Terms of Reference for WMO CCl
Commission for Climatology
President: Dr Pierre Bessemoulin (France)
OPAG 1: Climate Data and Data Management
Chair: Raino Heino (Finland)
5.1
Expert Team for Climate Data Management including Metadata
(a)
To identify and specify new requirements for CDMSs, including standard applications software;
(b) To monitor "in-service" capabilities and utilization of computer and manual
systems in meeting Member’s requirements;
(c) To manage and report on the continued evaluation, installation, commissioning and
training for the next generation CDMSs, especially in meeting the needs of developing countries;
(d) To determine and specify the needs for further operational support of, and migration
from, the CLICOM system;
(e) To develop guidance on the management of climate data, including on new data types
and quality management, with particular emphasis on developing countries;
(f) To provide guidance on the requirements for metadata, particularly with regard
to station metadata for climate change detection;
(g) To establish standards for the exchange of metadata and/or their deposition in major
data centres, with particular reference to the needs of the WMO Information System (WIS);
(h) To coordinate and collaborate with other OPAG members, CBS, JCOMM, CIMO, GEOSS, GCOS,
WCRP (e.g. on polar data for the IPY) and other groups as required or as opportunities arise;
(i) To explore, document and make recommendations for addressing the needs for
capacity building in each region, pertinent to this topic;
(j) To submit reports in accordance with timetables established by the OPAG chair
and/or Management Group.
Leader:
Radim
Tolasz (Czech Republic)
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5.2
Expert Team on Observing Requirements and Standards for Climate
(a)
To review and make recommendations regarding the adequacy and choice of observing instruments and sensors to meet climate needs, including in
situ, remote-sensing systems and automated methods;
(b) To review and develop recommendations on procedures and practices necessary to
support the long-term homogeneity of climate data, including:
(i)
Procedures to be carried out in the migration from man-made to automated measurements, and during changes to sensors and site;
(ii) Procedures to be
carried out during instrument maintenance and calibration;
(iii) Instrument comparisons to
identify biases, drift and sensitivity;
(iv)
Maintenance, monitoring and reporting on observing environments including instrument exposure;
(c)
To specify the basic characteristics and standards of national and regional climate networks and their observations, including AWSs and remote
sensing platforms, needed in support of climate activities;
(d) To help ensure that guidance and procedures are developed to assist with improved
data exchange, particularly with regard to satisfying the requirements of the Reference Climate Stations, RBCN and the relevant GCOS networks;
(e) To coordinate and collaborate with the OPAG Rapporteurs, CBS, JCOMM, CIMO, GEOSS,
GCOS, WCRP (e.g. on polar data for the IPY) and other groups as required or as opportunities arise;
(f) To explore, document and make recommendations for addressing the needs for
capacity building in each region, pertinent to this topic;
(g) To submit reports in accordance with timetables established by the OPAG chair and/or
Management Group.
Leader:
William
Wright (Australia)
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5.3
Expert Team on the Rescue, Preservation and Digitization of Climate Records
(a)
To establish and record, through contact with interested parties including data users and data centres, general and specific needs for the
rescue of historic observational data and metadata records;
(b) To investigate and document, under the DARE/ARCHISS Project, the existence and
content of undigitized records in NMHS archives, in public archives and private collections;
(c) To develop and present specific proposals for data rescue projects and to investigate
associated synergies across different regions;
(d) To develop a coherent strategy for the use of electronic means for data recording and
collection and for migration to digitized archives;
(e) To promote, monitor and report on the success of projects to rescue and digitize
manuscript records and incorporate these data into long-term datasets;
(f) To coordinate and collaborate with the OPAG Rapporteurs, GCOS, WCRP (e.g. on polar
data for the IPY) and other groups as required or as opportunities arise;
(g) To explore, document and make recommendations for addressing the needs for capacity
building in each region, pertinent to this topic;
(h) To submit reports in accordance with timetables established by the OPAG chair and/or
Management Group.
