International cooperation on climate monitoring from space takes new steps at EUMETSAT headquarters
Climate and Earth observation experts meet at EUMETSAT headquarters to further develop international cooperation on the monitoring of climate change from space.
22 October 2020
10 March 2014
On 5-7 March, EUMETSAT hosted the first meeting of the joint Working Group on Climate of the Committee for Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) and the Coordination Group for meteorological Satellites (CGMS). The goals of this working group are to establish an inventory of existing records of Essential Climate Variables derived from observations from space, to plan the production of more Climate Data Records and to optimise planning of future satellites to expand records and avoid data gaps.
This meeting followed a workshop of the SCOPE-CM (Sustained, Co-Ordinated Processing of Environmental Satellite Data for Climate Monitoring) international initiative supported by the World Meteorological Organisation and a network of operators of environmental satellite systems, where work plans for cooperative Climate Data Record generation projects were established.
EUMETSAT’s climate monitoring activities encompass re-calibration and inter-satellite calibration, production of homogeneous series of basic observations by reprocessing and downstream production of Climate Data Records for Essential Climate Variables. The activities involve the distributed network of Satellite Application Facilities, in particular the Climate Monitoring SAF led by DWD, and contributions to selected cooperative projects with international partners.
On 10-12 March, EUMETSAT will support a workshop in Grainau, Germany, gathering the users of its Climate Monitoring Satellite Application Facility, led by the Deutsche Wetterdienst, to discuss the usage and development of satellite-based climate monitoring products and services in response to user needs.
The engagement in global climate services in 2014 will culminate in the Climate Symposium that EUMETSAT is organising with the World Climate Research Programme in Darmstadt on 13-17 October. Bringing together international climate scientists, experts from space agencies as well as high-level representatives from other stakeholders, the symposium will discuss how satellite operators could jointly address the scientific challenges identified in the 5th IPCC Assessment Report.
