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AGAGE Stations

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Affiliated Stations

The Mace Head station is located on the west coast of Ireland. Its exposure to North Atlantic Ocean make it an ideal location to study both natural and man-made trace constituents in marine and continental air masses. The Mace Head, Ireland station is also a baseline station in the WMO network of Global Atmospheric Watch (GAW) station. GAGE/AGAGE operations began here in 1987 (from 1978 to 1983 ALE operated at Adrigole at 52⁰N, 10⁰W). Measurements of atmospheric CFC-11, CFC-12, CH₃CCl₃, CCl₄, and N₂O started in 1978. Measurements of CFC-113, CHCl₃ and CH₄ started in 1987, and of CO and H₂ began in 1995. 

The first AGAGE automated gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GC-MS), based on a Finnigan Magnum Ion Trap coupled to a custom-built (University of Bristol) adsorption-desorption system (ADS GC-MS), was installed at the Mace Head, Ireland AGAGE station in October 1994. It was replaced by the Agilent 5973 MS in 1998 and this was later retired in December 2004, after a new state of the art Medusa GC-MS system was installed and started operation in November 2003. The AGAGE GC-MS systems measure a wide range of CFCs, HCFCs, HFCs, PFC, halons, and halocarbons. 

Station Information (Mace Head, Ireland)

AGAGE project official: Ron Prinn, curator: Ray H.J. Wang

 Last update: November 2008