Report from GCOS/CBS/CIMO/WIGOS Expert Meeting on GRUAN

Transcription

1 WMO/IOC/UNEP/ICSU GLOBAL CLIMATE OBSERVING SYSTEM GCOS/WCRP ATMOSPHERIC OBSERVATION PANEL FOR CLIMATE SIXTEENTH SESSION GENEVA, SWITZERLAND, 30 April 3 May 2012 AOPC XVII Doc. 8.1b (26.IV.2012) Item 8.1b Report from GCOS/CBS/CIMO/WIGOS Expert Meeting on GRUAN (Submitted by GCOS Secretariat) Summary and Purpose of Document This document presents the outcome of the GCOS/CBS/CIMO/WIGOS Expert Meeting on the GCOS Upper Air Reference Network (GRUAN) that was held in January Appendix: A: Revised Terms of Reference of the AOPC Working Group on Atmospheric Reference Observations (WG ARO) ACTION PROPOSED The meeting is invited to note the information contained in this document for discussion under agenda item 8.1. AOPC is invited to revise the membership and Terms of Reference of the WG ARO to include increased participation by WMO Technical Commissions (TCs) following the recommendations of the GCOS/CBS/CIMO/WIGOS Expert Meeting on GRUAN.

2 AOPC XVII, Doc. 8.1b, p. 2 The so called WMO Integrated Observing System (WIGOS) Pilot Project meeting on GRUAN Observing Practices and Governance was held at WMO Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland from 25 to 27 January The purpose of this expert meeting was to identify parts of the forthcoming GRUAN Guide and Manual to be included into official WMO literature, and viceversa. In addition, this meeting aimed to address governance and management aspects of GRUAN. This effort followed a recommendation of the WMO Commission for Basic Systems (CBS), which at its extraordinary session in 2010 had agreed on a mechanism for the development of observing practices for the GRUAN stations. For GRUAN to become fully operational, its operational practices, described in the GRUAN Manual of Operations, will have to be accommodated in the WMO Regulatory Material, in particular in the Manual on the Global Observing System (WMO No. 544), the Guide to the Global Observing System (WMO No. 488) and the Guide to Meteorological Instruments and Methods of Observation (WMO No. 8). The Commission agreed that an expert meeting should be organized to finalize these practices with a view of submitting them to CBS XV for consideration. It requested the representatives of the Expert Team on Evolution of the Global Observing System (ET EGOS), the Expert Team on Surface based Remotely Sensed Observations (ET SBRSO) and the Expert Team on Satellite Systems (ET SAT) to participate in this effort together with the OPAG IOS Rapporteur on Regulatory Material. Besides these CBS experts, representatives from the WMO Commission on Instruments and Methods of Observation (CIMO), the AOPC chairman, both co chairs of the WG ARO, and the Head of the GRUAN Lead Centre participated in the meeting. The full report from this meeting, including the meeting agenda as well as the list of participants, is available under: pdf. The expert meeting reviewed the governance structure of GRUAN and agreed that small changes in governance would be necessary to: better enable WMO to provide guidance to GRUAN on operational practices and procedures, to assist GRUAN to extend its operations to include a near real time operational model of data delivery in the next few years; and in doing so, assist in nurturing additional participation of WMO s in the desired GRUAN network expansion. This requires direct representation on WG ARO of the four relevant WMO TCs: the Commission for Instruments and Methods of Observation (CIMO), the Commission for Basic Systems (CBS), the Commission for Atmospheric Sciences (CAS; which oversees the Global Atmosphere Watch, GAW), and the Commission for Climatology (CCl). It was pointed out that the reporting back to the WMO TCs would be provided by the TC representatives on WG ARO, so it would place no additional burden on other members. This reporting would ensure that the WMO TCs would remain abreast of GRUAN developments, enabling them to continue to foster support amongst WMO s for ongoing operation of GRUAN and for the establishment of new sites The meeting also reviewed the draft GRUAN Manual, and agreed on changes that would be required to improve the alignment of the GRUAN documentation with WMO s regulatory material for WIGOS. The meeting acknowledged that the implementation of the agreed changes required additional resourcing, which GCOS and WMO provided.

