Towards a global climate observing system
Author: Fellous, Jean-Louis
Source: Interdisciplinary Science Reviews, Volume 33, Number 1, March 2008 , pp. 83-94(12)
Publisher: Maney Publishing
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Abstract:
A global climate observation system is essential to improve our understanding of the climate system and our ability to anticipate trends. This article addresses the criteria that such a system must meet, and the range of observation techniques which must be implemented. Observations collected by satellite must be calibrated, validated and supplemented by surface and subsurface measurements in the atmosphere, the ocean and on land. All these observations need to be used in conjunction with numerical models and data distribution networks, and maintained in a complex of centres for archiving and reprocessing of environmental data. A global effort is required to meet these challenges, based on intensive international cooperation. The article describes activities in Europe and elsewhere, among them the World Weather Watch of WMO, the European initiative GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security), and particularly the GEOSS (Global Earth Observation System of Systems), developed in the intergovernmental framework of GEO (Group on Earth Observations) to overcome obstacles of all kinds and achieve the objectives of a global climate observing system.Document Type: Research article
DOI: 10.1179/030801808X259952
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