World Meteorological Organization No. 25 • June 2004 Weather • Climate • Water

Dramatic visualization of ocean dynamic topography highlights the importance of satellite observations in ocean/climate studies. Units are centimetres. Climate and the marine Courtesy NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory-Caltech environment— see page 3 CONTENTS

3 6 10 Climate and the marine environment Guidelines for the Climate Watch Rescuing marine data 4 7 10 Global aerosol watch IPCC’s Fourth Assessment From COP-9 to COP-10 5 8 11 Changes in Arctic Ocean salinity Surface-based ocean observations Progress in hydrological 6 for climate: an update data rescue Towards a United Nations global 9 12 marine assessment Climate in 2003 Dust,carbon and the oceans

Issued by the World Meteorological Organization Printed entirely on environmentally friendly paper Geneva • Switzerland CALENDAR

1-8 June Foreword Kos, Greece International Quadrennial This issue of World Cl i m ate Ne ws focuses on climate and the oceans. As noted in Ozone Symposium “QOS the lead article, mankind depends on the ocean in many ways. Thanks to recent 2004” increases in our ability to observe marine systems, we know that the oceans are con- stantly changing. The changes result from interactions between the ocean and 3-5 June atmosphere as well as from inputs from the land. In recent decades, several recurring Barcelona, Spain patterns of climate variability in the oceans have been identified, such as the now First World Conference on well-known El Niño Southern Oscillation, that involve ocean basin-wide changes in Broadcast Meteorology temperature, currents and sea-level. There is also longer-term variability, as yet incompletely determined, that includes trends resulting from human activities. At the 14-17 June same time, weather, ecosystem and human health changes are associated with the Helsinki, Finland Seventh International Winds recurring climate patterns, and with changes in the oceans. Climate variability in Workshop the global marine environment affects most of mankind in one way or another. These recurring climate patterns and some of their impacts on society have been 21-25 June identified on the basis of many decades of ocean and terrestrial observations that Baltimore, USA have been collected and archived in databases around the world. Unfortunately, First International CLIVAR many regions of the global ocean are insufficiently observed to provide a confident Science Conference basis for climate-variability and climate-impact studies. Increasing the amount of information available on the global ocean and coastal waters is essential for many 5-9 July reasons that have been described, for example, in the Global Climate Observing Brisbane, Australia System (GCOS) Adequacy Report and the Assessment Reports of the Inter- International Conference on governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and priority actions to improve Storms global ocean observing systems have been identified. 26-30 July In addition to the lead article, which reviews the two-way interactions between cli- Exeter, United Kingdom mate and the marine environment, focusing on the importance of enhanced ocean Eighth session of the Baseline monitoring, other articles in this issue address topics such as the present status of Surface Radiation Network ocean observing systems, both in situ and space-based; assessing climate change and Workshop and Scientific its impacts in the marine environment; and current and planned activities of the Review IPCC and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

4-9 September Christchurch, New Zealand Eighth IGAC Conference on Atmospheric Chemistry (M. Jarraud) 12-16 September Secretary-General Beijing, International Symposium and WWRP Research Planning Workshop on Sand and Dust Storms For more information about WMO, contact: Residents of Canada and the USA should order through: The World Meteorological Organization The American Meteorological Society, 27 September-1 October 7 bis, avenue de la Paix WMO Publications Center, Berchtesgaden, P.O. Box 2300 45 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02108, USA CH-1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland Germany Tel.: (1) 617 227 2425 International Conference on Internet: http://www.wmo.int Tel: (41) (0)22 730 8314/8315 Fax: (1) 617 742 8718 Hydrology of Mountain Fax: (41) (0)22 730 2829 E-mail: [email protected] Environments E-mail: [email protected] The designations employed and the presentation of Orders for publications may be sent to this material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat address or: of the World Meteorological Organization concerning Tel.: (41) (0)22 730 83 07 the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or Fax: (41) (0)22 730 80 22 of its authorities, or concerning the delimitations of its E-mail: [email protected] frontiers or boundaries.

