1 EC-PORS Observations Task Team Session chair: Árni Snorrason 21 February 2014 – EC-PORS-5...

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EC-PORS Observations Task Team

Session chair: Árni Snorrason

21 February 2014 – EC-PORS-5Wellington, New Zealand

WMO EC-PORS-5 – Wellington, New Zealand, February 2014

OUTLINE

• Global Cryosphere Watch (GCW)• Polar Space Task Group (PSTG)• Arctic-HYCOS• WMO Observing: WIGOS, WIS, AMDAR, GAW, SAON,

Satcom Forum• WMO Technical Commissions


GCW ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• Implementation Meetings Completed 2013-14: GCW Steering Group(GSG), CryoNet Team, Asia CryoNet

• Completed GCW IP v1.3 for PORS consideration• Completed Terms of Reference for GSG and Task Teams for consideration

of PORS• GSG membership proposed for PORS approval • CryoNet:

– development of generic GCW guidelines called “Primer to GCW CryoNet”

– drafted requirements for site inclusion,– Initial sites selected,– development of a site questionnaire– Initiate inventory of observing practices currently in use.


GCW ACCOMPLISHMENTS…2• GCW Website and Portal:

– GCW website expanded considerably– GCW Portal interoperability expanded; now "pre-operational" and available

to public• Snow Watch progress:

– GCW ad-hoc team prepared initial report on the best means of implementing changes in observing and exchanging in-situ snow depth data

– development of new daily “trackers” for Northern Hemisphere snow extent and snow water equivalent.

– ESA’s Satellite Snow Products intercomparison and Evaluation Exercise (SnowPEX) project is a direct outcome of the Toronto Snow Watch Workshop and is a direct contribution of ESA to GCW

• Glossary (multi-source) initiated with over 2100 entries• Cryospheric observational requirements being compiled; • Support training workshops of partners on glaciers and permafrost


GCW Issues to be Discussed

Discussion:• Governance and structure of GCW• GCW Implementation Plan v1.3 (INF.34)• Terms of Reference for Steering Group and Teams • Initial CryoNet sites and requirements for site inclusion in CryoNet• GCW Partnership criteria• GCW Draft Resolution• Funding in the next cycle

Decisions:• Approval of Terms of Reference for Teams and Steering Group.• GSG membership proposed for PORS approval • Approval of initial CryoNet sites and requirements for site inclusion in CryoNet• Approval of GCW partnership criteria• Finalization of draft GCW resolution


Polar Space Task Group (Status presentation to be made by WebEX by M. Drinkwater)

PSTG Meeting: - PSTG3 Meeting held 22-23 May 2013 – hosted by CNES, in Paris FranceSee: http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/sat/documents/PSTG-3_Final-Report.pdf

- 2nd Meeting of SAR CWG held alongside PSTG3 – reporting on significant progress (see following slides and INF.11.)See: http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/sat/documents/PSTG-SARCWG-2_Final-Report.pdf

Status:- Reviewed observation gaps and progress in planning with representatives of snow/permafrost/ice sheet/atmosphere user communities- Assessed progress in Ice Sheet observation plans implemented since PSTG2- Discussed key strategic implementation drivers (geopolitics, socio-economic, etc.)

Next Meeting (PSTG4):- NASA hosting offer - TBC from 29 Sept-1 Oct 2014 at GSFC, Maryland, USA- Opportunity to respond to more mature/consolidated user needs originating from GCW, WWRP(PPP) YOPP planning, etc.- Discuss draft of Strategic Implementation Plan


http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/sat/documents/PSTG-3_Final-Report.pdf

http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/sat/documents/PSTG-3_Final-Report.pdf

http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/sat/documents/PSTG-SARCWG-2_Final-Report.pdf

http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/sat/documents/PSTG-SARCWG-2_Final-Report.pdf

Polar Space Task Group(Status presentation to be made by WebEX by M. Drinkwater)

Requirements Approach:1) Fulfill critical near-term monitoring gaps (e.g. ice sheet InSAR)2) User consultation workshops; WCRP/EGU/ESA Cryosphere Workshop; ECMWF THORPEX/WWRP workshop; ESA/IPA/WCRP Permafrost Workshop3) Survey and collect consolidated user needs (Ice sheet; Snow; Permafrost; Atmosphere; Sea Ice), and address observation requirements4) Establish multi-agency, coordinated plans which respond to critical monitoring requirements collected from key user communities

Satellite Observation Planning and TaskingEstablish Working groups to resolve details and implement planning (SAR Coordination WG established) – see INF.11

PSTG Representation at Forthcoming Meetings:Arctic Observing Summit

PSTG Chair Representation – Chairing Remote Sensing Session, and participating in High-level closing session.


http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/www/WIGOS_6_EC_PORS/EC-PORS_5/INF_11_PSTG_Icesheet_leaflet.pdf

PSTG SAR CWG

• PSTG formed SAR Coordination Working Group (SAR CWG) to assist with collection processing, and product generation from satellite synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data sets.

