GCOS GOOS WCRP/OOPC IX/3 

page 11 

While during WOCE, data sharing policies were very clear, there is no CLIVAR data policy 

or  infrastructure,  making  data  sharing  more  difficult.  Harrison  noted  that  these  concerns 

would be clearly stated in the GCOS IP. The committee thought certain key datasets might be 

identified where data sharing should be made a priority. 

6.3 World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) 

This item was presented by Vladimir Ryabinin and Sergei Gulev. An extended report 

by Ryabinin can be found in Annex VI, and both presentations are available on the meeting 

website. 

The Joint Steering Committee of the WCRP, coming into its 25th year, has decided to 

tackle the growing scientific challenge of  seamless prediction    across timescales and across 

traditional disciplinary boundaries, by working on a new strategy on Coordinated Observation 

and Prediction of the Earth System (COPES). The aim is to facilitate prediction of climate and 

earth  system  variability  for  use  in  an  increasing  range  of  practical  applications  of  direct 

relevance, benefit, and value to society. 

Concretely,  the  COPES  strategy  has  given  rise  to  three  new  WCRP  structural 

elements: the WCRP Modeling Panel, the Working Group on Observations and Assimilation 

(WGOA), and WCRP Task Forces, who will have limited term focused tasks. The first was 

the Task Force on Seasonal Prediction. Gulev stressed the importance of ocean reanalyses for 

climate  research,  of  identifying  systematic  errors  in  air sea  fluxes,  and  of  the  ocean 

observation  system  in  providing  the  initial  condition  for  prediction  as  well  as  observed 

probability density functions of climate variability. 

Discussion  centered  on  the  role  of  the  WGOA.  Getting  feedback  from  modeling 

groups  on  their  requirements  from  the  observing  system,  and  how  observations  have 

improved predictive skill has been difficult, but is crucial for OOPC to be able to advocate for 

the systems. 

6.4 Joint WMO/IOC Technical Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology 

(JCOMM) 

This item was presented by the chair. The presentation can be found on the meeting 

website. The JCOMM Observation Coordination Group (OCG), chaired by Mike Johnson of 

NOAA,  has  been  cooperating  closely  with  the  OOPC.  The  OCG  has  adopted  OOPC s  Next 

Steps as its goals for the implementation of the global ocean observing system. These design 

goals use composite surface and subsurface ocean observing networks to get global coverage, 

climate  accuracy,  and  to  leverage  existing  activities.  The  current  system  is  implemented  to 

about 45% of these goals.  This initial system is the ocean climate contribution to the GEOSS 

process,  and  the  OCG  estimates  that  it  could  be  complete  within  5  years,  since  the 

international  logistics  infrastructure  is  in  place,  and  countries  are  already  deploying  and 

maintaining  elements.  Details  of  the  global  coverage  and  national  contributions  to  different 

elements of the  surface and subsurface composite systems can be found in the presentation. 

These  statistics  are  also  maintained  in  real  time,  in  cooperation  with  JCOMMOPS  in 

Toulouse, and can be found at: 

http://www.jcommops.org/network_status/

. All real time data 

streams are available from the GODAE data/product servers. 

The  remaining  challenges  are  achieving  global  coverage,  securing  commitments  for 

sustained  observations,  the  data  system  and  data  sharing,  developing  a  global  system