Further Information Further information about the WMO-VOC, the data availability in the WMO-GAW World Data Center, and further German contributions to GAW qual- ity assurance activities is available on the following websites: https://community.wmo.int/activity-areas/gaw World Calibration Centre https://gaw.kishou.go.jp/static/publications/dv for Volatile Organic d/dvd_08/metadata/vocs/datalist.html Compounds (WCC-VOC) http://ebas.nilu.no/ Quality assurance of methods and http://www.umweltbundesamt.de/en/gaw analyses for climate and atmosphere

Acknowledgement World Meteorological Organization (WMO) INSTITUTE OF AND Global Atmosphere Watch Programme (GAW) CLIMATE RESEARCH Contact Quality Assurance and Control/ Science Advisory Group (QA /SAC) Germany Karlsruhe Institute of Technology Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research (IMK-IFU) The WCC-VOC is hosted by the Karlsruhe Atmospheric Environmental Research Institute of Technology in close collaboration GAW World Calibration Center VOC/N2O with the German Environment Agency and the World Meteorological Organization. It is financially supported by the German Dr. Rainer Steinbrecher Environment Agency. Phone: +49 8821 183-217 E-mail: [email protected]

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www.kit.edu KIT – The Research University in the Helmholtz Association www.kit.edu World Meteorological Organization World Calibration Centre Volatile Organic Compounds The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) was es- Components measured within GAW can only be conclu- Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are a group of tablished in 1951 by the as their authori- sively analyzed from global perspective if all measurements highly diverse gaseous substances. In the presence of tative voice on weather, climate and water on a global are of high quality and comparable over a long period. To the nitrogen oxides (NOx) they are key players in the scale. The WMO quickly recognized the importance of achieve this, a Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA /QC) photochemical formation of air pollutants. The picture the atmospheric chemistry in their weather, climate and system was set up. Central Calibration Laboratories shows a forest with VOC sources leading to a buildup air quality programmes. and World Calibration Centers (WCCs) are central parts of of aerosols that form a blue haze in the atmosphere. this, e.g. the WCC for volatile organic compounds (VOC). In summer, VOCs emitted in cities and their surround- The objective of the WCC-VOC is to assure high data ings often produce photochemical smog with implica- Programme „Global Atmosphere Watch“ quality and network compatibility for volatile organic com- tions for both human health and ecosystem services In order to study the atmosphere and its chemistry, the pounds within the global atmosphere watchprogram. (i.e. crop yields, carbon sinks). VOCs and other air WMO established monitoring networks which were pollutants (i.e. , aerosols) also exert important combined to form the “Global Atmosphere Watch” influences on climate and precipitation. (GAW) programme in 1989. Activities • Development of Standard Operating Procedures. • Development of methods for analyzing of the atmos- phere and . Objective of GAW • Performance audits at observation stations. GAW organizes, participates in and coordinates • Organization of intercomparison experiments assessments of the chemical composition of the (Round-Robin-Experiments). atmosphere on a global scale with focus on building a • Training and support of station personnel in terms of single coordinated global understanding of analytical performance. atmospheric composition, its change, and helps to • Continuous observation of the measurement quality. improve the understanding of interactions between the atmosphere, the oceans and the biosphere.

Organization and Structure of GAW Quality Assurance and Data To accomplish the mission of GAW, high-quality meas- urements of relevant parameters are essential. Meanwhile 19 laboratories participated in the audit To achieve this on global scale a measuring network program of the WCC-VOC. The optimal tuned quality was established with about 500 stations in more than assurance framework of GAW demonstrated that the 100 countries all over the world. analytical quality of thepartly also re-audited laborato- ries mostly complies with the data quality objectives. The map shows the global distribution of the GAW- VOC stations. The Data from these station are freely available in the WMO-GAW World Data Center.