3 AOPC XVII, Doc. 8.1b, p. 3 Finally, the meeting discussed and agreed on the GRUAN information that was required to be included in the WIGOS regulatory material, and those parts of the WIGOS documentation that would be affected. The expert meeting provided the following recommendations: That WMO and GCOS Secretariats inform the respective Presidents of WMO TCs of the proposed changes to WG ARO membership and to request nominations of representatives to serve on WG ARO. That AOPC revise the current Terms of Reference and membership of the WG ARO at its upcoming session (AOPC XVII, 30 April 3 May 2012, Geneva), indicating clearly who is serving in what capacity (as individual expert or TC representative). That the GCOS Secretariat and Chairman reach out to the GCOS Steering Committee informing them in between sessions on the outcome of this meeting. That the WMO and GCOS Secretariats inform CBS at its upcoming session of the outcome of this meeting. That specific details of and information on GRUAN from the forthcoming GRUAN Manual and Guide and as identified at this meeting (cf. Annex IV and V) be included in WMO regulatory material (currently for GOS and CIMO, and ultimately for WIGOS). That the WMO and GCOS Secretariats resource the additional work required to revise the draft GRUAN Manual to reflect the agreed change of governance, to separate the document into a Manual and a Guide, and to ensure that together they contain the information required for inclusion in the WIGOS documentation. That the following detailed changes be made to the GRUAN regulatory material: replace the existing Figure 1 and its accompanying text with the agreed modified organigram and suitable text, pending formal acceptance by AOPC; state the purpose and objectives of GRUAN uniformly throughout all GRUAN documentation; include mandatory requirements for a fully compliant GRUAN station as well as the minimum entry level requirements for consideration as a GRUAN site; add obligations regarding data transmitting via the WIS; introduce a GRUAN data level corresponding to the best estimate available in NRT product; separate the draft Manual into two documents: A GRUAN Manual, based on the existing Executive Summary, and a GRUAN Guide based upon the main text of the existing draft. Adrian Simmons in his capacity as AOPC chairman agreed on behalf of the panel to change the GRUAN governance structure at the AOPC XVII Session. The change of governance is reflected in the proposed new Terms of References for the WG ARO as given in Appendix A. The panel is invited to revise the membership and Terms of Reference of the WG ARO to include increased participation by WMO Technical Commissions following the recommendations of the GCOS/CBS/CIMO/WIGOS Expert Meeting, as well as to discuss the modalities for full members and ex officios with the view to avoid possible conflicts of interest.

4 Appendix A: revised Terms of Reference proposal for AOPC consideration Note that this suggested revision builds upon the latest version of the terms of reference from April 2011 which is available at: WGARO. WG ARO members have undertaken limited edits to attempt to reflect outcomes of the WIGOS sponsored meeting in January 2012 and outcomes of ICM 4 discussions as they relate to this issue. This revision constitutes solely a suggestion for discussion by AOPC. WG ARO explicitly recognizes that final decisions on membership and terms of reference rests, and always have rested, with AOPC. Terms of Reference (April 2012) Background The GCOS/WCRP Atmospheric Observation Panel for Climate (AOPC) Working Group on Atmospheric Reference Observations (WG ARO) was established in 2006 in recognition of the importance of initiating reference quality observations of vertical profiles of essential climate variables, starting with temperature and water vapour, from the surface into the stratosphere to enhance monitoring and understanding of climate variability and change. The 2004 GCOS Implementation Plan identified the establishment of a reference quality network as a very high priority for implementation by While this very ambitious timeline was not achieved, significant progress has been made. The 2010 Update of the GCOS Implementation Plan (GCOS 138) reiterated the call for the establishment of the GCOS Reference Upper Air Network (GRUAN) for reference upper air measurements and a complementary system for reference measurements from satellites, and support of reanalysis and reprocessing activities as a key need. Since 2008 DWD (Deutscher Wetterdienst) have hosted the GRUAN Lead Centre consisting of scientific and secretarial support at their Lindenberg Observatory to oversee day to day operations of the network. In early 2012 more formal involvement of WMO and its technical commissions was endorsed at a meeting held under the auspices of the WMO Integrated Global Observing System (WIGOS). This enhanced involvement of WMO in GRUAN operations will be achieved by incorporating representatives from relevant WMO Technical Commissions. A GRUAN Implementation Plan was published in July 2009 (GCOS 134) covering the period until An amendment to this implementation plan, covering the period through 2016, will be published in September/October It is the Working Group s responsibility to facilitate this implementation, liaising with other groups and national and international bodies to ensure that an eventual GRUAN network is fit for purpose, robust and has the required long term commitment and management structures. The WG ARO also provides guidance to the GRUAN Lead Centre. The WG ARO membership consists of a broad range of scientific and technical experts who contribute expert oversight and support to GRUAN development and operations. The AOPC, supported by the GCOS Secretariat and guided by the GCOS Steering Committee, provides ultimate direction and oversight of GRUAN. The WG ARO provides direct guidance on the operation of GRUAN and is supported by specific GRUAN Task Teams and the GRUAN Analysis Team for Network Design and Operations Research (GATNDOR). The day to day management and coordination of the network, including training and ensuring the archival and dissemination of GRUAN data, is the responsibility of the GRUAN Lead Centre. An organizational structure for GRUAN as a whole is given in Figure 1.

