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The
HMEI Booth and Members' Booths at the 85th AMS
Minutes
of HMEI Open Meeting at 85th AMS
HMEI
Members' Meeting at the 85th AMS
MINUTES
OF THE HMEI OPEN MEETING HELD AT THE 85th AMS IN SAN DIEGO, 10th
JANUARY 2005
Thirty four
people attended this meeting, representatives from both exhibitor
companies and international organizations.
Opening
by the HMEI Chairman at 9am
The Chairman
of HMEI, Ben Dieterink, welcomed those attending the first Open Meeting
held by HMEI. In his welcome Mr. Dieterink noted the growth of HMEI from 15
to 67 members during the past year and its expectation of continuing
growth.
Mr. Dieterink announced the inability of the World Meteorological
Organization (WMO) Secretary General, Mr. Michel Jarraud, to attend the
meeting. Mr. Jarraud was to have been the guest speaker from WMO. However,
due to recent Asian Tsunamis disaster, unforeseen commitments elsewhere now
prevented him from being at AMS in San Diego as expected. Mr. Dieterink
introduced the HMEI Executive Secretary, Mr. Bruce Sumner, who had been
asked to read Mr. Jarraud’s speech I his absence.
HMEI
Executive Secretary - Reading of the Secretary General of WMO’s Speech
in absentia:
STATEMENT
ON THE OCCASION OF THE ASSOCIATION
OF HYDRO-METEOROLOGICAL EQUIPMENT INDUSTRY
OPEN MEETING
By M. Jarraud, Secretary-General, World
Meteorological Organization
(San Diego, USA, 10 January 2005)
Mr
Ben Dieterink, chairman of the of the Association of Hydro-Meteorological
Equipment Industry, Mr.
Jan Hörhammer, vice-chairman of the of the Association of
Hydro-Meteorological Equipment Industry,
Distinguished Members of the Association, Ladies
and Gentlemen,
I
wish to convey my message at this occasion even if my other preoccupations
due to the devastating Asian Tsunamis that hit the southern Asia on 26
December 2004 did not allow me to be personally with you.
Ladies
and Gentlemen,
It has always been part of the WMO strategy to collaborate with instrument
and equipment manufacturers since we both have a common interest, namely
the enhancement of global monitoring capacities, which will result in
development of and progress in meteorology. I am very pleased that the
Association of Hydro-Meteorological Equipment Industry (HMEI) has filled
the missing link between WMO and instrument manufacturers. The hosting of
the HMEI Executive Secretary within WMO Secretariat facilitated even
closer cooperation of the Association with the WMO Secretariat, followed
by the active participation of HMEI’s representatives at number of WMO
events.
I recall, that following the request of the HMEI Association, the
fifty-fourth session of the WMO’s
Executive Council (2002) granted HMEI a consultative status with WMO.
Based on this consultative status, the HMEI Association is entitled to be
represented by an observer, without voting rights, at sessions of the
World Meteorological Congress, Regional Associations and the Technical
Commissions in which HMEI is interested. At these sessions, HMEI is
entitled to present documents, propose items for agenda and take part in
the discussions.
I wish to recall the HMEI Association nominated 31 experts from 13
manufacturers into the nine CIMO Expert Teams, who worked actively within
the CIMO structure. In this connection, nine HMEI representatives
participated in the first session of the Joint Meeting of the Expert Team
on Upper-Air Systems Intercomparisons and International Organizing
Committee on Upper-Air Systems Intercomparisons, held in Geneva,
Switzerland, from 17 to -20 March 2004, and three HMEI representative
participated in the first session of the Expert Team on Surface Technology
and Measurement Techniques (ET-ST&MT), held in Geneva, from 13 to 16
October 2004. The success of these events was also due to collaboration
with nominated HMEI experts. HMEI representatives also participated in the
sessions of the WMO constituent bodies, such as the fifty-sixth session of
the Executive Council and the twelfth session of the Commission for
Hydrology.
