News & field notes.

Dr. Wahaj Habib was invited to present results from the ICONEEx project at the ICOS Ireland Flux Tower Workshop, held on Wednesday, December 3rd, 2025, at the Grand Hotel in Malahide. This workshop was part of the ICOS Ireland Launch and Science Meeting, which officially launched the Irish national ICOS (Integrated Carbon Observation System) network and celebrated the accreditation of its first observation stations.

During the workshop's "Strengthening Collaboration" session, Dr. Habib delivered a 3-minute lightning talk alongside other producers, users, and network coordinators from organizations including DCEE, AFBI, NPWS, Met Éireann, and Trinity College Dublin. The session focused on identifying shared goals and collaboration opportunities within Ireland's growing flux tower community.

The workshop addressed key topics including scientific and technical challenges in flux measurements, data management best practices, and future tower deployment priorities. Discussions covered uncertainty quantification, gap-filling techniques, site representativeness, data standardisation, QA/QC protocols, and emerging technologies for greenhouse gas monitoring.

ICOS provides a standardised framework for monitoring greenhouse gas emissions across atmospheric, terrestrial, and oceanic systems. Recent findings from Irish stations have revealed significant discrepancies between inventory-based and modelled GHG emissions, underscoring the need for robust, independent verification of national GHG inventories. The workshop provided a valuable platform for the Irish flux tower community to collaborate on advancing Ireland's contribution to European and international climate reporting.

Dr. Wahaj Habib presented a poster at the AsiaFlux 2025 Conference held in Pangkalan Kerinci, Riau, Indonesia from October 20-25, 2025. The international conference brought together scientists, policymakers, and practitioners from around the world to share the latest advancements in ecosystem-atmosphere exchanges and land-based climate solutions.

The AsiaFlux 2025 Conference featured a comprehensive program including 2 days of intensive flux measurement workshops focused on hands-on training techniques, followed by 3 days of scientific presentations and poster sessions. Dr. Habib's poster, titled "From the Arctic Tundra to Temperate Ecosystems: Upscaling Net Ecosystem CO₂ Exchange for the Irish Ecosystems," showcased the ICONEEx project's innovative approaches to CO₂ modeling. The presentation highlighted both the PANEEx (Pan Arctic Net Ecosystem CO₂ Exchange Modelling) framework and the ICONEEx project methodologies, demonstrating how lessons from Arctic research can be applied to temperate Irish ecosystems.

The conference theme, "Nature-Based Solutions for Asia: From Advanced Science and Technology to Practices," emphasized translating robust scientific evidence into scalable and verifiable climate solutions. Key topics included GHG, water, and energy fluxes from terrestrial ecosystems, satellite validation and remote sensing integration, ecosystem modeling, and MRV systems for carbon markets and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

Dr. Wahaj Habib presented a poster at the ESA Living Planet Symposium 2025, showcasing research work from the ICONEEx project. The Living Planet Symposium is ESA's flagship Earth observation conference, bringing together scientists, researchers, and industry professionals from around the world to discuss the latest advances in Earth observation science and applications.

The presentation highlighted the innovative approaches being developed in the ICONEEx project for upscaling Irish CO₂ Net Ecosystem Exchange using satellite-driven models, demonstrating how high-resolution remote sensing data can be integrated with ground-based measurements to monitor carbon dynamics across Ireland's diverse ecosystems.

Dr. Wahaj Habib participated in the 8th ICOS Summer School, which took place from 5th-15th May 2025 at Hyytiälä Forest Station (University of Helsinki) in Finland. This intensive 10-day program brought together 35 students, including MSc students, PhD candidates, postdoctoral researchers, and research station staff to learn about the carbon cycle and climate change relevant to ICOS (Integrated Carbon Observation System).

The Summer School featured lectures and practical sessions on carbon cycle measurements, data management principles, and measurement techniques. Participants engaged in both theoretical learning and hands-on experience, which directly complements the ICONEEx project's focus on carbon dynamics and ecosystem monitoring. The program also provided valuable networking opportunities with the international ICOS community.

Beyond the scientific program, participants enjoyed evening activities including volleyball, rowing, and traditional Finnish sauna experiences, fostering collaboration and friendships within the carbon research community.

We are happy to announce that we have finalised the signing of a Data Sharing Agreement (DSA) with Teagasc to acquire eddy covariance flux tower data. This collaboration is crucial for the ICONEEx project, enabling us to integrate high-quality, long-term data from the National Agricultural Soil Carbon Observatory (NASCO) into our models. NASCO, funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), is establishing 28 Eddy Covariance Flux Towers across various agricultural landscapes in Ireland. This initiative will provide vital information on carbon dynamics, improve carbon sequestration assessment, and contribute to national inventory reporting. Learn more about NASCO here.

Dr. Wahaj Habib was named Ireland's Arctic Frontiers Emerging Leader for 2025. As one of the selected participants for this program (out of about 200 applicants globally and 10 applicants in Ireland) funded by the Embassy of Ireland in Norway and the Marine Institute, Wahaj was invited to small group meeting in January to travel through Northern Norway.

Dr. Matthew Saunders (main author), along with co-authors Dr. John Connolly and Dr. Wahaj Habib from the ICONEEx team, published a paper titled "Counting carbon on agricultural peat soils" at the Teagasc "Counting Carbon: Science and Practice" conference. This work provides crucial insights into carbon dynamics in peat ecosystems and represents a key contribution from the ICONEEx project team.

The paper addresses carbon measurement methodologies and challenges in agricultural peat soils, which represent a significant component of Ireland's terrestrial carbon cycle. This research directly supports the ICONEEx project's objectives of upscaling Net Ecosystem Exchange measurements across Ireland's diverse ecosystems, with particular focus on the extensive peatland areas that are critical for national carbon reporting and climate policy.

Dr. John Connolly and Dr. Wahaj Habib participated in the European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly 2024 in April, where they presented a poster on the ICONEEx project, detailing what will be achieved in the project over the coming years.

We are excited to announce the official launch of the ICONEEx project. Stay tuned for updates!