“We need to now go beyond understanding natural systems alone into understanding how natural systems connect with human systems,” Dr. Tom Karl, director of NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center. Earth’s Climate: the role of satellites for monitor, understand and forecast Stella M L Melo Canadian Space Agency (Policy Analyst) University of Toronto (Adjunct Professor) Earth’s Climate: the role of satellites for monitor, understand and forecast • Satellites: moving from curiosity to a necessity • From meteorology to climate: a question of time scales • Climate: a critical information for several sectors of our society • Space: a critical component of the system with complexity level requiring international coordination • A wealth of opportunities caring interesting challenges • Towards an international Climate Observing Architecture Satellites: moving from curiosity to a necessity History: The first weather satellite, Vanguard 2, was launched on February 17, 1959. It was designed to measure cloud cover and resistance, but a poor axis of rotation kept it from collecting a notable amount of useful data. TIROS-1, launched by NASA on April 1, 1960 open the weather satellite era. TIROS paved the way for the NASA Nimbus program. Alouette-1, the first Canadian scientific satellite launched on September 29, 1962. It was designed to study the ionosphere in the North region. The practical result was the realization that a satellite communications system would be the best way to provide a communications infrastructure for all of Canada, including the North . Satellites: moving from curiosity to a necessity Space based component of WMO Global Observing System – a snapshot in time note that this scenario change really fast! Could you imagine your life without satellites???? From meteorology to climate: a question of time scales WMO Wikipedia: ‘The weather satellite is a type of satellite that is primarily used to monitor the weather and climate of the Earth’. Climate: a critical information for several sectors of our society An emerging theme from the World Climate Research Program Open Science Conference: The need for actionable science. Decision-makers – including water providers, farmers, insurance companies, oil exploration companies and many more – need climate and other scientific information to guide decisions. Future water availability in a region, for example, may guide crop selection one year, or siting decisions for a new water treatment plant that will be operational for decades. David Behar San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Climate and Public Health Madeleine C. Thomson, IRI, USA – WCRP Open Climate conference 2011 Meningitis in Africa: MERIT initiative GEO, GCOS, GEOSS…. GEO: The Group on Earth Observations is coordinating efforts to build a Global Earth Observation System of Systems, or GEOSS. GEO was launched in response to calls for action by the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development and by the G8 (Group of Eight) leading industrialized countries. GCOS: The Global Climate Observing System is intended to be a long-term, user-driven operational system capable of providing the comprehensive observations required for : • Monitoring the climate system, • Detecting and attributing climate change, • Assessing impacts of, and supporting adaptation to, climate variability and change, • Application to national economic development, • Research to improve understanding, modelling and prediction of the climate system. GCOS addresses the total climate system including physical, chemical and biological properties, and atmospheric, oceanic, terrestrial, hydrologic, and cryospheric components. • GCOS is a joint undertaking of WMO, IOC, UNESCO, UNEP, ICSU. Its goal is to provide comprehensive information on the total climate system, involving a multidisciplinary range of physical, chemical and biological properties, and atmospheric, oceanic, hydrological, cryospheric and terrestrial processes. It includes both in situ and remote sensing components, with its space based components coordinated by the CEOS and the Coordination Group for Meteorological Satellites (CGMS). GCOS is intended to meet the full range of national and international requirements for climate and climate-related observations. As a system of climate-relevant observing systems, it constitutes, in aggregate, the climate observing component of the GEOSS. “GCOS is also a component of the Global Framework” (Prof. A. Simmons, GFCS II side event, Cg-XVI, 19 May 2011) Users: government, private and research sectors, covering agriculture, water, health, construction, disaster reduction, environment, tourism, transport, etc Services related to Services related to past and present User Interface future climate climate Climate Services