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WORLD METEOROLOGICAL INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION OCEANOGRAPHIC COMMISSION IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR THE GLOBAL OBSERVING SYSTEM FOR CLIMATE IN SUPPORT OF THE UNFCCC (2010 UPDATE) August 2010 GCOS-138 (GOOS-184, GTOS-76, WMO-TD/No. 1523) UNITED NATIONS INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL FOR ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME SCIENCE © World Meteorological Organization, 2010 The right of publication in print, electronic and any other form and in any language is reserved by WMO. Short extracts from WMO publications may be reproduced without authorization provided that the complete source is clearly indicated. Editorial correspondence and requests to publish, reproduce or translate this publication (articles) in part or in whole should be addressed to: Chairperson, Publications Board World Meteorological Organization (WMO) 7 bis, avenue de la Paix Tel.: +41 (0)22 730 84 03 P.O. Box No. 2300 Fax: +41 (0)22 730 80 40 CH-1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland E-mail: [email protected] NOTE The designations employed in WMO publications and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of WMO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Opinions expressed in WMO publications are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of WMO. The mention of specific companies or products does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by WMO in preference to others of a similar nature which are not mentioned or advertised. This document (or report) is not an official publication of WMO and has not been subjected to its standard editorial procedures. The views expressed herein do not necessarily have the endorsement of the Organization. FOREWORD This 2010 Update of the Implementation Plan for the Global Observing System for Climate in Support of the UNFCCC1 was prepared in response to a request by Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) expressed at the 30th session of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) in June 2009 and confirmed in UNFCCC Decision 9/CP.15 (December 2009). It was prepared under the overall guidance of the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) Steering Committee and its Chairs (initially John Zillman, followed in January 2010 by Adrian Simmons), supported by a task team led by Paul Mason (the former Chair of the GCOS Steering Committee) and including the GCOS Panel Chairs and staff of the GCOS, Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) and Global Terrestrial Observing System (GTOS) Secretariats. Full implementation of the 138 Actions recommended in this Plan over the coming five years will ensure that countries have the observational information needed to understand, predict, and manage their response to climate and climate change over the 21st century and beyond. It will address the commitments of the Parties under Articles 4 and 5 of the UNFCCC and support their needs for climate observations in fulfilment of the objectives of the Convention. The Actions in this Plan, if fully implemented by the Parties, will provide a major contribution to the WMO/IOC-UNESCO/UNEP/ICSU- sponsored GCOS and the evolving climate information services it supports. The Plan calls for sustained observations of the Essential Climate Variables (ECVs) that are needed to make significant progress in the generation of global climate products and derived information; the document also recommends enhanced support to the research, modelling, analysis, and capacity- building activities required by all Parties to the UNFCCC. Furthermore, the need for observational records to improve seasonal-to-interannual climate predictions is also addressed. This Plan updates an original version published in 2004. It takes account of the latest status of observing systems, recent progress in science and technology, the increased focus on adaptation, enhanced efforts to optimize mitigation measures, and the need for improved predictions of climate change. A draft version of this document was subject to a two-month web-based open review by the community from November 2009 until January 2010. The GCOS Steering Committee expresses its thanks to all institutions and individuals who provided around 450 individual comments which helped improve the content considerably. The GCOS Steering Committee approved the release of this Plan for general publication, and for submission to the UNFCCC and general publication in August 2010. It has been submitted to the UNFCCC Secretariat as a final document for consideration by Parties at SBSTA 33, to be held in conjunction with the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP) 16 in Cancún, Mexico. Adrian Simmons, Chair of the GCOS Steering Committee (August 2010) 1 The 2004 version of this Plan is available at http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/gcos/Publications/gcos-92_GIP.pdf TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................1 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................................1 2. Meeting the Needs of the UNFCCC for Climate Information .....................................................3 3. Agents for Implementation ...........................................................................................................6 4. Availability of Climate Data and Products...................................................................................9 5. Ensuring the Adequacy of Climate Observing Systems .........................................................10 IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR THE17 GLOBAL OBSERVING SYSTEM FOR CLIMATE IN SUPPORT OF THE UNFCCC (2010 UPDATE)...................................................................................17 1. INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................17 1.1. CONTEXT..................................................................................................................................17 1.2. BACKGROUND...........................................................................................................................17 1.3. PURPOSE OF THIS PLAN – ESSENTIAL CLIMATE VARIABLES.........................................................18 1.4. EARTH SYSTEM CYCLES AND THE STRUCTURE OF THIS DOCUMENT ............................................21 2. THE STRATEGIC APPROACH TO IMPLEMENTATION.............................................................21 2.1. BASIS .......................................................................................................................................21 2.2. AGENTS FOR IMPLEMENTATION..................................................................................................23 2.3. CRITERIA USED TO ASSIGN PRIORITY ........................................................................................24 2.4. PHASED APPROACH ..................................................................................................................24 2.5. GLOBAL AND INTEGRATED APPROACH........................................................................................24 2.6. BUILDING CAPACITY ..................................................................................................................25 2.7. MEASURING PROGRESS – ASSESSING IMPLEMENTATION ............................................................26 2.8. COST DEFINITIONS....................................................................................................................27 3. OVER-ARCHING/CROSS-CUTTING ACTIONS ..........................................................................29 3.1. PLANNING, REPORTING AND OVERSIGHT....................................................................................29 3.2. TOWARD SUSTAINED NETWORKS AND SYSTEMS.........................................................................31 3.3. INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT FOR CRITICAL NETWORKS – TECHNICAL COOPERATION ......................32 3.4. EARTH OBSERVATION SATELLITES.............................................................................................33 3.5. INTEGRATED CLIMATE PRODUCTS..............................................................................................35 3.6. EARLY INSTRUMENTAL DATA AND PROXY RECONSTRUCTIONS OF PAST CLIMATES.......................37 3.7. DATA MANAGEMENT AND STEWARDSHIP ....................................................................................41 3.8. THE NEED FOR INFORMATION ON CLIMATE IMPACTS ...................................................................43 3.9. SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL CHALLENGES..........................................................................44 4. ATMOSPHERIC CLIMATE OBSERVING SYSTEM.....................................................................45 4.1. ATMOSPHERIC DOMAIN – SURFACE ...........................................................................................46 4.2. ATMOSPHERIC DOMAIN – UPPER-AIR .........................................................................................55 4.3. ATMOSPHERIC DOMAIN – COMPOSITION.....................................................................................63 4.4. ATMOSPHERIC DOMAIN – DATA MANAGEMENT ...........................................................................70 4.5. ATMOSPHERIC