Leader:
Tom Ross (USA)
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OPAG 2: Monitoring and Analysis of Climate Variability and Change
Chair: Thomas Peterson (USA)
5.4 Joint CCl/CLIVAR/JCOMM Expert Team on Climate Change Detection and Indices
(a)
To provide international coordination and help organize collaboration on climate change detection and indices relevant to climate change
detection;
(b) To further develop and publicize indices and indicators of climate variability and
change from the surface and sub-surface ocean to the stratosphere;
(c) To encourage the comparison of modelled data and observations perhaps via the
development of indices appropriate for both sources of information;
(d) To coordinate these and other relevant activities the ET chooses to engage in (such
as perhaps observing system experiments that help determine where observations are needed for climate change detection) with other appropriate
agencies such as GCOS, CBS, CIMO, CAgM, CHy, IPCC, START etc. as well with the joint WCRP JSC/CLIVAR Working Group on Coupled Modelling, the WCRP
Observations and Assimilation Panel and regional associations;
(e) To explore, document and make recommendations for addressing the needs for capacity
building in each region, pertinent to this topic;
(f) To submit reports in accordance with timetables established by the OPAG chair
and/or Management Group.
CCl
Co-Lead: Albert
Klein Tank
(Netherlands)
CLIVAR
Co-lead: Name (Country) TBD
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5.5
Expert Team on Climate Monitoring including the Use of Satellite and Marine Data and Products
(a)
To review and advise on the development of the WMO annual state of the climate report and to facilitate coordination of global and regional
climate monitoring activities for the benefit of all organizations engaged in this work;
(b) To review and contribute to the generation of optimized integrated satellite and in
situ datasets for marine, terrestrial and atmospheric climate monitoring;
(c) To take actions as deemed appropriate to assess and improve the interoperability,
availability and homogeneity of data used for global and regional climate monitoring;
(d) To coordinate with GCOS and GEOSS as appropriate, and with the WMO Space/GEO
programme on cross-cutting initiatives;
(e) To promote and coordinate processing the remotely sensed data, such as satellite and
radar, and archiving them in a format suitable for climate monitoring;
(f) To coordinate monitoring activities of institutions that are monitoring global,
regional and/or national climate conditions and to share data, information and/or data assimilation techniques to integrate remotely-sensed data and in
situ data that would help improve the monitoring of climate variability and change;
(g) To identify the needs and requirements for global and regional long-term reanalysis
projects to ensure they are suitable for monitoring climate variability and change;
(h) To create guidelines and information on verification of national and global extremes;
(i) To coordinate and manage a global extremes database, updated annually;
(j) To ensure effective collaboration with relevant partners including the JCOMM
Expert Team on Marine Climatology;
(k) Liaise as required with the CBS ET-SAT (OPAG on IOS) which has similar
responsibilities, so as to maximize complimentarily and minimize duplication;
(l) To develop and provide guidelines on the implementation, use and evaluation of
satellite data and products in climate monitoring and climate change detection;
(m) To establish a feedback mechanism with satellite data and product producers, on practical
needs and improvements in the use of these data and products in climate monitoring and climate change detection;
(n) To explore, document and make recommendations for addressing the needs for capacity
building in each region, pertinent to this topic;
(o) To submit reports in accordance with timetables established by the OPAG chair and/or
Management Group.
Leader:
Zhang
Zuqiang (China)
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OPAG 3: Climate Information and Prediction Services (CLIPS)
Chair: Abdallah Mokssit (Morocco)
5.6
Expert Team on Research Needs for Intraseasonal, Seasonal and Interannual Prediction, including the Application of these Predictions
(a)
To appraise and report on current intraseasonal, seasonal and interannual prediction systems, and their ability to meet the requirements of
specific applications areas, and to provide an assessment of the likely capabilities achievable by the years 2010 and 2015;
(b) To produce a critical review of the methodologies for the creation and the
presentation to users of intraseasonal, seasonal and interannual products, including consensus methodology and downscaling, and to recommend
improvements to the methods used;
(c) To look at the relative value of dynamical downscaling methods against empirical
methods;
(d) To promote the Climate Predictability Tool (CPT) of the International Research
Institute for Climate Prediction (IRI) as applications tool (this tool can downscale empirically large-scale forecast fields to specific sites for
climate and applications forecasting);
(e) To make recommendations on research and development activities needed in the areas of
forecast systems, presentation of products, applications and to support user decision processes (this includes marine, atmospheric and terrestrial
data provision);
(f) To coordinate research needs with WCRP;
(g) To incorporate the WMO cross-cutting themes (on Disaster Prevention and Mitigation,
Space/GEO and Least Developed Countries) into planning and activities of the ET, and to collaborate as needed with experts (across all related
disciplines) in other CCl ETs, members of other WMO Technical Commissions, and in relevant external Organizations;
(h) To explore, document and make recommendations for addressing the needs for capacity
building in each region, pertinent to this topic;
(i) To submit reports in accordance with timetables established by the OPAG chair
and/or Management Group.
