Ship Observations Team

NOAA Climate Observations Program 3rd Annual System Review.

25–27 April 2005, Silver Spring, USA.

Graeme BallChairman, Ship Observations Team

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Outline

JCOMM– Background.– Structure.

SOT– Composition of SOT.– Program Status.– Objectives of SOT.– Scientific Guidance to SOT.– SOT Working Arrangements.– Panel Chairs.– SOT Sessions.– Achievements.– Major Issues from SOT-III.– Websites.

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JCOMM* Background

The reporting and coordinating mechanism for all operational marine activities of both WMO and IOC.

Formally established in 1999 through a merger of:– WMO Commission for Marine Meteorology (CMM).– IOC Committee for the Integrated Global Ocean Services

System (IGOSS).

* Joint Technical Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology

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JCOMM Structure

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Composition of SOT

SOT consists of a group of enduring and successful data collection programs:

– Voluntary Observing Ships (VOS) Scheme.– Ship of Opportunity Programme (SOOP).– Automated Shipboard Aerological Programme (ASAP).

Membership is open to any country operating any of these programs.

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Program Status

VOS– About 6,700 ships worldwide taking surface meteorological

observations (~1,080,000 SHIP messages on GTS in 2003).

SOOP– About 70 ships worldwide taking upper-ocean thermal profiles

on prescribed XBT sampling lines (~ 24000 BATHY p.a.).

ASAP– About 15 ships, mostly in the North Atlantic and Mediterranean,

taking upper-air profiles (~4000 TEMP in 2004).

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XBT Sampling Lines

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ASAP routes (2004) for EUCOS

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Sub-Programs/Projects

VOSClim – VOS Climate Project– Reference climate network (target = 200 ships, now = ~ 55%).

Multi-disciplinary underway sampling– Including atmospheric and ocean carbon, fluorescence,

pigments, SST and salinity (few ships).

WRAP – Worldwide Recurring ASAP Project– Upper-air profiles in the Indian Ocean (1 ship).

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Objectives of SOT

To manage, coordinate and, wherever possible, integrate these programs to support a range of well defined operational and research applications.

To liaise and coordinate with other groups involved in using volunteer ships as environmental observing platforms with a view to their participation in SOT.

To foster greater national coordination between agencies involved in similar or related programs.

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Scientific Guidance to SOT

Provided by panels and bodies for climate and operational meteorology, including:

– GCOS/GOOS/WCRP Ocean Observations Panel for Climatology (OOPC).

– CLIVAR Global Synthesis and Observations Panel (GSOP).– WMO Commission for Basic Systems (CBS).

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SOT Working Arrangements

SOT meets every two years.

Incorporates separate but plenary sessions of the three program panels.

Matters of general interest are discussed during the common sessions of SOT. Panel specific matters are discussed during the plenary sessions.

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SOT Working Arrangements

Most work is undertaken during the inter-sessional period by specific Task Teams that report to SOT:

– VOS Recruitment and Programme Promotion (SOT-II).– Metadata for Pub47 (SOT-II).– Satellite Telecommunications Costs (SOT-II).– Instrument Standards (SOT-II).– VOSClim (SOT-III), replaces the former VOSClim panel.– Coding (SOT-III).

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Panel Chairs

SOT Graeme Ball Australia

VOSP Julie Fletcher New Zealand

SOOPIP Steve Cook United States

ASAPP Sarah North * United Kingdom

* caretaker role until JCOMM-II

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Sessions of SOT

SOT Date Location Plenary Sessions

1 Mar 2001 Goa, India. VOSP-II, SOOPIP-IV, ASAPP-XIII

2 July 2003 London, UK. VOSP-III, SOOPIP-V, ASAPP-XIV

Held in conjunction with PMO-II and VOSClim-IV

3 Mar 2005 Brest, France. VOSP-IV, VOSClim-V, SOOPIP-VI, ASAPP-XV.

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Achievements

Greater cooperation and coordination between:– VOSP, SOOPIP and ASAPP.– International VOS, SOOP and ASAP operators.– National agencies operating similar programs.

Greater drifting buoy and profiling float deployment opportunities to support:

– DBCP and its Regional Action Groups.– AST.

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Achievements

Greater liaison with other groups that use volunteer ships as observing platforms:

– International Ocean Carbon Coordination Project (IOCCP). – Seakeepers International.

Greater use of PMOs, leading to a reduced number of visitors to ships with sampling program requests.

Spreading the load - ensuring the better reporting and more obliging ships are not over-tasked.

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Achievements

Raising awareness of the need for:– Comprehensive observer training and re-training.– Equipment standards leading to data quality assurance.– Regular instrument calibration checks or replacement.– Robust data processing and reporting methods.– Data quality control and quality monitoring.

JCOMMOPS support:– Currently provided to DBCP, SOOP and Argo.– Increasing for the VOS (and possibly also for ASAP).

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Achievements

Enhanced VOS monitoring tools:– Timeliness of receipt of observations.– Multi-recruitment.– Data quality monitoring.

Integration opportunities provided by the Task Team on VOS Recruitment and Programme Promotion:

– Design Guidelines for shipbuilders.– SOT Certificate of Participation.– SOT flyer.– PowerPoint presentation on ship recruitment.

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Major Issues from SOT-III

Security issues resulting from the publishing/plotting of ships names and positions on the Internet.

Impact of the ISPS Code and Customs requirements on national VOS operations.

Promotion of the VOS Scheme through IMO.

Multi-recruitment of VOS ships.

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Websites

JCOMM www.wmo.ch/web/aom/marprog/

SOT www.jcommops.org/sot/

VOS www.bom.gov.au/jcomm/vos/

SOOP www.ifremer.fr/ird/soopip/

JCOMMOPS www.jcommops.org

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