R/V Belgica FerryBox AUMS data

Since 2011, the Belgica is equipped with an AUMS (Autonomous Underway Measurement System). In 2014, its AUMS became part of the EC ESFRI project ICOS. The AUMS (Autonomous Underway Measurement System) is inspired by similar systems deployed on various ships of opportunity in the framework of the European Union FerryBox project (www.ferrybox.org). The system enhances the existing continuous oceanographic measurements made by RV Belgica (salinity, temperature, fluorescence). In particular, the Belgica AUMS continuously measures important ecosystem parameters such as nitrate, ammonia, silicate, dissolved oxygen and CO2, turbidity, alkalinity and phytoplankton pigments. ICOS is a large-scale European infrastructure project that aims at providing harmonised high-precision data for advanced studies on the carbon cycle and the balance of greenhouse gases and any possible disruption of it. Specifically ICOS aims therefore at (i) the (long-term) monitoring and quantification of the concentrations of long-lived greenhouse gases, (ii) the study of their fluxes between the atmosphere, ocean and terrestrial ecosystems and their storage in ecosystems and (iii) the dissemination of that information to users. The RV Belgica is a class 2 ICOS station.