2 WORLD CLIMATE NEWS • June 2004 No. 25 CLIMATE AND THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT

Mankind depends on the ocean in many ocean and ways. Thanks to recent increases in our coastal ability to observe marine systems, we waters is know that the oceans are constantly essential for changing. The changes result from inter- many rea- actions of the ocean and atmosphere, as sons that well as from inputs from the land. In recent have been decades, several recurring patterns of cli- described mate variability have been identified that elsewhere. involve basin-wide changes in tempera- Among the ture, currents and sea level. These patterns interna- have been shown to be linked to changes tional that affect our nations. There is also agreements longer-term variability, as yet incompletely that require determined, that includes trends resulting sustained from human activities. and routine Weather, ecosystem and human-health observa- changes are associated with the recurring tions of climate patterns. These range from inter- oceanic annual variations in the frequency, intensity and coastal and track locations of tropical cyclones, to systems to the increased chance of unusual patterns of achieve regional temperatures and rainfall, to major their goals species distribution changes in regional are the UN fisheries (see figure), to changes in the dis- Convention tribution of disease-carrying species. on the Law Coastal zone impacts can be particularly of the Sea intense, ranging from flooding and erosion (UNCLOS, of the shoreline to increases in the trans- including port of nutrients and pollutants from land the agreement on Straddling Fish Stocks Pacific sardine and anchovy to sea, habitat loss, harmful algal blooms, and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks), the catches vary greatly from oxygen depletion and reductions in fish- Jakarta Mandate (on biodiversity), the decade to decade but correlate strongly with long- eries’ recruitment. Climate variability in Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, the term records of marine the global marine environment affects Global Plan ofAction on Land-Based climate indices. most of mankind in one way or another. Sources of Pollution, the Safety of Life at We have discovered these recurring cli- Sea Convention (SOLAS—see page 12), mate patterns and some of their impacts and the UN Conference on Environment Sources Figure courtesy of Francisco Chavez on society thanks to many decades of and Development (Rio de Janeiro, 1992). (MBARI) ocean and terrestrial observations that Priority actions to improve our Text based on a contribution from: have been collected by nations and global ocean observing systems have archived in databases around the world. been identified to meet the needs of Dr D.E. Harrison Chairman, Ocean Observations Panel Data collection and sharing between the United Nations Framework for Climate nations provides the foundation of what Convention on Climate Change, the Pacific Marine Environmental Labora- we now know. More could be known if all Intergovernmental Panel on Climate tory, NOAA/PMEL/OCRD, Seattle, USA nations shared the data that have been Change and the international climate Dr Anthony Knap Co-chairman, Coastal Ocean Observa- agreed to be essential climate information. research and forecasting communities. tions Panel It is unfortunate that, even with complete The Global Climate Observing System, The Bermuda Biological Station for data sharing, many regions of the global the Global Ocean Observing System Research, Inc, Bermuda ocean are insufficiently observed to pro- (GOOS) and the World Climate Professor Thomas C. Malone Co-chairman, Coastal Ocean vide a confident basis for climate variabil- Research Programme have helped Observations Panel ity and climate impact studies. In these develop recommendations in this area. Horn Point Laboratory University of Maryland Center for regions, it is typical to find insufficient A widely supported, internationally Environmental Science, USA numbers of observations even to charac- coordinated and sustained effort simi- terize climate variability, much less to dif- lar to that of the World Weather Watch ferentiate between variability and trends. will be needed. Although the global Increasing the amount of information ocean is not in any nation’s backyard, it available to our societies from our global is important to every nation.

WORLD CLIMATE NEWS • June 2004 No. 25 3 Improvement of coastal observing sys- of plans as we learn more about ocean cli- Observing the tems will be directed to address national and mate, as we have technology that permits ocean surface regional priorities that will be different in us to observe more variables of interest, different parts of the globe. Information and as we understand better the key infor- from space from the global observing system will pro- mation for better forecasts. The success of vide the perspective on basin-scale climate these sustained observing efforts will Climate is in effect the that is needed for appropriate understanding depend on continuing engagement with, ensemble of many of many coastal changes. A strategy for and feedback from, the climate research, environmental states that development of national and regional coastal climate technology and climate forecasting include higher-frequency plans has been developed (GOOS Coastal communities. phenomena associated with Ocean Observations Panel Design Plan) If we act to observe better our ocean eddy and small-scale and an implementation plan will be com- and coastal waters, to forecast better the variability in the ocean, pleted soon. GOOS Regional Associations climate ahead, and to understand the among others. Climate have formed and others are forming in impacts of climate variability on our soci- signals such as El Niño are order to make appropriate plans, to imple- eties, we shall be better prepared to man- intrinsically large scale, and ment them and to share the information age our activities and to cope with what- sometimes subtle, so we collected so that all may benefit. ever the future brings. need observing systems that Both the global and coastal observing can accurately observe system plans must be adaptive, in the sense globally and resolve the that they are managed to permit evolution environmental conditions that over time manifest themselves as climate variations and change. GLOBAL AEROSOL WATCH Space-based observations are critical for meeting this Suspended par- challenge, as are the in situ ticulate matter in data that are needed to the atmosphere, calibrate and validate such commonly data. known as aerosol, is of great impor- The essential climate tance to climate. variables that need to be It alters the Earth’s measured from space are energy budget by sea- surface temperature scattering and (SST), surface wind, sea- absorbing sun- surface topography (height) light and by alter- and sea-ice extent and ing the brightness distribution. Salinity, surface and occurrence of clouds and precipita- America and Siberia, there is more smoke heat flux components, tion. Aerosols are as much a driver of cli- from fires. precipitation and mate as greenhouse gases and because of WMO is leading an effort to put transparency can also be their shorter atmospheric lifetime (days to together an integrated global aerosol estimated from space but weeks) they are extremely variable. This observing and forecasting system. have major challenges. was emphasized in the IPCC 2002 report Observations from ground-based aerosol that ranked aerosols as the most uncertain networks of the Global Atmosphere Watch Infrared estimates from polar elements in global radiative forcing. programme and its partners will be orbiters provide the There are many kinds of aerosols merged with those from satellites using backbone of the SST space including soil dust, pollution and smoke weather and air-quality forecast models, as network but, increasingly, from open fires. These are vividly dis- well as global chemical transport models. data from geostationary played in the picture above of aerosol opti- The ultimate goal is a Global Aerosol satellites and microwave cal depth recorded on Earth for 20-27 July Watch that alerts the public to extreme instruments are being used 2003 by the MODIS instrument on board haze events that can threaten health, to improve temporal and the satellite Terra of the US National and reduce visibility, affect the water supply spatial coverage. Aeronautical Space Administration. and deposit large amounts of dust. The Scatterometers provide good In northern Africa, it shows dust from system required to sustain such an early surface wind vector estimates the Sahara desert blowing eastwards over warning tool also serves the needs for a but, in the absence of the Atlantic; in tropical Africa, it shows better climate prediction system. multiple missions, data from smoke from biomass burning fires. In weather models and from Based on a contribution from Dr Y. Kaufman, parts of North America, Europe and Asia, NASA/Goddard microwave instruments (for there are pollution aerosols. In South wind speed) must be used to

