Climate Sense

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bserving

, P

redicting

and

rojecting

limate

onditions

and archiving of the resulting data and information; contributing to the

implementation of global coastal and open-ocean observing networks

by sustaining and extending the global array of Argo ocean monitor-

ing buoys; and developing a globally coordinated information and

data system for monitoring the deep ocean and the dynamics of ocean

processes throughout the ocean water column.

The WMO is leading efforts to build a complete and stable Global

Observing System. The surface-based component is to include in

situ, airborne, land and possibly ocean measurements; high priority

will be given to ensuring a stable and, as far as possible, automated

World Weather Watch Upper Air Network and to further developing

the Aircraft Meteorological Data Relay programme. The space-based

module is to include operational geostationary and polar components.

Finally, WCRP and yet another GEOCommunity of Practice (address-

ing the cryosphere) are collaborating on ensuring that the Legacy of the

International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-08 enhances the use of Earth obser-

vations in all appropriate realms including, but not limited to, sea and

land ice, permafrost, coastal erosion, physical and chemical polar ocean

changes, marine and terrestrial ecosystem change, biodiversity monitor-

ing and impacts of increased resource exploitation andmarine transport.

The long-term goals are to ensure an appropriate legacy for IPY projects

and to advocate the continuation of relevant efforts beyond the duration

of the IPY.

A climate record for assessing variability and change

A fourth major effort is the GEO community’s work

on extending and improving the quality of past climate

records through advanced data reanalysis and recon-

struction of the atmosphere, ocean, land and sea ice

domains. The aim is to generate high-quality, temporally

homogeneous estimates of the past climate to support

current analyses of climate variability and change.

The activities under this effort include: reprocessing and

reanalysing climate data to ensure consistency in histori-

cal records; extending the record of climate variability at

the global scale in order to ensure a global coverage of

high-resolution, well-dated reconstructions of past climate

parameters in the ocean and on land; and securing key

climate data from satellite systems. These activities are led

by many of the GEOmember governments and participat-

ing organizations already mentioned.

A framework for collaboration

These four examples, all related to the field of climate,

are excellent illustrations of how governments and

organizations are working together through GEO on

a voluntary and best-efforts basis to construct GEOSS

for the benefit of scientists, managers, decision makers

and, ultimately, the global general public. By building on

existing programmes, initiating new investments to fill

gaps, and emphasizing synergies and partnerships, this

collective endeavour demonstrates the old adage about

how the whole can be greater than the sum of the parts.

To continually improve GEOSS, GEO is assessing

user needs, developing technical standards to make

data interoperable, improving information dissemina-

tion, and identifying gaps in current observing and

information systems. GEO consistently pursues new

opportunities for generating integrated data sets, infor-

mation products and analyses in near real-time, as well

as combining data from a wide variety of fields and

sources and presenting them in user-friendly formats.

It is no accident that the construction of GEOSS

has been initiated at this time. Until now, a critical

mass of instruments, technologies, databases, models

and decision-support services had not been realized.

Similarly, the sense that ‘we are all in this together’, and

that nations must collaborate on addressing our shared

global problems, has only emerged in recent years. Both

the supply side and the demand side of Earth observa-

tions have recently started to mature.

This non-binding and cooperative approach advocated by

GEOmay not be easy to understand at first, but it is the right

model for global collaboration in the 21st century. GEOgets

the incentive structure right by ensuring that contributors

to GEOSS continue to manage and receive credit for their

contributed components. At the same time, by collabo-

rating with others, these contributors leverage their own

investments in Earth observations through better access to

information, analyses and other collective resources. The

end result is a stronger capacity for effective economic and

societal decision making on an increasingly complex and

interconnected planet.

The GEOportal provides an entry point to access remote sensing, geospatial static

and in situ data, information and services

Source: www.geoportal.org