I wish to express my satisfaction that the joint co-ordination efforts
have come to a very positive conclusion that opens a new dimension for
collaboration between the private instrument sector and WMO.
Ladies
and Gentlemen,
The theme of your meeting: “Private Industry and an Integrated Earth
Observing System” is very actual and, therefore, wish to recall that at
the invitation of the United States of America, on 31 July 2003 in
Washington DC, thirty-three nations, and the European Commission, joined
together at the first Earth Observation Summit (EOS-I) to adopt a
Declaration that called for action in strengthening global cooperation on
Earth observations. The purpose of the Summit was to Promote the
development of a comprehensive, coordinated, and sustained Earth
observation system or systems among governments and the international
community to understand and address global environmental and economic
challenges; and begin a process to develop a conceptual framework and
implementation plan for building this comprehensive, coordinated, and
sustained Earth observation system or systems. To this end, the Summit
participants launched an ad hoc Group on Earth Observations (GEO), with
the goal of furthering the creation of a comprehensive, coordinated, and
sustained Earth observing system or systems.
Four sessions of GEO have been held followed by the second Earth
Observation Summit (EOS-II). GEO-2, which met in Baveno, Italy, 28-29
November 2003, had agreed with the following recommendation concerning its
architecture: “GEOSS should be a system of systems supplemented by new
observing components as and where required. This architecture would allow
existing individual observing systems, e.g., WMO’s WWW GOS, to remain
within their mandates as well as providing for new observing components.
The architecture would require a new interface between individual
observing components as well as a new component to exchange and
disseminate observational data between those components. GEO members and
participating organizations would need to agree upon a global
interoperability specification to which all individual observing
components would adhere. GEOSS would contain the necessary network
structure to make available all required observations to satisfy the Data
Utilization Model.”
The fifty-sixth session of the WMO Executive Council adopted Resolution 9
(EC-LVI) on the Global Earth Observation System of Systems in affirming
its full support for the GEO process and resulting GEOSS. In this regard,
I invite the HMEI Association to follow more closely the development in
GEOSS and contribute to this process from the point of view of developers
of meteorological instrument and systems.
Ladies
and Gentlemen,
WMO Intercomparisons are essential for WMO Programmes as well as
manufacturers and users that demand accurate homogenous measurements.
Comparison of sensors, instruments and equipment, which are operationally
applied for measuring meteorological variables, are important means of
determining their performance characteristics under in-situ (field)
conditions.
In this regard I am pleased that a great number of manufacturers take part
in the WMO Intercomparisons
organized in 2005. This includes WMO Laboratory Intercomparisons of
Rainfall Intensity (RI) gauges, WMO Intercomparison of High-quality
Radiosonde Systems and International and Regional Pyrheliometer
Comparisons.
The WMO Laboratory Intercomparison of Rainfall Intensity Gauges was
launched, simultaneously, in September 2004, in the laboratories of the
Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, Météo-France and the Italian
Met Service (University of Genova). The selected 19 pairs of instruments
from 18 manufacturers were divided into three groups, with each group
being tested for a period of about three months in each of the
laboratories, in order to obtain a high degree of confidence in the
results. The first phase of tests is nearly completed; the second will
start in late January 2005 the last - third phase is expected to end in
mid-2005. The chairman of the International Organizing Committee, the
Project and Site managers will meet on 17 January 2005 to assess outcome
of the first phase.
The WMO Intercomparison
of High Quality Radiosonde Systems will be held in Vacoas, Mauritius,
from 1 to 27 February 2005. Training of the local supporting staff as well
as installation of all ground equipment will be done between 1 and 5
February so that the Intercomparison itself could start on 7 February
2005, following a start-up ceremony. Several radiosonde systems will
participate in the Intercomparison. Participating radiosondes will be
divided into two groups and sent off successively on 2000 g balloons at
four launch times, 10h, 13h, 19h and 22h local time.
