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International Polar Year 2007–2008 - WMO

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should include homogeneity, interoperability<br />

and compatibility of observations from all GCW<br />

constituent observing and monitoring systems and<br />

derived cryospheric products;<br />

• will include all elements of the cryosphere<br />

at national, regional and global scales, and<br />

appropriate temporal and spatial requirements. It<br />

should provide access to data and information on<br />

past, present and future cryospheric conditions,<br />

drawing on operational and research-based<br />

observation and monitoring (in situ and spacebased<br />

monitoring) and modeling.<br />

• would improve monitoring of the cryosphere<br />

through the integration of surface- and space-based<br />

observations, which is essential to understand<br />

global climate change, optimizing knowledge of<br />

current environmental conditions and exploiting<br />

this information for predictive weather, climate and<br />

hydrological products and services;<br />

• should provide a mechanism to ensure availability<br />

of real, near-real time and non-real time access to<br />

cryospheric data and products, ultimately through<br />

the <strong>WMO</strong> Information System (WIS). GCW will<br />

respect partnership, ownership and data-sharing<br />

policies of all observing components and partner<br />

organizations;<br />

• should have an organizational, programmatic,<br />

procedural and governance structure that will<br />

significantly improve the availability of, and access<br />

to, authoritative cryospheric information;<br />

• would logically encompass: standardization of<br />

instruments and methods of observation, WIS<br />

information infrastructure and end product quality<br />

assurance;<br />

• should organize assessments of the cryosphere<br />

and its components on regional to global scale to<br />

support climate change science, decision-making<br />

and formulation of environmental policy;<br />

• is the response to meet the need for integration<br />

of cryospheric data and information, work with<br />

Fig. 3.7-3. Google<br />

Earth visualization of<br />

<strong>Polar</strong> View data over<br />

Antarctica, including<br />

AMSR-E ice cover, ice<br />

drift from ENVISAT<br />

ASAR, drift buoys,<br />

ASAR 3-day mosaic,<br />

and meteorological<br />

stations.<br />

(IGOS Report 2007, 65;<br />

courtesy of British Antarctic<br />

Survey)<br />

o b s e r v I n g s Y s t e m s a n d d a t a m a n a g e m e n t 415

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