Global Climate Observing System GCOS Carolin Richter Director

Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) Carolin Richter, Director, GCOS Secretariat CEOS SIT Technical Workshop |Caltech, Pasadena, California, USA| 11 -12 September 2013 Slide: 1

SIT Technical Workshop Pasadena, California, USA Sept 11 -12, 2013 Concept The GCOS includes surface-based, air-borne, and space-based components and constitutes, in aggregate, the climate observing component of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS).

GCOS Planning Process: Implementation Plan SIT Technical Workshop Pasadena, California, USA Sept 11 -12, 2013 2010 Update: • builds on an original 2004 plan, and an assessment of progress 2004 -2008 • was prepared by a workshop and expert team, and finalized after open review • identifies 143 verifiable and costed actions • was welcomed by UNFCCC SBSTA in Cancún in 2010, who urged Parties to work towards its fulfilment • has a supplement setting out specific requirements for products based on satellite data 3

SIT Technical Workshop Pasadena, California, USA Sept 11 -12, 2013 CEOS Response CEOS responded to the 2011 Update of the Satellite Supplement of the GCOS Implementation Plan. The “CEOS Response”: • reinforces the needs called out by the GCOS Satellite Supplement and provides more detail on the deliverables, coordination, activities, and who within CEOS will lead the effort. • considered by the 37 th session of the SBSTA in Doha (26 November‑ 7 December 2012). • provides a view of what can be achieved with current funding and additional funding with respect to some 48 satellite-related actions in the GCOS Implementation Plan. • Atmosphere, ocean, and terrestrial domain leads are specified for follow-up. • These coordinate with CEOS working groups, CEOS virtual constellations, climate-related external groups (e. g. , SCOPE-CM, GSICS, WCRP, CGMS), and experts to develop plans responding to the GCOS implementation plan actions via templates.

SIT Technical Workshop Pasadena, California, USA Sept 11 -12, 2013 GCOS Continuous Improvement & Assessment Cycle At the thirty‑seventh session of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technical Advice of the UNFCCC in November 2012, GCOS was invited to submit a Third Adequacy Report to SBSTA in 2015, and a new Implementation Plan in 2016, with a draft of the latter encouraged to be provided one year before. 5

SIT Technical Workshop Pasadena, California, USA Sept 11 -12, 2013 Recent activities (GCOS Domain Panels) • Terrestrial Observation Panel for Climate (TOPC) 1 -2 March 2013, • Chairman: Prof Konrad Steffen (Switzerland) Prof Riccardo Valentini (University of Tuscia, Italy) had handed in his resignation as the Chairman of the Global Terrestrial Observing System (GTOS) Steering Committee on 5 March 2013, and the GTOS Secretariat, formally still hosted at FAO, has been without staff support for more than one year. 6

SIT Technical Workshop Pasadena, California, USA Sept 11 -12, 2013 Recent activities (GCOS Domain Panels) • Atmospheric Observation Panel for Climate (AOPC) 30 April – 3 May 2013 • Chairman: Prof Adrian Simmons (UK) Panel is an efficient platform for discussions on the climate-components of existing research and operational atmospheric observing systems and the related programmes, including important cross-cutting links to the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) as well as to the Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) Programme. It also focused on the GCOS Surface Network (GSN), the GCOS Upper-Air Network (GUAN) and the GCOS Reference Upper-Air Network (GRUAN). The Panel in its future sessions will continue to advise explicitly on climate-observing elements of the WMO Integrated Global Observing System (WIGOS), and seek to ensure that there is full cooperation between GCOS, WIGOS and WIS as they develop. 7

SIT Technical Workshop Pasadena, California, USA Sept 11 -12, 2013 Recent activities (GCOS Domain Panels) Ocean Observations Panel for Climate (OOPC), 3 – 5 September 2013 Co-Chairs: Mark Bourassa (US), Toshio Suga (Japan) • The Secretariat for the GCOS/GOOS/WCRP Ocean Observations Panel for Climate (OOPC), has moved from IOC of UNESCO, Paris to the GCOS Secretariat. Following the approval of the Framework for Ocean Observations, GOOS Panels have been reorganized. GOOS will now be overseen by a steering committee and three Panels for Ocean Physics (OOPC), Biogeochemistry (the International Ocean Carbon Coordination Project will expand to include Nutrients and Oxygen) and a new Biology Panel. Key tasks for the Panel are coordinating a review of the Tropical Pacific Observing System, reducing uncertainty in air-sea flux estimates and identifying requirements for observations of western boundary currents. The Panel is also expected to expand its focus to the coastal oceans and shelf seas. 8