The core Project Team comprising the ET/IOC Chairman, Project Manager,
Radiosonde Comparison
Expert and Data Manager, supported by local staff and a number of
dedicated personnel from participating manufacturers, will all guarantee
that the agreed objectives are met.
Preparations have started for the tenth International Pyrheliometer
Comparison (IPC-X) and conjoint Regional Pyrheliometer Comparisons (RPC)
to be held from 26 September to 14 October 2005 in the World Radiation
Centre (WRC), Davos, Switzerland. The IPC-X is primarily intended for the
calibration of standard pyrheliometers of all WMO Regional Radiation
Centres (RRCs). It is planned to carry out conjointly RPCs of all Regions
similarly as at previous IPCs. National Standard Pyrheliometers that are
maintained at National Radiation Centres (NRCs) concerned, will be
compared against the World Standard Group as part of the RPC. If the
comparison infrastructure allows, other national institutions may apply
for participation at the IPC-X. The WRC in Davos, will organize a
scientific symposium and a workshop during the IPC-X related to
meteorological radiometry and atmospheric radiation and relevant
manufacturers are invited to take part also in this symposium.
Ladies
and Gentlemen:
As you surely know the WMO Technical Conference on Meteorological and
Environmental Instruments and Methods of Observation (TECO-2005) and the
associated Exhibition of Meteorological Instruments, Equipment and
Services (METEOREX-2005) will be held in Bucharest, Romania from 4 to 7
and from 4 to 6 May 2005, respectively.
I wish to underline the importance of such technical conferences and
exhibitions as a means
of exchanging technical information and experience and of facilitating
technology transfer and capacity building. The side by side organization
of the technical conferences and the exhibitions provide a unique
interaction between the manufacturers of meteorological and related
instruments and the user community so that the manufacturers may better
understand the needs of users, and users can also better understand how
new developments in observing technology can help them satisfy their needs
in the near future.
By end of November 2004, 61 manufacturers had registered for participation
in METEOREX-2005 and it seems that this event may be the biggest WMO
exhibition so far. Therefore, please accept my warm welcome to those
registered and also to those that intend to participate.
Ladies
and Gentlemen,
WMO is at the forefront in developing and setting standards and defining
methods of observations in all these application areas. I truly believe
that a close co-operation between WMO and the HMEI Association will be
beneficial for both communities. Not only will you learn early of WMO
plans and intentions, WMO will also benefit from views and advice the
industry has to offer. It is very important, for instance, that WMO
experts are made aware of potential engineering or cost implications a
newly conceived observing methodology might have on the instrumentation.
In
conclusion, I would like once again to congratulate you and assure you of
WMO's continuous collaboration. I wish you a successful continuation of
your deliberations here in San Diego.
Thank
you for your attention.
Paul
Fransioli Secretary of the ISO/SC5 Meteorology Group- Presentation on
behalf of ISO
Mr. Fransioli
is
a representative of both the ASTM and ISO Meteorology
Subcommittees.
His PowerPoint presentation covered:
An explanation of
the purpose and method of creating standards in ASTM and ISO
A description of
the meteorological stands groups in ISO and ASTM
The advantages of
standards for manufacturers and service providers
The advantages of
standards for clients and users
Who the
sub-committee members are
How to become
involve in the process of standard setting.
Link
to Mr. Fransioli's PowerPoint Presentation
Mr.
Fransioli emphasized the need for involvement of private sector to have a
complete picture on how standards should be formulated. He suggested that
HMEI, with its Liaison Status with ISO, was an excellent way for
manufacturers to be involved with ISO and all the reciprocal advantages it
will bring to their products.