4 WORLD CLIMATE NEWS • June 2004 No. 25 CHANGES IN ARCTIC OCEAN SALINITY

Heat transport by the so-called meridional provide good climate overturning circulation products. is an important factor in global climate vari- Satellite altimeters (Topex/ ability and change. The Poseidon, ERS, Jason, Envisat) waters and currents of have revolutionized the way the North Atlantic and we monitor climate Arctic Oceans are parts variability by indirectly of this circulation. The providing information on salt balance of the ocean pressure (changes in Arctic Ocean is mostly the distribution of mass, such determined by its as that associated with exchange with the ENSO) and allowing us to Atlantic, due to fresh monitor sea-level changes. river water inflow, via exchanges during Sea-ice measurements (both sea-ice freezing and melting, and through microwave and infrared) fluxes at the ocean surface. This system allow us to monitor changes exhibits significant variations. For exam- in the distribution and ple, the Great Salinity Anomaly was concentration of sea-ice, observed in the North Atlantic from the important indicators of end of the 1960s to the beginning of the change. 1980s. A possible shutdown of the North Atlantic circulation with severe implica- Together with other remote tions for the future climate of northern and in situ measurements, Europe is an area of active scientific the community now has the research. technical capability to Several international programmes monitor the key variables of report significant changes in the salinity of ocean climate variability and the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans during change. However, long-term recent decades. For example, the Arctic- commitments are missing for Subarctic Ocean Fluxes project presents a all but SST and there is much systematic picture of the freshening of the work to be done to learn North Atlantic. The positions of measure- how to assimilate this ments and changes in surface salinity are information in analyses, shown in the figures. Observations at the predictions and assessments Ocean Weather Station M located in the of climate variability and Norwegian Sea have revealed a salinity change. anomaly extending downwards to 1 km depth. The CLIVAR Working Group Another remarkable change in the on Seasonal to Interannual Arctic Ocean is the significant reduction in Prediction has begun a sea-ice area. The year 2002 had the small- number of projects to assess est area of sea-ice cover in September since and improve the capabilities satellite observations, while 2003 was a of modelling systems used close second. Significant reduction of the for seasonal prediction. A Arctic Ocean sea-ice thickness since the major workshop on this topic 1970s has also been reported.An identified was held in Honolulu, USA, increase of freshwater discharge to the in November 2003. Arctic Ocean from the mid-1930s to the end of the past century also leads to a All this indicates that the thermohaline Source: based on a contribution from Neville Smith, Bureau of Meteorology, fresher ocean. The Greenland ice sheet is circulation of the ocean might be under- Melbourne, Australia melting faster now than at the beginning of going a major perturbation. satellite observations. This also contributes to increased fresh water input to the ocean. At the same time, salinity of the tropical waters in the Atlantic Ocean is increasing. Illustrations courtesy Dr R. Dickson

WORLD CLIMATE NEWS • June 2004 No. 25 5 TOWARDS A UNITED NATIONS Young Scientists GLOBAL MARINE ASSESSMENT Conference on Global Change

During its 57th session, the United Nations for creating the assessments would be The Global Change System General Assembly requested the Secretary transparent and independent, and the for Analysis, Research and General, in collaboration with Member assessment would be carried out by Training (START) Young States, relevant organizations and agencies experts identified by governments, relevant Scientists Conference on and programmes of the United Nations UN bodies and regional organizations. Global Change was hosted system, to begin discussions and develop The GMA would probably be based on by the Third World Academy plans for initiating a regular process for the regional scientific assessments that are of Sciences in Trieste, Italy, global reporting and assessment of the then synthesized into an overall global sci- 17-19 November 2003. Its state of the marine environment. This entific assessment, which, in turn, would aims were to stimulate Global Marine Assessment (GMA) would lead to a global policy review report. competition, encourage build on the initial work of the United The process leading to the GMA excellence, reward Nations Environment Programme and the included a draft plan suggesting how the performance and encourage recent planning meetings it supported in GMA should be developed, followed by the development of personal Reykjavik, Iceland, and Bremen, Germany. discussion of this draft by 24 experts dur- and institutional networks as The plan is for the GMA to be global, ing a meeting held at the United Nations in well as capacity building comprehensive and regular, and to build March 2004. These experts included both among young scientists from on existing regional assessments, institu- scientists and policy makers nominated by developed and developing tions and procedures. While it would pro- national governments and intergovern- countries. vide scientific assessments of the state and mental and non-governmental organiza- The endeavour stemmed trends of all aspects of marine ecosystems, tions. This group refined the draft docu- from the Earth System its primary purpose would be for the use ment, and an international workshop will Science Partnership (ESSP), of policy-makers. The assessments would be held, possibly in conjunction with the which comprises the also include socio-economic considera- Informal Consultative Process, to finalize International Geosphere- tions, and they would identify scenarios to the document. Biosphere Programme of the assist policy-makers in addressing marine- International Council for related issues. The mechanism and process Science, the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global GUIDELINES FOR THE CLIMATE WATCH Environmental Change, the World Climate Research In recognizing the need for National The team defined a climate watch as an Programme (WCRP) and Meteorological Services (NMSs) to improve advisory that is issued to heighten awareness DIVERSITAS. The ESSP asked their climate data and monitoring services, in the user community concerning a partic- START to organize a high- the Commission for Climatology (CCl) ular state of the climate system. Climate level international conference placed high priority on the distribution of watches will be based on real-time monitor- for young scientists no older guidelines for the NMSs. In 2003, it estab- ing of conditions and current climate out- than 35 years of age. An lished the Expert Team (ET) to Develop looks, aiming to affect user decision-making organizing committee Guidance on Climate Watches, under the and initiation of preparedness activities. A planned the conference CCl Open Programme Area Group on climate watch will be issued by individual under the chairmanship of Monitoring and Analysis of Climate NMSs in coordination with Regional Prof. Peter Tyson. More than Variability and Change, with members who Climate Centre(s) and other NMSs in the 1 000 papers were received represent climate services, disaster manage- region or beyond, as needed. The climate and competition for places ment and user liaison. The ET Lead is Dr watch process and output products will be was fierce. Selection was Panmao Zhai (China). developed as a result of continuous and based on merit alone. Finally, During a scoping meeting in Silver iterative collaboration with users. 51 young scientists were Spring, Maryland, in January 2004, hosted The ET plans to coordinate with other selected for 15-minute oral by the US National Oceanic and CCl Open Programme Area Groups, the paper presentations and 31 Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Commission for Basic Systems and others for two-minute oral poster Global Programs, the ET drafted the con- to make recommendations to build capac- presentations. The number of cept of climate watches and completed the ity in Member countries through work- women and men presenting outline of proposed sections for guidelines shops and other training and to explore was almost equal, as was the for CCl members. The initial plan calls for uniform WMO communication guide- spread between developed the guidelines to be issued in the World lines, formats and protocols for issuing cli- and developing countries. Climate Data and Monitoring Programme mate watches. The winner of the Crutzen (WCDMP) series, by November 2004. Award for the Best Paper was

