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Global Observations

Observations provide the basis for information about what is happening and why in our climate system. But the observations must be taken in ways that guarantee continuity and calibration of the record so that they determine the true record and not spurious changes due to changes in sites or instruments, or instrument drift. The observations can be from the surface and from space. Typically the latter use an algorithm and a mixture of measurements to depict a geophysical variable. And so the observations must be processed - and reprocessed as algorithms improve and problems are identified. Moreover the observations must be synthesized or analyzed into global gridded fields, and reanalysis of past records can greatly help improve knowledge of what has happened.

Figure caption: A view of how a climate information system may be structured to result in climate services (after Trenberth 2008, WMO Bulletin).

Clearly the observations and the derived products provide valuable information about the climate system. Moreover, they determine the so-called initial state for forecasts of the future climate using models. As such they are the core of an information system on what has happened, and why. The latter comes from observations of the forcings of the climate system along with model experiments on attribution of the changes to a cause, whether external to the system or part of the slowly evolving interactive system itself.

The World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) has set up the WCRP Observations and Assimilation Panel (WOAP) as an overarching integrating panel to help coordinate observations, their reprocessing and reanalysis, and improvement and development into more efficient and economic observations without corrupting the climate record. The WCRP Observation and Assimilation Panel (WOAP) is co-sponsored by the GCOS (Global Climate Observation System). WOAP consists of a panel of representatives from all of the other activities in WCRP (projects and working groups) and GCOS to deal with cross cutting issues related to global observations, their analysis and assimilation, and the resulting products, from a research perspective on behalf of WCRP and GCOS. The Panel is chaired by Dr. Kevin Trenberth of NCAR.

The third WOAP meeting will take place at NCAR from 29 September to 1 October 2008.

Key meeting objectives

• Progress achieved during the last two years in relation to observations, especially from space agencies through the CEOS (Committee on Earth Observing Satellites), interactions between GCOS and WCRP activities, and participation in GEOSS (Global Earth Observing System of Systems).
• Transition of WCRP projects and datasets beyond 2013.
• Assess the activities and results of WOAP's Task Group on Data Management and the Joint Working Group on Observational Data Sets for Reanalysis.

Review documents on the WOAP site. [WOAP documents]

Other info: [WOAP-3 Meeting] [WCRP]