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Recommendations from CLIMAR-II, Brussels 2003.
F. Uncertainties, Data Availability and Future Workshops
Uncertainties
Consider forming a working group on uncertainties in climate data and analyses. This should include all climate data, not just marine, and the group could appropriately work with, and report to, the GCOS Panels and IPCC.
Status:
Notes:
The IPCC held a workshop on Uncertainty and Risk in Maynooth, Ireland
11-13 May 2004. This included predictions as well as observational analyses.
See http://ipcc-wg1.ucar.edu/meeting/URW/ [6 January 2011 note: URL no longer available].
Data Availability
We need to simplify and accelerate data access to users, especially new comers to the field. There should be a "route map" to the best available data. JCOMM should work with the GCOS Panels and appropriate research groups to identify operational, and experimental, integrated climate information products and put them on their web portal.
Status:
Notes:
The successful International Marine Meteorological Archive (IMMA) format developed under the ETMC should continue to be used.
Status: Some progress
Notes: ICOADS Release 2.1 (1784-2002) data have been converted into the IMMA format, and updated data through 2004 are anticipated for availability by late 2005.
Widening access to high quality research vessel data and
metadata.
Status: Substantial progress
Notes: In addition to efforts listed above to subsample WOCE research
vessel data for ICOADS, the Shipboard Automated Meteorological and
Oceanographic System (SAMOS) initiative is completing a successful
pilot data project in 2005. The pilot project consisted of two
research vessels from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
transmitting a full suite one-minute averaged navigation,
meteorological, and near-surface ocean data from a vessel at sea
directly to the SAMOS data center at FSU. The data transmissions occur
on a daily basis via email and have been ongoing since June 2005. Once
the data arrive at FSU, they are reformatted, blended with vessel
specific metadata, and automatically evaluated for data quality.
Preliminary files are made available to the public, via the web (http://samos.coaps.fsu.edu),
within 5 minutes of receipt of the email at FSU. A process for
developing research quality data files is under development and the
recruitment of additional research vessels is underway. Continued
collaboration with the Global Ocean Surface Underway Data (GOSUD)
project is planned, including the 1st Joint GOSUD/SAMOS Workshop in
Spring 2005.
Investigate the inclusion of relative humidity (RH) data into ICOADS when RH is the only available moisture parameter.
Status: Ongoing
Notes: Background on the problem is that TAO buoysand some research vessels (R/V; ref. item C, 7), e.g., report RH, but existing ICOADS observational formats lack a field to directly store RH (other than as supplemental data). As a preliminary fix, steps are now being taken in translations of TAO and R/V data into IMMA format to convert RH into dew point temperature. Revisions to the new IMMA format might be a better way to handle this problem (and also possibly include additional data or metadata specific to buoys) in the future. Humidity at the surface as well as aloft was one of the themes of the Workshop on Understanding Vertical Profiles of Temperature Trends held at the Met Office, Exeter, UK, 13-17 Sept 2004.
Consider developing links to sources of coastal and island data.
Status:
Notes:
Future Workshops
A sequel to the Boulder workshop should be held in 1-2 years time.
Status: Ongoing
Notes: MARCDAT-II will be held at the Met Office, Exeter, UK, 17-20 October 2005.
CLIMAR-III should be held in 2007.
Status: Ongoing
Notes: The JCOMM Expert Team on Marine Climatology agreed at its first Session (Gdynia, Poland, 7-10 July 2004) to propose to JCOMM-II that it endorse the organization of a self-funding workshop, CLIMAR-III, in 2007.
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