OVERVIEW OF THE PACIFIC ISLAND REGION GLOBAL CLIMATE OBSERVING SYSTEM GCOS PROGRAM

1
OVERVIEW OF THE PACIFIC ISLAND REGION GLOBAL
CLIMATE OBSERVING SYSTEM (GCOS) PROGRAM
Howard J. Diamond, NOAA/NESDIS, Office of the
CIO, 1335 East-West Highway, Room 7214, Silver
Spring, MD 20910, howard.diamond_at_noaa.gov and
Mark L. Morrissey, EVAC, Univ. of Oklahoma, 3200
Marshall Ave., Suite 110, Norman, OK 73072-8032
Basic Elements of a Climate Watch

• OBJECTIVES OF GCOS
• To provide the data required to meet the needs
  for
  
• Climate system monitoring Climate change
  detection and attribution and Response
  monitoring, especially in terrestrial ecosystems
  and mean sea level
• Research toward improved understanding,
  modeling, and prediction of the climate system
  
• Application to National Economic Development
• demonstrated benefits of climate forecasts in
  support of agriculture
  
• advance forecasts of El Niño/La Niña events
• improved tropical storm and extreme weather
  prediction
  
• increased lead times for drought prediction

Pacific Island Region GCOS Activities
First Regional GCOS Workshop in Apia, Samoa
August 2000 Several Accomplishments to Date Pa
rtnership Established in South Pacific Region
Partners SPREP, SOPAC, Australia BoM, New
Zealand NIWA, NOAA, and Regional Hydrology
Community Follow-up Meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii
October 2001 Action Plan Meeting at NIWA in Auck
land, NZ February 2002 Implementation Plan Meet
ing in Nadi, Fiji March 2002
Ocean Observations User Conference in October
2002 in Nadi, Fiji Concept of a Regional PI-GCOS
Steering Committee Endorsed by the GCOS Steering
Committee April 2003 Selection of a Regional P
I-GCOS Program Officer October 2003
Data Management Workshop Planned in Dec 2003
Auckland, NZ New PI-GCOS Program Officer at SPREP
January 2004 U.S. Partnering with Australia an
d New Zealand via Bi-Lateral Climate Partnerships
Project to Fund Pacific GCOS Activities
WMO GCOS Office Home Page http//www.wmo.ch/web/gc
os/gcoshome.html
2
PI-GCOS Activities
GCOS OBSERVING NETWORKS

• Selection of GUAN and GSN Site Support Dependent
  on Inputs from AOPC, GCOS Secretariat, and
  Donors
  
• These Site Selections are Outside the Scope of
  the PI-GCOS Regional Program and are Dependent
  Upon the Global Requirements for the GCOS
  Networks
• GUAN Sites in PI-Region to be Updated w/FY03
  Funds
  
• Penrhyn Island, Cook Islands
• Other GUAN Site Support for FY03 Africa 4
  Indian Ocean 1 South America - 1
  
• GUAN Sites in PI-Region Considered for FY04
  Funding in Priority Order
  
• Honiara, Solomon Islands
• Christmas Island, Kiribati
• Rarotonga, Cook Islands
• GSN Sites in PI-Region for FY04 Funding TBD
• Use of AWS an Issue Being Explored (Maintenance
  and Continuity Issues)
  
• Complementary Technology

GCOS Surface Network (GSN)
989 Stations
Keys to Regional GCOS Success
GCOS Upper Air Network (GUAN)
Need to have a focused regional organization that
is willing to take up the mantle of advancing
GCOS in the region a regional program officer is
desired but not necessarily required. In the
Pacific Region, SPREP was a natural for this.
Need a solid and consolidated planning mechanism
to advance projects in the region
Need to identify partners and donors willing to
participate in regional projects and/or
contribute resources Leveraging upon existing b
i-lateral and multi-lateral agreements that can
incorporate GCOS projects is a key factor to
consider (e.g., US/New Zealand Climate Change
Partnership and new Group on Earth Observations)
Representation needs to consist of persons with
interest in advancing GCOS in the region rather
than being based upon national representation
Broad-based membership - Partners need to come f
rom inside and outside the meteorological
community GCOS is more than a meteorological
system One key to success in the Pacific has be
en to advance PI-GCOS from the grass-roots

• PI-GCOS Implementation
• Regional GCOS Implementation Plan Developed
• Prioritized list of 31 Projects in 5 Objective
  Areas
  
• Advocacy
• Sustaining Operational Observing Networks
• Managing and Exchanging Regional GCOS Data
• Accessing and Developing Products and Services
• Building Capacity for Long-Term PI-GCOS
  Sustainability
  
• Selected Projects With Identified Funding
• Regional GCOS Coordinator
• Demonstration Project for the Development of
  Synoptic Climatologies
  
• Expanding the Use of Climate Prediction
• Data Rescue
• Regional Maintenance and Logistics Support
• Pacific Data Portal through the GOSIC
• Scope of the other 27 Pacific Island GCOS
  Projects is in the range of 24M (US) over the
  period from 2003 through 2008
  

150 Stations