the European network suggests a mean overall dC / dN response of forest lifetime C sequestration to Ndep of the order of 40–50 g (C) g−1 (N), which is slightly larger but not significantly different from the range of estimates published in the most recent reviews. Importantly, patterns of gross primary and net ecosystem productivity versus Ndep were non-linear, with no further responses at high Ndep levels (Ndep > 2.5–3 g (N) m−2 yr−1) partly due to large ecosystem N losses by leaching and gaseous emissions. The reduced increase in productivity per unit N deposited at high Ndep levels implies that the forecast increased Nr emissions and increased Ndep levels in large areas of Asia may not positively impact the continent's forest CO2 sink. The large level of unexplained variability in observed carbon sequestration efficiency (CSE) across sites further adds to the uncertainty in the dC / dN response.