Lars Peter Riishojgaard, Chair CBS OPAG-IOS and Jerome Lafeuille, Observing Systems Division, WMO

Wind Observations in the Global Observing System – a WMO Perspective

Lidar Working Group Meeting, Miami, Feb 8-9 2011

Lars Peter Riishojgaard, Chair CBS OPAG-IOS

and

Jerome Lafeuille, Observing Systems Division, WMO

2Lidar Working Group, Miami, Feb 8-9 2011

Outline

• Mass and wind in the Global Observing System

• WMO, WWW and the GOS

• The WMO Rolling Requirements Review

– CBS, OPAG-IOS, Expert Teams, Workshops

• WMO Vision for the GOS in 2025

Upper-air observation requirements for NWP

• Numerical weather prediction requires independent and global observations of the mass (temperature) and wind fields

• The global three-dimensional mass field is well observed from space

• No existing space-based observing system provides vertically resolved wind information => horizontal coverage of wind profiles is sparse

• The lack of wind measurements is widely believed to be one of the main limiting factors for progress in NWP skill at all temporal ranges

– Especially critical as we progress to smaller and smaller scales where wind/mass balance assumptions break down

3

4

Current Upper Air Mass & Wind Data Coverage

Vertically resolvedMass Observations

Vertically resolvedWind Observations


WMO, WWW and the GOS

• WMO: World Meteorological Organization; a specialized agency of the United Nations; the UN system's authoritative voice on meteorology, climatology, hydrology– WWW, World Weather Watch: Core WMO

programme since 1963; observing systems, information systems and telecommunication facilities, and data-processing and forecasting centres; backbone for efficient meteorological and hydrological services, worldwide

– Key WWW components:• GTS; Global Telecommunications System• GOS; Global Observing System


WMO Global Observing System• Coordinated system of methods and facilities

for making meteorological and other environmental observations on a global scale in support of all WMO Programmes– Surface stations– Upper-air network– Marine observations – Aircraft– Satellite systems

• Owned and operated by WMO member states on behalf of WMO; subject to WMO Regulatory Materials

• Rolling Requirements Review: WMO process for capturing and vetting requirements for the GOS


The Rolling Requirements Review (RRR) in the WMO structure

• Commission for Basic Systems; one of eight WMO Technical Commissions. President: Fred Branski, NOAA/NWS– …– OPAG for the Integrated Observing System; one of four

OPAGs under CBS. Chair: L. P. Riishojgaard, JCSDA• …

• Expert Team on the Evolution of the Global Observing System; one of six Expert Teams under OPAG-IOS. Chair: John Eyre, Met Office

– Requirements database (by application area) for Global NWP, Regional NWP, Nowcasting, Agrometeorology, etc.

– Capabilities database (by observing system), e.g. RAOBS, GEO imagers, AMDAR, buoys, etc.

– Gap analysis; Statements of Guidance– Implementation plan– Vision for the GOS in 2025

RRR (I)

• ET-EGOS– Meets once a year in Geneva– Responsible for all requirements, all application areas– Interacts with other CBS Expert Teams, teams from other WMO Technical

Commissions and co-sponsored programs (e.g. GCOS)

• WMO Rapporteur on Scientific Evaluation of Impact Studies (formerly Rapporteur on OSEs and OSSEs)

– Responsible for gathering community input specifically on NWP

• WMO Workshop on the Impact of Various Observing Systems on NWP

– Every four years, by invitation only, organized by Rapporteur on SEIS and OPAG-IOS

– All major NWP Centers meet to compare impacts of all major elements of the GOS

– OSEs and adjoint sensitivity diagnostics– (Next Workshop: May 29 – June 1, 2012 in the US; venue TBD)



The GOS evolution process

Requirements

Implementation

Plan

Members’ Space Agencies

programmes

Gap

analysis

Long-term vision

of the GOSRequirements

RequirementsRequirements

RRR (II)

• ET-EGOS consolidates input on Requirements from all sources into output documents (e.g. Vision, Implementation Plan)

• Routing:– ET-EGOS OPAG-IOSCBS WMO EC

• Once adopted by the WMO Executive Council, the material becomes official WMO documents



Long-term vision for the Global Observing System

• Vision for the GOS in 2025 endorsed by WMO Executive Council on 11/06/09– Provides high-level guidance for global observation planning – Framework for WMO Members to commit on contributing missions

• Calls for major enhancement of the space component – Geostationary, polar-orbit

and other orbits as appropriate– Transition of several missions

from R&D to operational status(Altimetry, GPS radio-occultation, scatterometry, chemistry)

– Operational pathfinders

•


Vision for the GOS in 2025 (space component)Summary of missions called for on operational basis

Observations performed so far on a R&D basis should be planned on an operational basis

Integrating new missions

Core operational GEO missions All with IR hyperspectral sounding, lightning detection

Core operational LEO Imagery and IR-MW sounding All with hyperspectral IR, on 3 sun-synchronous orbital planes

Ocean surface topography Radio-Occultation Sounding Ocean Surface Wind Global Precipitation Earth Radiation Budget Atmospheric Composition Special imaging for ocean colour, vegetation Dual-angle view IR imagery

Land Surface Imaging Synthetic Aperture Radar Space Weather instruments


Vision of the space-based GOS to 2025Operational pathfinders and demonstrators

Doppler wind lidar on LEO Winds; aerosol; cloud-top height [and base]

Low-frequency MW radiometer on LEO Ocean surface salinity; soil moisture

MW imager/sounder on GEO Precipitation; cloud water/ice; atmospheric humidity and temperature

High-resolution, multi-spectral narrow-band Vis/NIR and CCD imagers on GEOs

Ocean colour, cloud studies and disaster monitoring

Vis/IR imagers on satellites in high inclination, Highly Elliptical Orbits HEO)

Winds and clouds at high latitudes; sea ice; high latitude volcanic ash plumes; snow cover; vegetation fires

Gravimetric sensors Water volume in lakes, rivers, ground,


Summary

• As of June 2009, space-based wind lidars as operational pathfinders are part of the official WMO Vision for the Global Observing System 2025– This means that the heads of the National Meteorogical and

Hydrological Services of the WMO member states have signed off on this

• WMO does not own or implement satellite systems– Requirements, performance databases and gap analysis lead

to implementation plan and vision– Can act as a forcing function on national and international

implementation plans

Documents

Lars Peter Riishojgaard, Chair CBS OPAG-IOS and Jerome Lafeuille, Observing Systems Division, WMO