6 WORLD CLIMATE NEWS • June 2004 No. 25 IPCC’S FOURTH ASSESSMENT

The 21st Session of the Intergovernmental Reports Safeguarding the Ozone Layer Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was held and the Global Climate: Issues related to Gervasio Piñeiro of the 3-7 November 2003 in Vienna, Austria. Hydrofluorocarbons and Perfluorocarbons University of Buenos Aires for The fact that more delegates participated and Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage. the paper “Long-term in this Plenary than in any previous ses- They will be finalized in the year 2005. grazing impact on soil sion underlined the interest that govern- The Panel also accepted two reports: carbon and nitrogen pools in ments have in the work of the IPCC. Good Practice Guidance for Land Use, South American grasslands”, The Session accepted the outlines of Land-Use Change and Forestry and co-authored by J.M. Paruelo, the three Working Group contributions to Definitions and Methodological Options to E.G. Jobbagy, M. Oesterheld the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report Inventory Emissions from Direct Human- and R.B. Jackson and funded (AR4) which will be completed in the year Induced Degradation of Forests and by the Inter-American 2007. These outlines and the overall struc- Devegetation of Other Vegetation Types, Institute for Global Change ture of AR4 were prepared through the which will be published soon. The Panel Research. Three other papers scoping process, including two formal also agreed to scope and plan for a further received an honourable expert meetings at Marrakech and revision of the IPCC Guidelines on mention. The Best Poster Potsdam, in which more than 130 and 150 Greenhouse Gas Inventories to be ready by Award went to Susanne experts participated, respectively. Some of 2006. Marquart of the German the new features included in AR4 cover the These special reports and revisions are Aerospace Centre at explicit treatment of cross-cutting themes being prepared in response to a request by Oberpfaffenhofen for the such as Uncertainty and Risk, Integration the Conference of the Parties to the poster “Future development of Mitigation and Adaptation, Article 2 of UNFCCC. Together with the preparation of contrail cover, optical the United Nations Framework of AR4, the IPCC faces a heavy workload depth and radiative forcing: Convention on Climate Change over its next assessment period and will impact on increasing air (UNFCCC) and Key Vulnerabilities, require additional resources to prepare all traffic, alternative fuels, and Sustainable Development, Regional reports in time. climate change”, co- Integration,Water and Technology. The report of the 21st Plenary Session authored by M. Ponater and The Panel noted the good progress is available at http://www.ipcc.ch. R. Sausen and funded by the achieved in preparing the IPCC Special START International Secretariat. Three other posters received an Oceans and AR4 honourable mention. The fact that so many The 21st Plenary Session of IPCC accepted possible future impacts. Section I, young global change the outlines for AR4 as presented by the Co- “Assessment of observed changes”, will scientists from developing Chairs of three Working Groups. include an assessment of coastal processes countries were able to The Working Group I contribution and zones, and marine biological systems. compete on merit alone for Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Section II “Assessment of future impacts and places at the conference is Basis will address ocean-related topics in adaptation: sectors and systems”, Chapter 4 testimony to the success of three chapters. Chapter 5 “Observations: “Ecosystems, their properties, goods and more than a decade of oceanic climate change and sea-level” will services”, will include an assessment of research-driven capacity specifically address changes in ocean possible impacts of climate change on building by START, its salinity, temperature, heat uptake and heat oceans, shallow seas and their ecosystems. sponsors and conference content. Assessments of changes in ocean Key impacts and vulnerabilities in the polar partners. The World Climate circulation, water-mass formation, sea-level regions will be summarized in Chapter 15. Research Programme can be changes (global and regional) will also be This section will also include a summary of well satisfied with the state dealt with in this chapter. regional climate change impacts. of global change science Assessment of changes and stability of The Working Group III contribution among young scientists and sea ice, ice shelves and ice sheets will be Climate Change 2007: Mitigation of Climate leaders of the future in the part of Chapter 4, “Observations: changes Change will include in Part C “Specific WCRP family. in snow, ice and frozen ground”. Chapter mitigation options in the short and medium 10 “Global climate projections” will analyse term” in the context of the transport sector sea-level projections and their uncertainties. (shipping) and marine ecosystems. The The Working Group II contribution possibilities for removing carbon dioxide Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation from the atmosphere and transporting it to and Vulnerability will address observed the deep ocean will also be assessed. changes in the marine environment and

