CIBA is located at the Lower Atmosphere Research Center, about 28 km north of Valladolid, on flat rural terrain in central Spain. The station is operated by the University of Valladolid (UVa). The Izaña Atmospheric Research Center – Emilio Cuevas of AEMET (IARC-AEMET) provides occasional technical support and key or complementary instrumentation.
Continuous in situ measurements of CO₂, CH₄ and CO use a Picarro G2401 cavity ring-down spectrometer (CRDS). Air is sampled at 10, 50 and 100 m on a 100 m tower. Air temperature, pressure, relative humidity, wind speed and wind direction are measured at the same three levels. CO₂ and CH₄ are greenhouse gases; CO is used as a tracer of atmospheric processes and sources.
The research centre was established in the late 1970s through cooperation between the University of Valladolid and the former National Meteorological Institute. Instrument installation and regular greenhouse gas observations began in late 2025. CIBA is undergoing ICOS labelling as a Class 2 atmospheric station; Step 1 was approved on 23 May 2024.
The station supports studies of atmospheric composition, vertical variability and transport over inland Spain. Measurements at different heights connect greenhouse gas observations with meteorological conditions, complementing the coastal observations at El Arenosillo and the high-mountain observations at Izaña.