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Observing and Monitoring the Climate System (Including Data Management and Information) (Overview) |
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Updated 21 November 2007
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Observing and Monitoring the Climate System (Including Data Management and Information) |
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Observing and Monitoring the Climate SystemOverview CCSP / USGCRP Observations and Monitoring Working Group Members
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Two overarching questions are identified in the CCSP Strategic Plan for "Observing and Monitoring the Climate System" (Chapter 12) and "Data Management and Information" (Chapter 13):
Long-term, high-quality observations of the global environment are essential for defining the current state of the Earth's system, its history, and its variability. This task requires both space- and surface-based observation systems. The term "climate observations" can encompass a broad range of environmental observations, including: (1) routine weather observations, which are collected consistently over a long period of time; (2) observations collected as part of research investigations to elucidate processes to maintain climate patterns or their variability; (3) highly precise, continuous observations of climate system variables collected for the express purpose of documenting long-term (decadal to centennial) change; and (4) observations of climate proxies, collected to extend the instrumental climate record to remote regions and back in time.
The importance of ongoing climate observations for detecting unusual changes over small time intervals has recently been emphasized for the Arctic. The Arctic region is experiencing unprecedented large and rapid changes. For example, the area and elevation of melting on the Greenland ice sheet have increased; glacier area, thickness, and volume in Alaska have decreased; permafrost temperatures have risen and thawing is occurring in many areas; Eurasian rivers' discharge into the Arctic Ocean has increased, and sea ice extent, thickness, and volume have decreased; and shrubs and "greenness" have increased on the North Slope of Alaska while boreal forest "greenness" has decreased and fires have increased due to drought. A specific subset of the GCOS observing activities for 2007 and 2008 are the CCSP-sponsored polar climate observations made in cooperation with the International Polar Year (IPY). IPY plans to advance polar observations by establishing a new level of multidisciplinary observatory using the latest technology in sensor web (i.e., a network of spatially distributed sensor platforms that wirelessly communicate with each other) and power-efficient design. Data from these, and more traditional surface- and space-based observatories, will provide high-quality records needed to detect potential future climate change. The United States will increase its efforts on observations of the polar atmosphere, ice, and ocean, as well as leverage its investments in polar research with international partners.
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The United States contributes to the development and operation of several global observing systems, both research and operational, that collectively provide a
comprehensive measure of climate system variability and climate change processes. These systems are a baseline Earth-observing system and include NASA, NOAA, and USGS Earth-observing satellites and extensive in situ observational capabilities. CCSP also supports several ground-based measurement activities that provide the data used in studies of the various climate processes necessary for better understanding of climate change. U.S. observational and monitoring activities contribute significantly to several international observing systems including the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) principally sponsored by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO); the Global Ocean Observing System sponsored by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC); and the Global Terrestrial Observing System sponsored by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. The latter two have climate-related elements being developed jointly with GCOS.
Remotely sensed observations continue to be a cornerstone of CCSP. For example, the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) lidar and CloudSat radar instruments are providing an unprecedented examination of the vertical structure of aerosols and clouds over the entire Earth. These data–when
combined with data from the Aqua, Aura, and Parasol satellites orbiting in formation and called the "A-Train"– will enable systematic pursuit of key issues including the effects of aerosols on clouds and precipitation, the strength of cloud feedbacks, and the characteristics of difficult-to-observe polar clouds. With increases in data volume from a number of remote-sensing and in situ observing systems, a continuing challenge for CCSP agencies will be to ensure that data management systems are able to keep up with increases over the next several years. It is imperative that users can effectively make use of an increasing and diverse range of data products that include in situ, model output, and satellite data, which is expected to triple in volume by FY 2013.