WORLD CLIMATE NEWS • June 2004 No. 25 7 Climate and SURFACE-BASED OCEAN OBSERVATIONS health FOR CLIMATE: AN UPDATE A workshop on climate and health in small island States The mandate of the Joint WMO/ data and metadata to climate quality (SIS) was held under the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Com- standard (VOSClim project); auspices of WHO, UNEP and mission (IOC) Technical Commission for • Forty-five high-resolution and fre- WMO in Bandos Island, Oceanography and Marine Meteorology quently repeated expandable bathy- Maldives (1-4 December (JCOMM) includes coordination of the thermograph lines (XBT) (currently 26 2003). Participants included implementation and maintenance, on an lines); experts from SIS in the operational basis, of an integrated, in situ, •Integration ofthe emerging Inter- Indian Ocean, Pacific and the ocean-observing and data-management national Ocean Carbon Coordination Caribbean. The aim was to: system, in support of the requirements for Project; • Inform scientists, prac- such data expressed by the major pro- • Improved Global Sea Level Observing titioners and key indi- grammes of WMO and IOC. This work System (GLOSS) tide-gauge station viduals in climate-sensitive includes the provision of in situ ocean data reporting (only 168 of the 290 GLOSS sectors of the potential for global climate studies and prediction. core network stations report regularly); impacts of climate The oceans are a critical component of the • Implementation of the Global variability and long-term coupled atmosphere-ocean-cryosphere- Positioning System/DORIS at GLOSS climate change in the land-surface climate system, and the altimeter calibration and long-term Indian Ocean region; assimilation of observed ocean data into trends subsets of stations—86 stations • Explore the relationships models of this system greatly enhances cli- initially (currently 37 stations); between climate variability mate analysis and prediction skill. • A global array of 3 000 Argo subsurface and climate change and The requirements for observational profiling floats (currently 1 073 floats) human health in SIS; ocean data for climate were agreed at the The system is now implemented at • Integrate climate-sensitive, Ocean Observations for Climate Con- some 45 per cent and it is planned that health-relevant sectors ference, OCEANOBS99, St Raphael, implementation should be completed by such as water resources, France, October 1999. They include: 2010. The status of the system in January agriculture, fisheries, • A sustained array of 1 250 surface drift- 2004 is shown on the map below. The in disaster management and ing buoys (currently 983 buoys) situ ocean observing system complements tourism; • Extending the Tropical Moored Buoy a space-based ocean observing system, • Identify potential inter- network across the Indian Ocean which is also critical to global climate disciplinary research • An ocean observatories network—29 studies. JCOMM is working with others to projects; planned moored buoy stations for sustain continuous satellite missions for • Develop recommenda- high-resolution oceanography and sea-surface temperature, sea-surface tions for common actions marine meteorology (air-sea flux) height, surface vector winds, and ocean and best practices, based • 200 Voluntary Observing Ships (cur- colour. on a synthesis of other rently 110) equipped and reporting similar workshops.

WMO also participated in a workshop organized by the WHO European Centre for Environment and Health and the European Environment Agency in agreement with the Ministry of Health of Slovakia in Bratislava, 9-10 February 2004. The work- shop developed recommen- dations on extreme weather events and public responses for consideration at the 3rd Pre-ministerial Conference in Malta in March. The Con- ference was a preparation for the Fourth European Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health (June 2004).