Evolution of the observing system SIT Technical Workshop Pasadena, California, USA Sept 11 -12, 2013 Credit: Adrian Simmons, GCOS SC Chairman, WMO EC-65, 17 May 2013 Some continuing concerns, including • deterioration of some in situ networks; lack of progress in filling gaps in others • limited provision for limb sounding and reference measurement from space but many improvements (that need sustaining) including • quantity and quality of data from several in situ sources, including radiosondes • quantity, quality and variety of data from satellites • recovery and reprocessing of past data, both in situ and remotely sensed • reanalysis, with coupling of atmosphere to ocean and land, and inclusion of chemistry • conventional analysis of instrumental records • converging temperature information from various observational and model datasets and evolving requirements • e. g. for global, ground-based, soil-moisture data to complement remote sensing and reanalysis

SIT Technical Workshop Pasadena, California, USA Sept 11 -12, 2013 Recent activities (Climate from Space) GCOS was represented at three meetings on “Climate from Space” held in Geneva in February 2013: (1) CEOS/CGMS/WMO Space Programme meeting - development of the architecture for climate monitoring from space, (2) CEOS Working Group on Climate - 3 (3) SCOPE-CM Executive Panel Issues: Architecture, ECV inventory, maturity matrices and in-depth ECV assessment. The desirability of developing the ECV inventory to include datasets based on in situ as well as space-based observation was recognised, and steps to be taken towards achieving this were identified.

SIT Technical Workshop Pasadena, California, USA Sept 11 -12, 2013 Recent Activities (Climate Change Initiative) • ESA Climate Change Initiative (CCI) is pursuing its work on 13 ECVs started in 2010/11 for a first 3 -year phase, in a second phase running for another 3 years until end of 2016 (proposals expected this month). • Its main objective is to improve quality to meet climate needs and to ensure free open access to CCI data products, to promote wide exploitation of CCI data sets, to maximize scientific impact (publications) and to evolve from prototype to sustainable systems. • The GCOS programme is considered as a high-level user and the Chairman of the GCOS Steering Committee is actively involved in giving guidance and advice to the ESA CCI science advisory body.

SIT Technical Workshop Pasadena, California, USA Sept 11 -12, 2013 Recent activities: (Workshop on Observations for Adaptation) 12

Providing Observations for Adaptation SIT Technical Workshop Pasadena, California, USA Sept 11 -12, 2013 Cross-cutting issues: • Risk Management • Early Warning Systems • Research, Modeling and Assessment • Data Rescue and Management Sectors: ‑ Water Resources ‑ Coastal Zones ‑ Health ‑ Forestry ‑ Agriculture ‑ Energy ‑ Transport 13

Observation Adequacy SIT Technical Workshop Pasadena, California, USA Sept 11 -12, 2013 • Need to present existing information in forms of relevance to users; • Need to develop information and products in close consultation with users; • Need to invest in the groundbased network of primary hydro-meteorological observations; • Need to establish and improve mechanisms to provide data access and data descriptions. Even when it’s raining data, there is an information drought. 14

SIT Technical Workshop Pasadena, California, USA Sept 11 -12, 2013 Observation Requirements Common themes regarding observation requirements: • Need for higher spatial and temporal resolution; • Need to focus on regions where climate change will have significant sector effects and where there are vulnerable populations; • Need to develop infrastructure and governance to support sustained data rescue; • Need to support research initiatives such as PROVIA and Future Earth.

SIT Technical Workshop Pasadena, California, USA Sept 11 -12, 2013 Next steps • Identification of not only verifiable and costed actions as previously but also specific requirements for data products, to meet the needs for adaptation to variability and change and for provision of services, in addition to those for assessment and mitigation of climate change.

SIT Technical Workshop Pasadena, California, USA Sept 11 -12, 2013 Next steps • Review of actions set out in the in 2010 up-dated Implementation Plan • GCOS domain panel chairs and panel members • Outcome of Workshop on Observations for Adaptation to Climate Variability and Change (26 -28 February 2013, Offenbach, Germany) • Calling on one or several writing-team meetings, consultations and a public review. • Fifth IPCC Assessment process through one or more workshops that include participation of lead authors from Working Group 1 and Working Group 2 and other experts, • 2014 National Communications to UNFCCC, • Taking into account the discussions at the EUMETSAT Climate Symposium in 2014 • Planning of a GCOS Workshop in 2014 on Climate Observing Needs for Mitigation in partnership with GOFCGOLD.