✦ tasking of multi-mode SAR missions presents unique challenges• Achievements of SAR CWG during first phase of initial activities in 2013 include

coordinated ice sheet planning response and SAR data acquisitions, as follows: ✦ documentation of ice sheet science and observation requirements ✦ coordinated satellite SAR data acquisition plans for ice sheet monitoring of

Greenland and Antarctica ✦ acquisition of Radarsat-1 InSAR data sets over Greenland) and Radarsat-2

coverage of Antarctica ✦ acquisition of detailed TerraSAR-X InSAR data sets over selected coastal areas

of Greenland and Antarctica, and within polar gap (poleward of 82 deg.) initial SAR data processing and product generation✦


PSTG SAR CWG Next Steps

• Repeat coverage of Greenland/Antarctic ice planned during Phase II for 2-3 consecutive years using an increasing number of missions - and benefitting from launches of the European Sentinel-1A, and Japanese ALOS-2 missions

• A more detailed coordinated inter-agency observation strategy for Phase II will be developed and adopted in 2014.

• SAR CWG provides opportunity to coordinate acquisitions from the array of different SAR missions, to best achieve ice sheet observations in fulfillment of science objectives set by the global science community.

• The ice sheet requirement document is the first in a set of such documents by the PSTG SAR Coordination Working Group. The group is currently working with the science community to document consolidated sets of observation requirements for permafrost, snow, and sea ice.


Polar Space Task Group: www.wmo.int/pages/prog/sat/pstg_en.php

http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/sat/pstg_en.php

Arctic-HYCOS

• The World Hydrological Cycle Observing System (WHYCOS) is a global programme, developed in response to the scarcity or absence of accurate, timely and accessible data and information in real or near real time on freshwater resources in many parts of the world.

• The programme is implemented through various components (HYCOSs) at the regional and/or basin scale. It is guided by the WHYCOS International Advisory Group (WIAG).

• For more information on the WHYCOS • –http://www.whycos.org/cms/.


Arctic-HYCOS mission statement

To establish a formal commitment between Arctic Council (AC) Member States to freely and openly deliver monthly estimates of daily gauged (and un-gauged) Arctic drainage basin river flow data in near real time in support of WHYCOS and PORS to establish a better understanding of the pan-arctic hydrological system.


Arctic-HYCOS

• A draft project proposal document which sets out a framework for the implementation of Arctic-HYCOS has been prepared and is currently under discussion.

• It is based primarily on a project profile prepared in 2001, a project proposal submitted in 2005, a science and implementation plan prepared by the Arctic-HYDRA programme in 2010 and lastly an implementation plan created in 2012 and prepared by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

• A teleconference involving Arctic-HYCOS interested parties was held on Monday 13 January 2014. As a first step a web-site is being developed to enable access to information on Arctic-HYCOS as it evolves.

• A face-to-face meeting is planned for March 2014 at the WMO Headquarters in Geneva.


Related WMO Initiatives

WIGOS (presentation to be made) • observing component of GCW is recognized as one of the four WIGOS

component observing systems • the standard and recommended practices and procedures for the observing

component of GCW are being drafted into the WIGOS regulatory material. • Challenge for GCW is to find the people to contribute to the WIGOS requests

and participate in its numerous bodies



WIS (presentation to be made) • WIS - at this time no progress has been made to prepare a WIS Implementation

Plan specifically for Polar Regions; GCW Portal is WIS compliant and allows interoperability to other cryosphere data centres.