8 WORLD CLIMATE NEWS • June 2004 No. 25 CLIMATE IN 2003

Eastern U.S. North-east U.S. - February snowstorm. Numerous new Second lowest September sea-ice extent on Northern hemisphere snow cover extent. Second greatest - Crossed the Persistent wetness 24-hour snowfall and storm total records record for Arctic. Lowest was in 2002 snow cover extent on record for northern hemisphere winter in May with wind speeds of 100 km/hr Annual anomalies of +1-2°C. Soudelor - Peak wind speeds of Dry in central and Siberia 215 km/hr in June. Heavy rain in western Europe R Annual anomalies of +2°C Typhoon Imbudo - Strongest typhoon to hit Canada Above average Europe Temperatures in the Philippines in 5 years with wind speeds of warmth in all Annual n Russia Siberia and Kazakhstan 240 km/hr. Also impacted China in July anomalies +1-2°C Major heatwave in summer. Large-scale forest fires in 4 seasons 21 000 deaths °C - 165 km/hr winds in August spring and summer and over 400 mm rain in Japan North America France, Portugal - 176 km/hr peak winds in 10th lowest winter snow and Mediterranean Western Asiaa Long-term ddrougroug China. Also impacted Viet Nam in August cover extent on Severe wildfire - Peak wind speeds of record for 2002/2003 activity in July v and August 280 km/hr. More than 130 deaths in the Western U.S. India and much of Asia Republic of Korea in September and Continuation of Cold January. More than US$ 4.1 billion estimated damage multi-year drought Warmest summer on record 2 500 fatalities conditions for France, Switzerland, 12 Spain and Germany Sahel affected China Typhoon Etau in 2003 Above normal Linfa Western wildfires rainfall in India, Pakistan Tropical Storm Costliest. Over 300 000 September. Deadly heat wave in May/June. Typhoon Maemi hectares burned in Temperatures reached above Above normal Typhoon Krovanh California in October crops for 2003/04 50°C. 1 500 deaths. Indian monsoon rainfall 102% of normal overall. Typhoon Imbudo Distributed evenly Marty Hurricane Colombia Ethiopia, Eritrea Indonesia, Malaysia 12 deaths. Approximately Flooding in Hurricane Juan Drought continued to affect and the Philippines 4 000 homes damaged in December Category 2 at food supplies Heavy monsoon rainfall in southern Baja California landfall. Eastern December caused flooding Hurricane Fabian eyewall winds Delfina - December/ and landslides Mexico Hit Bermuda at directly over January. 100 km/hr at its peak. Improving drought Peru category 3. Halifax. 8 deaths Heavy rainfall in Mozambique conditions in Temperatures reach Caused US$ 300 million damage northern Mexico as low as -20°C Hurricane Isabel in southern Peru in July Category 5 in Atlantic. Tropical Cyclone Manou - May. 140 km/hr Category 2 at landfall. winds at landfall in Madagascar. 265 fatalities Dry in eastern May tornado outbreak - 16 deaths. Damage Australia most tornadoes (412) of any estimated at US$ 2.3 billion 10-day period. 42 deaths. Zimbabwe and Mozambique Australia Atlantic hurricane season Drought early in the year. Heat wave in September. Tropical Cyclone Ami East Pacific hurricane season Brazil Above average activity. Relief in austral spring New all-time Australian September Crossed Fiji January 16 named storms. 7 hurricanes. Torrential rain and flooding in 16 named storms. record for daily maximum temperature with wind speeds of First season since 1977 with no South Africa, Botswana 185 km/hr Rio de Janeiro in January 7 hurricanes Continued drought of 43.1°C at West Roebuck major hurricanes Southern Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya Moderate El Niño fades to Wettest conditions in Tropical Cyclone Erica neutral conditions by Argentina 70 years in some areas Wildfires and drought in Peak winds of 185 km/hr as northern hemisphere Santa Fe - Flooding in April/May. south-east Australia in it crossed New Caledonia in spring Several days of heavy rain. January and February March Salado River rose 508 mm in 12 hours Antarctic ozone hole largest on record, 28 million km2 in late September

The major climate stories in 2003 were waves often precede the onset of the sum- Significant climatic related to extremes of heat and cold. The mer monsoon in India but this year’s heat anomalies and events year 2003 was the third warmest glob- was particularly harsh, with at least 1 500 in 2003 ally—+0.46 °C above the 1961-1990 base deaths. That contrasted strongly with the Sources: National Climatic Data Cen- period—and very nearly tied for the sec- extremely low temperatures that were ter, NOAA, USA and WMO ond warmest. The warmest year remains observed in northern India in January, 1998 (+0.55 °C). Globally averaged tem- when maximum temperatures 4-5°C peratures in the lower and middle tropo- below normal resulted in more than 1 900 sphere derived from meteorological satel- fatalities. In the neighbouring countries of lites indicate that 2003 was also the third Bangladesh,Nepal and Pakistan,the com- warmest year on record for that part of the bination of cold weather and persistent fog atmosphere since the beginning of annual claimed hundreds of lives in January. satellite measurements in 1979. For land During austral winter,a cold wave in the and ocean regions polewards of 30°N the Peruvian highlands resulted in more than The WMO Statement on the Status mean temperature departure was 200 deaths as temperatures in areas above of the Global Climate in 2003 0.76°C—the highest on record. The tropi- 4 000 metres dropped below -20°C in July. (WMO-No. 966) was coordinated cal band registered its second highest year, Dry conditions and record warmth by Dr Albert Klein Tank, courtesy promoted wildfires in south-eastern of the Royal Netherlands Meteo- while polewards of 30°S it was eighth high- rological Institute. It is available in est. The global surface temperature has Australia which burned for 59 days in English, French, Russian and increased since the beginning of the January and February, destroying more Spanish (to order, see page 2). For instrumental record in 1861, at a rate than 3 million hectares. While drought the electronic versions, see continued over much of Botswana, www.wmo.int/web/wcp/wcdmp/ between 0.6 and 0.7 °C over the 20th cen- statement/html/statement.html tury, and roughly three times that since Mozambique, Zimbabwe and parts of or www.wmo.int and then “Hot 1976. South Africa in early 2003, above-normal topics”). Temperatures rose above 40°C at many rainfall in states to the north and much of European locations during June to August. the Sahel region during the rainy season More than 21 000 additional deaths were resulted in above-normal harvests. related to the unrelenting heat. In the European Alps, the average thickness loss of glaciers reached about 3 metres water equivalent—nearly twice as much as the previous record in 1998. In Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, pre-monsoon heat brought temperatures of 45-49°C. Heat