Information System Observations Research, Modelling and Monitoring and Prediction CAPACITY BUILDING Slide presented at the CEOS WGClimate, 17-18 April 2012 Asheville, NC, USA 9 GCOS: Continuous Improvement and Assessment Cycle Slide presented at the CEOS WGClimate, 17-18 April 2012 10 Asheville, NC, USA Essential Climate Variable – GCOS concept The 50 GCOS Essential Climate Variables (ECVs) (2010) are required to support the work of the UNFCCC and the IPCC. All ECVs are technically and economically feasible for systematic observation. It is these variables for which international exchange is required for both current and historical observations. Additional variables required for research purposes are not included in this table. Domain GCOS Essential Climate Variables Surface: Air temperature, Wind speed and direction, Water vapour, Pressure, Precipitation, Surface radiation budget. Atmospheric Upper-air: Temperature, Wind speed and direction, Water vapour, Cloud properties, Earth radiation budget (over land, sea (including solar irradiance). and ice) Composition: Carbon dioxide, Methane, and other long-lived greenhouse gases, Ozone and Aerosol, supported by their precursors. Surface: Sea-surface temperature, Sea-surface salinity, Sea level, Sea state, Sea ice, Surface current, Ocean colour, Carbon dioxide partial pressure, Ocean acidity, Phytoplankton. Oceanic Sub-surface: Temperature, Salinity, Current, Nutrients, Carbon dioxide partial pressure, Ocean acidity, Oxygen, Tracers. River discharge, Water use, Groundwater, Lakes, Snow cover, Glaciers and ice caps, Ice sheets, Permafrost, Terrestrial Albedo, Land cover (including vegetation type), Fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (FAPAR), Leaf area index (LAI), Above-ground biomass, Soil carbon, Fire disturbance, Soil moisture. WMO –Global Observing System - The coordinated system of methods and facilities for making meteorological and other environmental observations on a global scale in support of all WMO Programmes; - The system is comprised of operationally reliable surface-based and space-based subsystems. - The GOS comprises observing facilities on land, at sea, in the air and in outer space. These facilities are owned and operated by the Member countries of WMO each of which undertakes to meet certain responsibilities in the agreed global scheme so that all countries can benefit from the consolidated efforts. Space: a critical component of the system with complexity level requiring international coordination • Climate: several Coordination bodies, International Programs, International initiatives, etc… exists; • Space infra-structure is expensive, takes long to develop, last a relatively short time, and requires highly specialized knowledge to build, maintain and update; • No Country (or Union of Countries) can do it alone…. Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) Focus on the satellite component CEOS was established in September 1984 in response to a recommendation from a Panel of Experts on Remote Sensing from Space that was set up under the aegis of the G7 Economic Summit of Industrial Nations Working Group on Growth, Technology and Employment. Participating in the first meeting were representatives of eight space agencies: CCRS, CNES, ESA, INPE, ISRO, NASA, NASDA and NOAA. Its initial scope was technical coordination and harmonization of Earth observations to make it easier for the user community to access and utilize data. As such, it focused on such work as interoperability, common data formats, inter-calibration of instruments, and common validation and inter- comparison of products. The three original, primary objectives of CEOS were: 1) To optimize benefits of space-borne Earth observations through cooperation of its Members in mission planning and in development of compatible data products, formats, services, applications and policies; 2) To serve as a focal point for international coordination of space-related Earth observation activities; 3) To exchange policy and technical information to encourage complementarity and compatibility of observation and data exchange systems. WMO’s SCOPE-CM Initiative • Coordinated international network to produce Climate Data Records (CDRs) from multi-agency mission data in operational environment addressing GCOS requirements; • Current Participants of the SCOPE-CM Network; • Operational Satellite operators: – NOAA, JMA, (CMA), EUMETSAT • Stakeholder: – WMO Space Programme, GCOS, CEOS, CGMS/GSICS, WCRP/GEWEX, ESA (observer) • Established structure: – Executive Panel and 5 pilot projects WMO – View for next generation Still need of a Global Observing System to transform climate data into climate informati on! SCOPE-CM: Conceptual View of End-to-End Provision of ECV CDRs A wealth of opportunities caring interesting