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International Polar Year 2007–2008 - WMO

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358<br />

IPY 20 07–20 08<br />

PA R T T H R E E : I PY OBSERVING SYS T E M S , T H E I R L E G AC Y A N D DATA M A N AG E M E N T<br />

Introduction<br />

Lead Authors:<br />

Tillmann Mohr, Eduard Sarukhanian and Colin Summerhayes<br />

IPY 1.5) contained specific sections<br />

“Expressions of Intent” collected<br />

by the IPY Programme Office<br />

(IPO) in January 2005 (Chapter<br />

that listed observing facilities to be established within<br />

each IPY project to ensure its implementation and<br />

meet its scientific requirements and objectives. The JC<br />

at its first meeting (JC-1, March 2005) after reviewing<br />

the submissions for future IPY projects agreed that it<br />

would be useful to have a special Subcommittee on<br />

Observations (SCOBS) similar to the Subcommittees<br />

on Data Management, and on Education, Outreach<br />

and Communications, to help ensure that appropriate<br />

links were made between the various projects and<br />

the space-based and in situ observations communities.<br />

An Observing Systems ad hoc group (T. Mohr, E.<br />

Sarukhanian, K. Alverson and C. Summerhayes) was<br />

formed within the JC to develop a draft Terms of Reference<br />

(ToR) and propose a preliminary composition<br />

for this subcommittee. At the second session of the JC<br />

(JC-2, November, 2005) the SCOBS was established as a<br />

special body under the JC supervision, and its ToR and<br />

composition were approved by the JC (the composition<br />

of SCOBS is given in Appendix 5).<br />

According to the ToR, the main tasks of the SCOBS<br />

were to evaluate the observational requirements<br />

contained in the full proposals for IPY, assess which<br />

requirements could be met by existing observing<br />

systems, and, after a gap analysis, identify special<br />

observing systems and special data and products that<br />

needed to be established to meet the requirements<br />

of IPY projects. The JC asked the SCOBS to ensure<br />

that space-based and in situ observing systems,<br />

including those set by polar residents and based upon<br />

indigenous monitoring systems, would be optimized<br />

for IPY purposes. At the first SCOBS session (Potsdam,<br />

March 2006) the members submitted assessments of<br />

the observing systems requirements contained in 166<br />

IPY-endorsed scientific projects within the domains<br />

Atmosphere, Ocean, Ice, Land, People, and Earth<br />

and Space (the latter assessment was done after the<br />

session in Potsdam).<br />

The assessment results were informative, in particular<br />

with respect to observational data requirements,<br />

data sources, technological/institutional gaps, data<br />

management requirements, and the potential legacy<br />

of observing systems planned to be established during<br />

IPY <strong>2007–2008</strong>. For example, in the case of requirements<br />

for satellite data, products and services, the<br />

assessment showed that it was crucial to establish<br />

an immediate dialog between IPY scientists and the<br />

Space Agencies to define the concrete requirements<br />

to be met by satellite operators. The appropriate actions<br />

were taken by ICSU and <strong>WMO</strong>, and a special IPY<br />

Space Task Group was formed at the end of 2006, as<br />

part of the SCOBS under the Joint Committee supervision<br />

(Chapter 3.1).<br />

Another important task of SCOBS was to establish<br />

through the JC and the IPO a dialog with the Arctic<br />

Council, Antarctic Treaty Parties, IASC, SCAR and other<br />

international organizations and/or programmes, so<br />

as to secure the provision for the legacy of observing<br />

systems developed during IPY <strong>2007–2008</strong>. The results<br />

of the SCOBS assessment, in particular those related to<br />

a legacy of IPY observing systems, were of potential<br />

use by the international organisations responsible<br />

for implementing and managing global and regional<br />

observing systems. In view of the importance of<br />

this issue, the JC at its sixth session (JC-6, October<br />

2007) asked the SCOBS to develop a roadmap to<br />

provide a consolidated vision of the IPY observing<br />

systems legacy, and to identify a mechanism for early<br />

assessment of benefits acquired from IPY <strong>2007–2008</strong><br />

observations, in order to prepare for obtaining support<br />

for the long-term reinforcement and maintenance of<br />

the observational networks in polar regions.<br />

The SCOBS presented the roadmap to the IPY<br />

observing systems legacy to the seventh meeting

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