• it would be useful if the EC-PORS identified a process for accepting of nominations of institutions offering data or other services for the cryosphere to the WMO community to be registered as National Centres (NCs) or Data Collection or Production Centres (DCPCs)

• It is suggested that EC-PORS consider establishing a inter-commission task team, rapporteur or focal point for reviewing such nominations and identifying the relevant technical commission


Related WMO InitiativesAMDAR:• There is a very limited amount of Antarctic, near-polar region level flight data. • Coverage above 60N to around 70N is mostly from the USA (Alaska Airways) and E-

AMDAR over Scandinavia. Some cruise level data are generated from trans-Atlantic traffic from both AMDAR and other sources. From KEF? Some operators are partners in AMDAR, some in TAMDAR

• Expansion of coverage should be encouraged - Information regarding polar routes, based on HF air-to-ground communication shows that AMDAR observations can be expanded in the Arctic Region including above 80N; equipping smaller aircraft would be valuable to expand AMDAR coverage in remote polar regions.

• Tough in Antarctic, as there are no trans-Atlantic flights with routes over the Antarctic.

• TAMDAR data is collected by a private enterprise in co-operation with the operators and some NMHSs including IMO. Is there an ongoing discussion on how the AMDAR and TAMDAR can exchange data and open them for general use?


Global AMDAR Coverage, 5 February 2014 (Courtesy NOAA/ESRL/GSD)

Related WMO InitiativesGAW:• the inadequate and diminishing atmospheric composition observation networks

to support research and understanding of the rapid changing Polar Regions remains a concern. There were no new GAW stations established in Polar Regions since previous session of EC-PORS.

• it is difficult to assess if the current network configuration addresses adequately the issues relevant to polar regions or not.

• EC-PORS is requested to work with GAW in highlighting the importance to Members for submission of data which are required to understand the processes relevant to the Arctic and Antarctic.

• GCW, with IASAO, is considering GAW stations as CryoNet sites, building them into GCW reference or integrated sites – sustained support for GAW stations would benefit GCW and CryoNet



SAON:• Sustaining Arctic Observing Networks was initiated through Arctic Council; WMO

(rep. Miro Ondras) is a member of the Executive Board• the Second Arctic Observing Summit (AOS-2) will be held in Helsinki, Finland, 10-12

April 2014, in conjunction with Arctic Science Summit Week (ASSW).



Actions for WMO• WMO should consider whether the future GCW products should be advertized

through SAON website.• GCW to consider contributing its inventory of satellite products together with lists of

relevant WMO networks to the SAON inventory of Arctic Observing Systems. What about other networks, i.e. weather, water, climate? Is the SAON inventory covering those?

• WMO Secretariat to consider updating OSCAR/Requirements to allow easy extraction of polar related observational user requirements.

• WMO to consider to be part of the SAON review Panel.• EC-PORS should encourage national representation at AOS-2



SATCOM: (J. Stander represented EC-PORS)• Recent meeting reviewed the WMO and IOC user requirements for the

collection of meteorological data from remote areas (including buoys, ship-based observing systems, seal level observing stations, Automatic Weather Stations, Polar Observations, profiling floats, and animal tracking).

• It reviewed the capabilities and the tariff schemes of the satellite data telecommunication systems that are mostly being used for the collection of environmental data from remote areas, and discussed the role that they could play in a future Forum.



• The future Forum is meant to provide guidance to the WMO and IOC users on the use of Satcom systems, including guiding them on how to make the best arrangements for the purchase of airtime.

• The Forum will provide detailed information on satellite systems capabilities so that users can make informed decisions on which system to use.

• Important for EC-PORS to continue to be represented


WMO Technical CommissionsCCl: Role of CCl in the development of climate observations, networks and related

data management aspects relevant to Polar Regions • Observations in cold areas and mountainous regions are part of CCl focus.• Chapter 2 of Guide to Climatological Practices (WMO No. 100) is due to be

updated in 2016• CCl proposes to have pool of rapporteurs to engage with and communicate

climate observational needs to all relevant Technical Commissions and other groups such within WMO and partners.

• CCl to work with other commissions and programmes on defining the High Quality Global Data Management Framework for Climate framework

• Request CCl to accelerate its work with other Commissions and Programmes to develop common guidance on network requirement, maintenance, sustainability, data management and the recovery and digitisation of old records in support of GCW.


WMO Technical CommissionsCHy:• Commission for Hydrology (CHy) would be pleased to provide access to

advice and guidance on hydrological observations as support to GCW, in particular through support to the Arctic-HYCOS as a component of the World Hydrological Cycle Observing System (WHYCOS).

JCOMM:• To be updated by J. Stander


1 EC-PORS Observations Task Team Session chair: Árni Snorrason 21 February 2014 – EC-PORS-5...

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