WORLD CLIMATE NEWS • June 2004 No. 25 9 RESCUING MARINE DATA

Surface marine meteorological observations 1 200 from ships are critical for climate studies and as ground truth for automated observing Japanese whaling data, 1946-1984: 30 000 systems. Efforts have accelerated to rescue 1 000 ship logbook and other marine data, tar- geted towards future blending in the Japanese Kobe, 2001 edition, 1889-1940: 3.1 million 800 International Comprehensive Ocean- Atmosphere Data Set (ICOADS). The US US Meteorological Journals, 1878-1894:1.8 million Maury Collection—keyed by a US-China 600 project—now provides the earliest (mostly German Maury Collection, 1845-1867: 500 000-750 000 1830–1860) ICOADS data. Other recent res- thousands per year cue efforts, shown in the figure on the right, 400 will enhance data coverage for 1750-1949: CLIWOC, 1750-1850: 300 000 • Climatological Database for the 200 World’s Oceans, 1750-1850 (CLI- WOC): this European Union-funded project digitized wind and other 0 (mostly pre-instrumental) local-noon 1800 1820 1840 1860 1880 1900 1920 1940 observations—mainly from British, Lines span periods-of-record Dutch, French and Spanish logbooks. southern hemisphere, digitized by the of undigitized (dashed line), • German Maury Collection:loaned by Massachusetts Institute of Technology partly digitized (dotted line), Deutscher Wetterdienst for imaging by and CDMP. or fully digitized (solid lines) of selected ICOADS blend NOAA’s Climate Database Moder- • The UK Main Marine Data Bank: candidates until 1949. The nization Program (CDMP), and largely blended into ICOADS. Other estimated total number of planned for digitization through new data (some already digital) exist in reports for each collection is USA-China cooperation. German, Netherlands, Polish, Russian, listed. The curve shows thousands of reports per year • US Marine Meteorological Journals: Ukrainian, US and other archives, not in ICOADS. densely sampled observations (every yet blended into ICOADS (before and two hours) also digitized under a US- after 1949). It is possible to extend the China project. The logbooks contain pre-instrumental record of data back to Source: based on a contribution from S. Woodruff, J. Elms and R. Reynolds detailed instructions to observers, about 1700, if resources become avail- (US National Oceanic and Atmospher- slated for imaging by CDMP. able to rescue earlier European (espe- ic Administration), R. Garcia (Universi- • Japan’s Kobe Collection, 2003 edi- cially UK) records. dad Complutense de Madrid, Spain), F. Guo (National Marine Data and tion: pre-1933 merchant ship data digi- Information Service , China), S. Worley tized with support of the Nippon Ship logbooks contain a wealth of sci- (US National Center for Atmospheric entific information. Sustained resources Research ) and T. Yoshida (Japan Foundation (1933-1945 Kobe data Meteorological Agency) were keyed in 1961), which will espe- and international cooperation are needed cially enrich the North Pacific and to rescue and add these records to World War I period. ICOADS, which combines many data • Japanese whaling data:voyages resources for a more complete climate pic- In brief … through data-sparse regions of the ture and is readily available to the public. • A proposed International Polar Year 2007/2008 is being co-sponsored by FROM COP-9 TO COP-10 WMO and the International Council for Science. The Conference of Parties of the UN adaptation, mitigation, and sustainable Framework Convention on Climate development; and assessment of progress • WMO, WHO and UNEP Change (UNFCCC) at its ninth session on the Convention. In all, COP-9 adopted have jointly published two (COP-9), attended by more than 5 000 more than 20 decisions covering issues new books: participants, including 95 ministers, met in ranging from limiting greenhouse-gas Climate Change and Human Milan, Italy, 1-12 December 2003. The aim emissions to adapting to the impacts of cli- Health: Risks and Responses; was to stimulate further action by national mate change, including one on global and governments, civil society and the private observing systems for climate. Methods of Assessing sector on the Convention and to prepare The Clean Development Mechanism Human Health Vulnerability for the Protocol’s entry into force. Agreement was expanded to include forest- and Public Health The high-level segment included three management projects. The new emission Adaptation to Climate ministerial round tables on technology; reporting guidelines based on the good- Change.