Future Planning SIT Technical Workshop Pasadena, California, USA Sept 11 -12, 2013 • Report on progress and adequacy of climate observation scheduled for 2015 • New “Implementation Plan” scheduled for 2016, which should identify: • verifiable and costed actions • specific requirements for products (replacing separate satellite supplements) • Follow-up workshops focused on sector-specific requirements 18

Assessment of the GCOS Programme SIT Technical Workshop Pasadena, California, USA Sept 11 -12, 2013 The sponsors of GCOS have set up a Review Board • to assess the added value of the GCOS programme • to review its objectives and terms of reference • taking account of institutional changes and evolving needs for observation • under the chairmanship of Wolfgang Kusch, former PR of Germany • will include consultation via a questionnaire, and some interviews • expected to report early in 2014

Framing of Topics for CEOS Plenary SIT Technical Workshop Pasadena, California, USA Sept 11 -12, 2013 • GCOS programme will need assistance in its assessment of progress in climate observation and adequacy of the current and foreseen observing system, and in its identification of implementation actions; • Space agencies to continue to generate fundamental climate data records and ECV products, including from reprocessing of past data records where needed; • GCOS will continue its work with CEOS and the WMO Space Programme on the inventory of climate datasets; • GCOS is promoting the intercomparison and assessment of datasets.

Framing of Topics for CEOS Plenary SIT Technical Workshop Pasadena, California, USA Sept 11 -12, 2013 • In the context of the GCOS Panels’ work, the close liaison with the space agencies on dedicated spacebased observations for climate, is important, in particular through the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS), the Coordination Group for Meteorological Satellites (CGMS), the WMO Space Programme and their development of the architecture for climate monitoring from space. • New GCOS Space Rapporteur coming in January 2014 21

SIT Technical Workshop Pasadena, California, USA Sept 11 -12, 2013 GCOS and CEOS Q&A • What will be the impact to CEOS of the results of the GCOS 3 rd Adequacy Report? • Both a confirmation of the progress made in the provision of new ECV data sets and the need for complementary missions to cover remaining and potential gaps (additional ECVs, calibration, data continuity, etc. ) • Does GCOS anticipate any future changes to ECV requirements that CEOS should consider? • Need for higher spatial and temporal resolution, and for better cross calibration • How does GCOS view the Climate Architecture and its role in this process? • The Climate Architecture is an essential piece of information for the overall coherence of international efforts and cooperation, and for governments and decision-makers to better focus their contributions, particularly in the current economic situation.

SIT Technical Workshop Pasadena, California, USA Sept 11 -12, 2013 GCOS and CEOS Q&A (cont’d) • How does GCOS view the newly proposed CGMS-CEOS Working Group on Climate? • GCOS applauds to this convergence, and looks forward to future steps in that direction, while keeping in mind the need to ensure a phased progress on both the space-based and in situ observing system elements • How does GCOS view the CEOS/CGMS/WMO ECV inventory? • Same as above • Can GCOS lead gap studies of the ECV inventory to assess climate data records or requirements? • GCOS Panels have been informed of the role that they will be requested to play in the ECV inventory

SIT Technical Workshop Pasadena, California, USA Sept 11 -12, 2013 GCOS and CEOS Q&A (cont’d) • Does GCOS have any desires for specific queries or data analysis reports that could be added to the ECV inventory tool? • As already mentioned GCOS is interested in the ECV inventory tool being made and/or kept compatible with the inventory of in situ ECV data sets. • How might CEOS and GCOS work more effectively and are there any specific areas for improvement? • GCOS is deeply grateful to CEOS for the priority put onto meeting climate requirements by collective space observations, and for the quick reaction time shown by CEOS in taking up the leadership of responding to GCOS Implementation Plans in 2006 and 2011, and even more importantly, in developing its own Climate Action Plan and monitoring the progress made. GCOS is also grateful to ESA and to EUMETSAT for their support in past and coming years to fulfilling the position of GCOS Space Rapporteur.