Mr. Fransioli answering
questions at the HMEI Open Meeting (Photo courtesy of ORI)
HMEI
Executive Secretary -
Presentation:
"The Role of Private Industry in Supporting
Integrated Observing Systems"
Distinguished
Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen:
This presentation is a response from the Association
of HMEI Secretariat to the AMS Annual Meeting theme this year, “Building
the Earth Information System”. This has been clarified by AMS as: “the
role that science can play in decision-making for society. With one-third
or more of the economy being sensitive to weather and climate variability
and changes, decisions involving resource management, economic
development, hazard response, and policy all require the development of
observing systems, science knowledge, and products that provide
information across multiple spatial and temporal scales in the atmospheric
and related sciences”.
Such
an inclusive approach as outlined, which will encompass weather,
environment, climate, agrometeorology, oceans, hydrology, bio-diversity,
indicates the need for standardization of cross cutting applications,
products and data outputs in order that inclusion, comparison and
integration are in fact possible.
This
need was noted in at the 56th
WMO Executive Council last year, in the presentation entitled "A
Vision on the use of new observation
technologies for meteorology and hydrology in the next decade ".
This
talk outlined the vision
of the ad hoc Group on Earth Observations
(GEO) for a “system of systems”, combining all the major areas
of the earth observations, and the institutions and agencies who use or
process them, into a Sustained
Integrated Earth Observing System. To facilitate this it was
emphasized that there would need to be common agreed standards and
formats, so that data from different areas can be easily integrated and an
overall picture of the Earth as a system gained.
So
what indeed is the “Role of
Private Industry in Supporting An Integrated Earth Observing System”?
I suggest that ideally it would be, as suggested by AMS, a means of
providing “products that provide information across multiple spatial and
temporal scales in the atmospheric and related sciences”.
Many
manufacturers in our industry already cut across different fields in the
products they produce and the sectors to which they sell. They have a
vested interest in maximizing the potential for extending applications of
the technologies and expertise they are developing. This suggests that
within each manufacturer’s varying applications and products there is
already either actual data integration ability, or the potential for
integration. However there remains the problem of integration of data from
varying manufacturers.
Such
integration problems stem, often, from the varying specifications which
are demanded by the clients. Therefore many manufacturers supply to demand
and if the demand varies for each client, so the solutions and the
products will inevitably vary. The need is for standards,
“universally” followed by clients, which would maximize worldwide
efficiency in integration of information. A follow on benefit from such
standardization could also be the possible lowering of costs which
standardization of demands could bring. This would result in a more
affordable set of products, especially important for third world countries
who are struggling to keep up with the demands of the best practice
standards of data output, which a worldwide integrated system of systems
would require.
The HMEI has as part of its
stated aims, the aim to “Represent,
communicate and defend, at an international level, the views of the
hydro-meteorological instruments and systems industry, thereby ensuring a
voice for the industry in discussions and resolutions concerning designs,
standards and operations of environmental, meteorological and hydrological
instruments and equipment…”,
and to “Promote
and contribute to standardization world-wide in the meteorological and
hydrological fields…”.
In
working to achieve these aims HMEI and its members are cooperating with
organizations such as World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and its
various Commissions, the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU),
to name but a few.
Such communication between
developers, manufacturers and service providers within the international
hydro-meteorological instruments and systems industry is necessary to
achieve discussion on and resolution of matters of standardization and
integration. It is a step towards manufacturers in this industry being
able to let the wider hydrological, meteorological and environmental
community know what is feasible technically and economically. This
knowledge is vital if we are to gain a realistic view off how standards
and integration of atmospheric and related sciences information worldwide
can actually be achieved.
For
private industry to maximize an effective role in supporting an Integrated
Earth Observing System, their opinions and expertise needs actively to be
sought in all the relative international forums. Industry organizations
and associations, such as HMEI, are important resources of international
private industry expertise. Thus these resources need to be consulted, still
further, by those in the international community and HMEI invited to
participate in the debates and decisions on development of products and
the standards for them. Organizations such as WMO and ISO in freely
welcoming a private industry association such as HMEI into their midst,
shows the way to beneficial private and public cooperation in the
atmospherics, environmental and related sciences.