10 WORLD CLIMATE NEWS • June 2004 No. 25 Sea-level rise— an update practice guidance being developed by the including an open review of the plan IPCC are critical for reporting on changes and to develop a cooperative funding Since the Last Glacial in carbon concentrations resulting from mechanism for developing countries; Maximum about 20 000 land-use changes and forestry. • Group on Earth Observations (GEO) years ago, sea-level has risen The Special Climate Change Fund and of the Earth Observation Summit to by more than 120 m at the Least Developed Countries Fund to treat global climate monitoring as a locations far from present support technology transfer, adaptation priority; and former ice sheets, as a projects and other activities were the focus • The UNFCCC to incorporate the result of loss of mass from of discussions on cooperation between expanded “Climate Monitoring these ice sheets. Vertical land developed and developing nations, espe- Principles” into the reporting guide- movements are still cially for least developed countries, which lines for systematic observation; occurring today as a result of are most vulnerable to climate change. • Intergovernmental organizations to these large transfers of mass Decision 11/CP.9 on global observing develop a framework for preparing from the ice sheets to the systems for climate welcomed the GCOS standards for terrestrial observing sys- ocean. Second Adequacy Report and provided tems for climate; support for future directions, including • GCOS and the Global Ocean Global average sea-level is requests to: Observing System to report on affected by many factors, • Parties to consider actions to address progress on the initial ocean climate including ocean thermal findings in the Second Adequacy observing system. expansion, which leads to an Report to improve their observing sys- increase in ocean volume at tems and to support priority needs in These decisions should have a major constant mass; changes in developing countries; influence on the development of global ocean mass as water is • GCOS to complete a phased 5- to 10- observing systems for climate. exchanged with glaciers and year implementation plan by COP-10, ice caps; and changes in terrestrial storage of water. The sum of these components indicates a sea- PROGRESS IN HYDROLOGICAL DATA RESCUE level rise during 1910–1990 ranging from about -0.8 to The seventh session of the RA I Working francophone. The English-speaking coun- 2.2 mm/year, with a central Group on Hydrology (Malawi, July 1998), tries (Eritrea, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, value of 0.7 mm/year. The noted with concern that many NHSs were Nigeria, Rwanda and United Republic of estimated rate of sea-level still storing valuable historical hydrological Tanzania) were provided with HYDAT rise from anthropogenic data on paper. These data are at a high risk software and the French-speaking coun- climate change over the of being lost. Accordingly, a hydrological tries (Togo, Chad and Niger) were pro- same period ranges from 0.3 data rescue project has been initiated with vided with HYDROM software. Each par- to 0.8 mm/year. It is very a pilot study involving a few countries and ticipating country was also provided with likely that 20th century implemented within WMO’s Voluntary a PC, a software package for data process- warming has contributed Cooperation Programme. ing and management, printer and scanner. significantly to the observed WMO first identified which NHSs in More than 80 nationals were trained in sea-level rise, through RA I (Africa) still had a hydrological data workshops for 10 days on applying the thermal expansion of archive on paper, the size and type of data suitable software for data management. seawater and widespread they had, to what extent they were inter- The pilot project was successfully loss of land ice. ested in transferring the data to an elec- implemented and helped strengthen the tronic form, and if they needed WMO’s human and institutional capacity of the IPCC projections for 1990 to assistance. This information was obtained NHSs in many African countries, the 2100 are for a range of from a questionnaire sent to Hydrological capacity of trainers in Africa and the mod- global-average sea level rise Advisers in 39 RA I countries. The replies ernization of data-archiving systems in the from 0.11 to 0.77 m. If showed that 82 per cent use paper for region. The impact of the project in the greenhouse gas archiving their data and requested WMO participating countries is being assessed by concentrations were to assist them in rescuing their data. the Secretariat and a further larger project stabilized, sea-level would The project was designed to to cover other interested countries will be nonetheless continue to rise strengthen the human and institutional developed. Many requests have been for hundreds of years. After capacity of NHSs. It is aimed mainly at received from countries in other Regions. 500 years, sea-level rise from preserving and saving hydrological data thermal expansion may have and modernizing databases. reached only half of its Ten African countries participated in eventual level. the project, seven anglophone and three

WORLD CLIMATE NEWS • June 2004 No. 25 11 Recently issued DUST, CARBON AND THE OCEANS To order these and other WMO publications, see page 2. The electronic versions are available It has been known at www.wmo.int and then “Hot for almost a cen- topics”. See also the Catalogue of WMO Publications on the tury that in large WMO homepage. parts of the oceans primary produc- tion by micro- scopic phytoplank- ton does not achieve its full potential. The rea- son for this may be due to shortage of the nutrient iron, significant amounts of which enter the oceans in dust carried from Dust blowing from Africa out into the North land by the wind (see photo). Over the Atlantic past decade this idea has been tested by Source: SeaWiFS Project, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center fertilizing patches of ocean (of the order of and ORBIMAGE Annual Report of WMO 2 (WMO-No. 965), published 100 km ) with iron in regions where plant in English, French, Russian production does not reach its full potential that should be pursued only in a research and Spanish (the north and equatorial Pacific, and mode, at least for the present. Southern Ocean). These iron additions The research described above is part of have resulted in plankton blooms, thus a much wider effort being mounted under proving the hypothesis. Concomitant with the international Surface Ocean-Lower the blooms there has been uptake of car- Atmosphere Study (SOLAS)* programme, bon dioxide (CO2) from the water and whose aim is to study the interactions increased production of the gas dimethyl between the ocean and atmosphere and sulphide (DMS). Removal of CO2 from their effects on marine biogeochemistry, the water leading potentially to net transfer atmospheric chemistry and climate. of the gas from the atmosphere is clearly of Based on a contribution from Peter S. Liss, Chair, Scientific climatic interest. Similarly, increased emis- Steering Committee of SOLAS* sion of DMS from sea to air is important * SOLAS is co-sponsored by the World Climate Research Pro- Brochure for World for formation of cloud-condensation gramme, the International Geosphere-Biosphere Pro- Meteorological Day 2004 gramme, the Scientific Committee on Ocean Research and (WMO-No.970), published in nuclei, and hence cloudiness, following its the Commission on Atmospheric Chemistry and Global English, French, Russian and oxidation to sulphate particles in the Pollution of the International Association of Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences (all programmes of the Interna- Spanish atmosphere. tional Council for Science) (http://www.solas-int.org). Ice-core data suggest that, during gla- cial times, when ocean biological produc- World Climate News can be accessed on the tivity is thought to have been enhanced, Internet (http://www.wmo.int, then select iron deposition to the ocean was greater as “Publications” ... “Catalogue of the WMO was DMS emission, and atmospheric CO2 Publications”). Printed copies are sent only was,ofcourse,lower.In recent times it is on specific request. Please fill in this form thought that dust levels in the atmosphere below and send to WMO (see page 2). have increased due to industrialization and land-use change, and that these trends ❏ English ❏ French are likely to continue. Some people are Name: ...... keen to use the results of the small-scale iron enrichment experiments to argue for Address: ...... large-scale fertilization of the ocean to put ...... a brake on rising levels of atmospheric ...... CO2.However,it is very uncertain how much CO2 could be removed to the deep ...... Brochure for World Water oceans by this means. This, together with Day 2004 (WMO-No. 971), ...... published in English, French, our ignorance of related, and potentially Russian and Spanish deleterious, effects make this an option

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