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<front>
<journal-meta>
<journal-id journal-id-type="publisher">EGUsphere</journal-id>
<journal-title-group>
<journal-title>EGUsphere</journal-title>
<abbrev-journal-title abbrev-type="publisher">EGUsphere</abbrev-journal-title>
<abbrev-journal-title abbrev-type="nlm-ta">EGUsphere</abbrev-journal-title>
</journal-title-group>
<publisher><publisher-name>Copernicus Publications</publisher-name>
<publisher-loc>Göttingen, Germany</publisher-loc>
</publisher>
</journal-meta>
<article-meta>
<article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.5194/egusphere-2026-5833</article-id>
<title-group>
<article-title>Comparison of two near-by atmospheric CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; and CH&lt;sub&gt;4&lt;/sub&gt; records at the Mt. Cimone WMO/GAW global station (2165 m a.s.l., Italy)</article-title>
</title-group>
<contrib-group><contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Cristofanelli</surname>
<given-names>Paolo</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5666-9131</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Marcucci</surname>
<given-names>Francesca</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff2">
<sup>2</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Calidonna</surname>
<given-names>Claudia Roberta</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff3">
<sup>3</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Calzolari</surname>
<given-names>Francescopiero</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Dipace</surname>
<given-names>Felice</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff2">
<sup>2</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Montaguti</surname>
<given-names>Simonetta</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Roccato</surname>
<given-names>Fabrizio</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Busetto</surname>
<given-names>Maurizio</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff4">
<sup>4</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Marinoni</surname>
<given-names>Angela</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Putero</surname>
<given-names>Davide</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9721-1036</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff5">
<sup>5</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Renzi</surname>
<given-names>Laura</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Trisolino</surname>
<given-names>Pamela</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1786-5310</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff6">
<sup>6</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Zanatta</surname>
<given-names>Marco</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7711-6808</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Zellweger</surname>
<given-names>Christoph</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0519-0689</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff7">
<sup>7</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
</contrib-group><aff id="aff1">
<label>1</label>
<addr-line>National Research Council of Italy – Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, Bologna, 40129, Italy</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff2">
<label>2</label>
<addr-line>Aeronautica Militare – CAMM, Sestola, 41029, Italy</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff3">
<label>3</label>
<addr-line>National Research Council of Italy – Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, Lamezia Terme, 88046, Italy</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff4">
<label>4</label>
<addr-line>National Research Council of Italy – Institute of Polar Sciences, Bologna, 40129, Italy</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff5">
<label>5</label>
<addr-line>National Research Council of Italy – Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, Torino, 88046, Italy</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff6">
<label>6</label>
<addr-line>ENEA - Sustainability Department, Rome, 00123, Italy</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff7">
<label>7</label>
<addr-line>Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Laboratory for Air Pollution/Environmental Technology, Dübendorf, 8600, Switzerland</addr-line>
</aff>
<pub-date pub-type="epub">
<day>08</day>
<month>10</month>
<year>2026</year>
</pub-date>
<volume>2026</volume>
<fpage>1</fpage>
<lpage>37</lpage>
<permissions>
<copyright-statement>Copyright: &#x000a9; 2026 Paolo Cristofanelli et al.</copyright-statement>
<copyright-year>2026</copyright-year>
<license license-type="open-access">
<license-p>This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this licence, visit <ext-link ext-link-type="uri"  xlink:href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</ext-link></license-p>
</license>
</permissions>
<self-uri xlink:href="https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2026/egusphere-2026-5833/">This article is available from https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2026/egusphere-2026-5833/</self-uri>
<self-uri xlink:href="https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2026/egusphere-2026-5833/egusphere-2026-5833.pdf">The full text article is available as a PDF file from https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2026/egusphere-2026-5833/egusphere-2026-5833.pdf</self-uri>
<abstract>
<p>Long-term in situ atmospheric observations are essential for estimating surface fluxes and assessing temporal and spatial variability of greenhouse gases (GHGs). Achieving the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) compatibility goals for CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; and CH&lt;sub&gt;4&lt;/sub&gt; dry mole fractions is critical for ensuring the accuracy of such measurements. However, compliance with these goals can be challenging even at nearby sites due to environmental and operational factors. This study presents a multi-year comparison of hourly atmospheric CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; and CH&lt;sub&gt;4&lt;/sub&gt; dry mole fractions recorded by two independent monitoring programmes at the Mt. Cimone WMO/GAW Global Station in Italy. The air inlets are positioned approximately 90 m horizontally and 50 m vertically apart, and have different technical designs. Despite strong correlations and consistent seasonal and multiannual trends, the two datasets exhibit significant deviations, often exceeding the WMO compatibility goals for CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; throughout the year and for CH&lt;sub&gt;4&lt;/sub&gt; primarily in winter and spring. Besides differences in data processing which led to large deviations during episodes with high GHG dry mole fractions, the discrepancies appear to be possibly driven by different factors. The different inlet positioning plays an important role. This is linked to measurement periods characterised by high temporal variability and different sensitivity to local biogenic influences during the active vegetative season. Additional contributors include the possible influence of human presence at the facilities. Accounting for these factors reduces the seasonal CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; bias by roughly 40 %, depending on the season, resulting in a residual bias of 0.20 &amp;ndash; 0.35 ppm. For CH&lt;sub&gt;4&lt;/sub&gt;, mean seasonal deviations within the WMO compatibility goal occur from spring to autumn when periods characterised by low atmospheric variability and the absence of human presence are selected. The installation of a drying system at the CAMM laboratory was associated with a significant improvement in the agreement between the CAMM and CNR measurements.&amp;nbsp;Finally, a preliminary comparison conducted after the relocation of the CAMM inlet in early 2026 showed a further reduction in the systematic differences, supporting the role of inlet configuration in the previously observed discrepancies. Our findings emphasise the complexity of interpreting discrepancies in GHG observations at closely located stations in mountainous environments and highlight the importance of standardised and centralised protocols, such as those implemented within the ICOS Research Infrastructure, to improve data harmonisation and ensure measurement compatibility.</p>
</abstract>
<counts><page-count count="37"/></counts>
<funding-group>
<award-group id="gs1">
<funding-source>Ministero dell&apos;Università e della Ricerca</funding-source>
<award-id>IR0000032 - ITINERIS, CUP B53C22002150006</award-id>
</award-group>
<award-group id="gs2">
<funding-source>Ministero dell&apos;Università e della Ricerca</funding-source>
<award-id>Joint Research Unit - ICOS Italy</award-id>
</award-group>
<award-group id="gs3">
<funding-source>Ministero dell&apos;Università e della Ricerca</funding-source>
<award-id>CIR01_00019 – PRO-ICOS_MED</award-id>
</award-group>
<award-group id="gs4">
<funding-source>Eidgenössische Materialprüfungs- und Forschungsanstalt</funding-source>
<award-id>World Calibration Centre WCC-Empa</award-id>
</award-group>
</funding-group>
</article-meta>
</front>
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<back>
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</article>