Development of Specifications for Atmospheric Constituents

The Atmospheric Observation Panel for Climate (AOPC) developed the requirements for observations of atmospheric constituents for GCOS.

Working Groups, Panels, Collaborations

The GCOS Task Group initiated GCOS planning for atmospheric constituents in 1992. The AOP and JSTC as well as the work of the WMO Executive Council (EC) has continued this work. Work has also been done by the WMO Commission for Atmospheric Sciences (CAS), and the EC Panel of Experts/ CAS Working Group on Atmospheric Chemistry and Environmental Pollution.  In developing the GCOS requirements the work of these other groups have been taken into account.

Stations already in operation within different scientific and operational programs include the US Network for Detection of Stratospheric Change (NDSC), the IGBP International Global Atmospheric Chemistry Programme (IGAC), and the WMO Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) and others. In developing its requirements GCOS is taking the work of these other groups into account and providing a forum for discussion of the atmospheric constituent requirements for climate.

Work on the development of the GCOS requirements for observation of atmospheric constituents began with the  GCOS Task Group on Atmospheric Composition. The responsibility was then passed to the AOPC. Close collaboration between GCOS, the Global Atmospheric Watch (GAW) and the science community are regarded as critical and are being maintained.

References

Plan for the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS), Version 1.0, May 1995, GCOS-14 (View)

Report of the GCOS Atmospheric Observation Panel, First Session, Hamburg, Germany, April 25-28, 1994, GCOS - 6 (View)

Report of the GCOS Atmospheric Observation Panel, Second Session, Tokyo, Japan, March 20-23, 1995, GCOS-17 (View)

Report of the GCOS/WCRP Atmospheric Observation Panel For Climate, Third Session, Reading, UK, 19 - 22 August, 1997, GCOS - 40 (View)

Report of the Fifth Session of the Joint Scientific and Technical Committee for GCOS, Hakone, Japan, October 16-19, 1995, GCOS 22 (View)