5 AOPC XVII, Doc. 8.1b, p. 2 UNEP IOC ICSU WMO WCRP #1 GCOS SC CIMO/CBS/CAS/CCl Reporting Guidance Reporting Guidance on Science/Research Requirements for GRUAN AOPC Reporting #3 Guidance WG ARO #2 Guidance on Operational Requirements for GRUAN (GRUAN & WIGOS Manual) Reporting Guidance Task Analysis Teams GRUAN Lead Centre Measurement Sites #4 Figure 1: Organizational diagram for GRUAN management and oversight. Notes 1. WCRP identifies scientific and research requirements for GRUAN, while WMO identifies operational requirements. 2. Composition of WG ARO to be determined by the AOPC in consultation with WMO 3. WG ARO reports to AOPC. Reporting to the commissions is the sole responsibility of the commission representatives and should add no additional overhead to other members of WG ARO beyond reasonable communication on matters arising. 4. GRUAN Measurement Sites are contributed by s of WMO. Working group roles and responsibilities The working group has a range of roles and responsibilities that reflect the GCOS and WMO expectations of its outputs. Here, these have been arranged under broad categories that reflect the core facets of the expected work. Governance To provide scientific, technical and management oversight of the operations of the GRUAN Lead Centre, which will manage the overall work and evolution of the network, and which shall report to the WG ARO at least twice a year;

6 AOPC XVII, Doc. 8.1b, p. 3 To define roles and responsibilities of the GRUAN Lead Centre and, as deemed appropriate, other centres, for data management, quality monitoring, analysis and capacity development purposes; To initiate, approve, manage and dissolve, as appropriate, task teams established to undertake specific activities in support of GRUAN; To encourage and support the activities of GATNDOR and provide feedback and input as requested by that team; To ensure that GRUAN operations are well aligned with the goals and directions of GCOS through liaison with the AOPC; To ensure that GRUAN operations are well aligned with WMO goals and directions through the representatives of WMO Technical Commissions; Site selection, assessment, and certification To define essential and desirable requirements of a GRUAN site in terms of operational principles, the collection of metadata, assessment of measurement uncertainties, data management, variables addressed, and instrumentation. Develop these requirements in consultation with other relevant observing programmes, make them publically available, and periodically reassess their validity; To certify sites based on (i) information submitted by the site, (ii) an assessment made by the Lead Centre, and (iii) potentially on site assessment by WG and/or Lead Centre members, against the set of requirements. Periodically reassess/audit sites against these same requirements; To decide on the composition of GRUAN, including the selection of sites. This should be done in consultation with AOPC and other advisory bodies as appropriate; Coordination Together with relevant stakeholders, to plan and realize annual Implementation and Coordination Meetings (ICMs) to be hosted at, or associated with, a GRUAN site and to include a site visit; To report at least annually to AOPC on its activities, including the progress towards a reference network, the performance of the network once established, the uses and value of the data collected, and the implications for the global observing system; To ensure that the GRUAN Implementation Plan and individual work plans from ICM meetings are carried out, including but not limited to undertaking those activities mandated to the WG ARO; To evaluate 6 monthly progress reports from the Lead Centre and GRUAN Task Teams and provide feedback in a timely manner; Advocacy and outreach To work with relevant agencies and programmes to define and promote GRUAN for longterm atmospheric reference observations of a range of specific variables, and to make optimal use of existing and planned infrastructure within the WMO Global Observing System. This includes inter alia, working with the WIGOS planning office as a WIGOS pilot project; the WMO Space Programme, Commission on Basic Systems (CBS) and CIMO on satellite and radiosonde calibration and validation issues, including reference instrumentation and metadata; To provide for appropriate communication and outreach activities (through such activities as conferences, making connections with other programmes, organizing special conference sessions on GRUAN etc.).

