b"FLUXES The European Greenhouse Gas BulletinKey takeawaysOur first challenge was Two EU-funded projects, MRV4SOC and CoCO2, aim to create a solidthe lack of a standardised scientific base for MRV.MRV4SOC focuses on creating amethodological approach for monitoring system for soil organicmeasuring carbon stocks across carbon. The results will help establish an MRV system for the EU's land usevarious land use classes and sector. management practices.The CO2MVS, created within the CoCO2 project, monitors human- Dr Marta Gmez-Gimenzinduced greenhouse gas emissions through ground-based and satellite measurements and computer modelling.ICOS data M RV systems are developed for a widecomplements range of uses: to help countries verifygreenhouse gas their national greenhouse gas inventories, to report the results of ainventoriescertain climate mitigation action or to monitor the impacts of carbon farming. Some processesSeveral countries in Europe, including are more community-driven and local, while others aimSwitzerland and the United Kingdom, to provide a bigger picture and serve entire regions andare independently complementing countries. Some focus on verifying activities for thetheir greenhouse gas inventories using carbon credit market, while others focus on fixingmeasurements, i.e. with a top-down uncertainties in the inventories.method. This approach, called inverse Significant contributions to the improvement ofmodelling, uses precise, high-frequency MRV systems have recently been made in two projectsatmospheric measurements of greenhouse funded by the European Commission: CoCO2 andgas concentrations, along with a computer MRV4SOC. The projects aim to create a solid scientificmodel, to show how the gas moves from its base for MRV.source to where it is measured.CoCO2 created the prototype for the CopernicusIn 2003, the United Kingdom became CO2 Monitoring and Verification Support system,the first country to independently compare CO2MVS for short. This new European service willits inventories with direct measurements. Photo: Pekka Pelkonen, ICOS RImonitor human-induced greenhouse gas emissions. TheIt uses observations from various sites, other project, MRV4SOC, focuses on creating a moni- including two ICOS Atmosphere stations: toring system for soil organic carbon.Ridge Hill and Weybourne. Data from the FLUXES spoke to the project coordinators to find outICOS Atmosphere station in Mace Head, what challenges the projects aim to solve, how they areIreland, is also used.reaching their goals and how they plan to scale up resultsread the Q&As on the next spreads."