HMEI will continue to work
to develop and extend the cooperation between its ever growing membership
and the wider international earth sciences community. For it is by these
sorts of efforts that private industry can fulfill its essential role in
helping the world to develop a truly Integrated Earth Observing System.
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen:
The aim of this presentation has
been to emphasize the HMEI’s view of international cooperation between
the private and public sectors of our industry, in order to support the
achievement of an Integrated Earth Observing System. However HMEI also
believes that promoting debate and discussion in public forums is an
important part of its role within the earth sciences community. Therefore,
with the agreement of the HMEI Chairman, I would now like to open the
meeting to questions and discussion on issues raised in my presentation.
Thank You.
Disscussion
Following
is a summary of the questions and discussion from the floor of the
meeting:
Question
from the floor:
Are there many conflicts between the private industry and the government
agencies, in the discussions and meetings to try to establish standards?
Response
from Paul Francioli:
There is usually an open and collegial environment between those
participating in the meetings and in this spirit there is no particular
sense of conflict between the people attending the meetings.
Comment
from HMEI Administrator: Similarly, in WMO meetings there is a spirit of communication and
exchange of knowledge rather than any conflict.
Question
from HMEI Vice Chairman: WMO already has guides and standards of a sort so how dose this tie in
with the ISO work?
Response
from Paul Fransioli:
WMO in fact encouraged ISO to look at the creation of standards. WMO has
protocols and guides but as their scope did not go to the Standards per
say they (WMO) encouraged the base standards to be set by ISO in order
that WMO could have a good basic level described by ISO for WMO to then
base their Guidelines on and to build from. ISO is looking to provide a
common denominator for Guides to be referred to by the varying bodies
creating Guides.
Comment
from HMEI Councilor Joe Parini: The tensions (rather then conflicts) create a valuable ambiance for
creating well-balanced decisions from the various inputs.
Question
from the floor:
Does HMEI have an input into the CBS (Commission for Basic Systems)
guides?
Response
from HMEI Executive Secretary: Not as yet but that is our next area of concern.
Question
from the floor:
For information systems, will HMEI be having the same input as in
instruments?
Response
from HMEI Chairman: Yes,
HMEI will be going into any areas that our members’ demand of us.
Comment
from HMEI Executive Secretary: HMEI has started with CIMO, as these meetings were being held in 2003
and 2004. We have the right to be involved in all the other areas of WMO
too and we will become involved in meetings in other area as they come up.
Comment
from HMEI Administrator: In fact the WMO Commission for Basic Systems (CBS) 12th
session was recently held in 2004 and HMEI attended. This is the start of
our involvement in the CBS area.
Comment
from HMEI Vice Chairman: Buffer has already has been addressed with Upper-Air at CIMO meeting
and HMEI members have been there. Also it takes time for the WMO machinery
to be able to address these things but we are working steadily towards
such goals.
Question
from the floor:
NOAA is revising its decisions to not be providing services that private
industries provide, will HMEI be involved in this issue with the NOAA.
Comment
from the floor:
Yes, HMEI should be involved in those issues.
Additional
question from the floor: What are the national issues that HMEI will be involved in?
Response
from HMEI Chairman:
HMEI has not yet become involved with issues on national levels. However
it is something we would like to become involved with in the future and we
will be looking into this.
Comment
from the floor: This
was in the form of an anecdote, suggesting that the process of
establishing standards may be messy to watch evolving, but would be very
worthwhile in the end.
Close of Meeting
The
HMEI Chairman thanked Mr. Fransioli for his presentation and those attending
the meeting for their participation. He then closed the meeting at 10.20.
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Closed HMEI Members' Meeting HELD AT THE 85th AMS IN SAN DIEGO, 10th
JANUARY 2005
A private member's meeting followed the Open Meeting at 10.30am.Twenty
three people attended this meeting. The text of minutes of this
meeting has been sent directly to HMEI members.
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