7 AOPC XVII, Doc. 8.1b, p. 4 Mode of operation The Chair or Co chairs will be appointed by the AOPC. Working Group members (Annex 2) will be approved by the AOPC. Co chairs from each Task Team and from GATNDOR are expected to be members. At least one member will explicitly represent each of the four WMO Technical Commissions associated with GRUAN (Figure 1). At least one expert in the following fields shall be present to ensure a plutocracy of views: Climate science In situ atmospheric observations Satellite observations NWP / reanalyses Statistics Metrology s may fulfil multiple roles, but AOPC needs to be mindful of any potential conflicts of interest that may arise as a result. The AOPC decides at its annual meetings on additional experts and observers to join the WG ARO as ex officio or full members. s will be expected to serve for at least two years or until the membership is reviewed. During the GRUAN implementation phase it is envisaged that annual WG ARO meetings will be convened together with ICMs (see above), which group members will be expected to attend. Funding to support in part or in full WG ARO meetings should be sought from sponsors. The WG ARO will generally correspond by e mail and teleconferences (to be undertaken every other month), and take advantage of relevant workshops and conferences to hold meetings (in addition to meeting at the time of ICMs). Additional meetings will be convened by the Chair(s) upon demand, in consultation with the GCOS Secretariat and GRUAN partner institutions. These Terms of Reference will be subject to periodic review by AOPC in liaison with the Cochairs of the Working Group and the Lead Centre. AOPC ship as at May 2012 Name Country Affiliation Relevant areas of expertise Chairmen Peter Thorne USA CICS NC / Climate data peter.thorne@noaa.gov NOAA records Greg Bodeker greg@bodekerscientific.com New Zealand NCDC Bodeker Scientific Documentation, governance, instrumentation and observing practices s Arnoud Apituley Netherlands KNMI Ground based remote sensing instrumentation, research Franz Berger Austria /Germany DWD Surface based remote sensing, Roles Co chair, CCl representative Co chair, Director of Lindenberg

8 AOPC XVII, Doc. 8.1b, p. 5 Stephan Bojinski Geir Braathen Switzerland / Germany Switzerland / Norway site management Observatory WMO satellite Proposed new observations, WMO Secretariat WMO NDACC co chair, WMO Secretariat Belay Demoz USA Howard University Observational research, site operation John Dykema USA Harvard University GPS RO and metrology Alessandro Fasso Italy University of Environmental Bergamo statistics Masatomo Fujiwara Japan Hokkaido Radiosonde and University ground based remote sensing instrumentation Rolf Philipona Switzerland MeteoSwiss Radiosonde and ground based remote sensing instrumentation. Tom Gardiner UK National Metrology Physical Laboratory Dale Hurst USA NOAA In situ and remote sounding Thierry Leblanc USA JPL Table Mountain Facility Ground based remote sensing instrumentation, Co chair site representatives task team, member of TIES, Co chair task team on radisondes Proposed new, Co chair task team on radisondes, co chair Task Team on scheduling, co chair Task Team on sites, co chair Task Team on ancillary measurements Fabio Madonna Italy Potenza In situ and remote sounding, Chair GATNDOR Andrea Merlone Italy INRIM Metrology, chair of Meteomet initiative Kalev Rannat Estonia Tallinn University of Technology GNSS PW Tony Reale USA NOAA NESDIS Dian Seidel USA NOAA Air Resources Laboratory Masato Shiotani Japan Kyoto University Doug Sisterson USA ARM program Satellite program validation (NPROVS) Historical climate change, radiosonde data records Satellite data, SPARC Observing networks programme, co chair Task Team on GNSS precipitable water measurements, co chair task team on ancillary measures

9 AOPC XVII, Doc. 8.1b, p. 6 management expertise David Tan UK ECMWF Reanalyses and NWP expertise Russell Vose USA NOAA NCDC Historical climate change, data management, network design Jimmy Voyles USA ARM program Instrumentation Junhong Wang USA NCAR Radiosonde and GNSS technologies and climate datasets David Whiteman USA NASA/ GSFC Climate change research Steve Williams USA NCAR In situ and remote sensing Instrumentation Ex officio s GCOS representative Carolin Richter) Switzerland / Germany WMO GCOS representative, co chair task team on GNSS precipitable water measurements, co chair Task Team on scheduling Ex officio, Director GCOS Secretariat WMO representative Miroslav Ondras MOndras@wmo.int Slovenia /Switzerland WMO OBS Department CIMO perspective, WMO guiding literature Ex officio; WMO Secretariat CIMO representative Bertrand Calpini Switzerland Meteoswiss Observation programme and site management; LIDARs CBS representative N.N. CAS representative N.N. CCl representative Peter Thorne GRUAN Lead Centre representative Holger Vomel Germany DWD Upper air water vapour Howard Diamond howard.diamond@noaa.gov USA NOAA NCDC US GCOS Office Ex officio, CIMO President Ex officio, Ex officio, Ex officio, also cochair Ex officio, Head of Lead Centre Ex officio; Head of US GCOS Office

10 AOPC XVII, Doc. 8.1b, p. 7 Christopher D Miller christopher.d.miller@noaa.gov USA NOAA Climate Programme management Ex officio, Chief of the Research and Monitoring Division for NOAA's Climate Program Office Please note: s serve in their personal capacity as experts, whereas ex officios serve in their respective role, representing organizations or programmes.