GML team installed meteorological instruments at the Colorado Atmospheric Observatory tower
2026-01-20
On January 15, staff from the Global Monitoring Laboratory’s (GML) Observatory and Global Network Operations division completed installation of meteorological (MET) instruments at the lab’s Colorado Atmospheric Observatory tower in Byers, CO.
The team installed the tower-MET system at three heights—30m, 100m, and 502m. The instruments will measure temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and wind direction. Despite setbacks, shifting priorities, and budget challenges, the team persevered, confirming the structural integrity of the booms and aligning measurements and data collection methods with the lab’s Atmospheric Baseline Observatories sites. This work supports the long-term vision for GML’s tower network.
GML operates several measurement programs: Semi-continuous measurements are made at four baseline observatories, 57 surface sites, 14 aircraft sites, and 14 tower sites.
Starting in the 1990s, GML began taking measurements from TV, radio, and cell phone towers (ranging from 100 to 600 meters) to expand the lab’s long-term monitoring of carbon cycle gases over continental areas. At these tower sites, GML makes continuous, regionally representative measurements of carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), and methane (CH4). These air samples are shipped back to the Boulder, Colorado, laboratory for analysis of CO2 and more than 50 other gases.
In 2024, GML began updating its aging field measurement equipment, by deploying single high-precision analyzers that integrate measurements of CO2, CH4, and CO into a single instrument. This initiative represents the initial phase of a multi-year plan aimed at ultimately upgrading to a new trace gas measurement system, designated as “NextGen.” The Colorado Atmospheric Observatory tower was added to the network in 2024 and serves as the first fully NextGen testbed site.
Next steps are for the team to formalize data acquisition and processing.