SBL443N00

-N₂O-

Station Characteristics Name : Sable Island Country : Canada GAW Category : Regional Platform : Fixed Position : 43° 56' N, 60° 01' W, elevation 5 meters above mean sea-level. Address : Contact Person : Doug Worthy Organization : Environment Canada Description : Sable Island is a remote crescent-shaped ”sandbar” located at 43°56'N and 60°01'W in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 275 km east-southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Island is about 44 km long with little over 1 km wide at its widest point, and has maximum elevation of about 10 m. The terrain along the shoreline is flat with the interior containing two large saltwater ponds and a series of rolling sand dunes covered with small patches of grass and shrubs. Vegetation on the Island is very sparse. Public access is restricted. The Island is also a refuge for wild horses, seals and migratory birds. The weather station and air chemistry observatory is located approximately 8 km from the western end of the Island, 100 m from the north beach and 800 m from the south beach. Sable island is predominantly influenced by airflow originating from the North American continent and thus provides an excellent platform to assess the influence of anthropogenic and terrestrial emissions from the North American continent to the troposphere. In 1975, measurements of atmospheric CO2 collected approximately once per week in discrete Pyrex glass flasks were started at Sable Island. In June 2003, continuous measurements of CO2, CH4, and CO begun at Sable Island. The weekly flask-samples are analysed for CO2, CH4, N2O, SF6, CO and H2 as well as for the isotopes of 13C and 18O in CO2. Parameter : CO2, CH4, N2O, SF6