Leader:
Jean-Pierre
Ceron (France)
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5.7
Expert Team on CLIPS Operations, Verification and Application Services
(a)
To keep under review and update the list of NMHS, Regional Climate Centre (RCC) and other regional specialized climate centre requirements, as
listed in the General Summary of the Session of the Intercommission Task Team on Regional Climate Centres (WMO/TD‑No.1070, WCASP-52) for input
for dynamic and statistical forecasts, observational data and training activities, to enable the generation of climate outlook products;
(b) To assess the skill of monthly, seasonal to interannual predictions to ensure a
common understanding of the current skill among the Global Producing Centres, RCCs, NMHSs and users;
(c) To consider the implication and implementation of research recommendations,
especially relating to consensus forecast methodology, downscaling and multi-ensemble modeling, and provide appropriate guidance on the development of
improved methods for climate forecasts to support climate applications;
(d) To assess continuously the status (including adequacy and availability) and
opportunities of climate prediction activities, on different scales and their potential to meet user requirements;
(e) To make recommendations on the preparation and provision of both deterministic and
probabilistic climate prediction information for sector specific uses, including formats used;
(f) To develop definitions of terminology used in operational climate prediction in
order to facilitate understanding of these terms;
(g) To produce and update a guide to best operational practices in the generation of
climate information and prediction products for users, with an emphasis on countries in need;
(h) To advise the Implementation/Coordination Group and submit reports in accordance with
timetables established by the OPAG chair and/or Management Group;
(i) To explore, document and make recommendations for addressing the needs for
capacity building in each region, pertinent to this topic;
(j) To maintain close links with CBS on the issues involved.
Operations
co-lead: Philbert
Tibaijuka (Tanzania)
Verification
co-lead: Simon
Mason (USA)
User Liaison
co-lead: Jaakko
Helminen (Finland)
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5.8
Expert Team on El Niño and La Niña
(a)
To complete, if necessary, the work of the ad hoc team (on El Niño Definitions and Indices) to finalize the catalogue of El Niño Definitions
and Indices as used operationally by the different WMO Member States around the world, by major Global Producing Centres (GPCs), and by GPCs
contributing to the WMO ENSO update;
(b) To develop a strategy and common language for public communiqués, and recommend
Guidelines for Members and relevant organizations to follow to improve collaboration on information and predictions of El Niño and La Niña;
(c) To collaborate with the CCl ET on Research Needs, OPAG 2 ETs, WCRP CLIVAR WGSIP, the
Global Producing Centres, research institutes including IRI, ECMWF, CIIFEN and other relevant institutions in their ongoing investigations of the
potential for development of an internationally uniform approach to communication on the ENSO phenomenon;
(d) To produce Guidelines on interoperability between the various definitions of El Niño
and La Niña and their monitoring and impacts for the use in an early warning systems for drought management and flood protection and other
climate-related hazards management;
(e) To produce a Version 0 of an Atlas of regional
ENSO impacts in map format by beginning to collect and assess regional ENSO impacts on various climate parameters and phenomena, to be used by
decision and policy makers and its interaction with other atmospheric and oceanic phenomena (NAO, PDO, etc.);
(f) To incorporate the WMO cross cutting themes (on Disaster Prevention and
Mitigation, Space/GEO and Least Developed Countries) into planning and activities of the ET, and to collaborate as needed with experts (across all
related disciplines) in other CCl ETs, in ETs of other WMO Technical Commissions, and in relevant external organizations;
(g) To explore, document and make recommendations for addressing the needs for capacity
building in each region, pertinent to this topic;
(h) To submit reports in accordance with timetables established by the OPAG chair and/or
Management Group.
Leader:
Luc Maitrepierre (New Caledonia)
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OPAG
4: Climate Applications and Services
Chair:
Dong,
Wenjie (China)
5.9 Expert Team on Climate and Health
(a)
To improve the knowledge of relationships between environmental factors (meteorological parameters, air pollution, housing, …) and reactions
of the human organism;
(b) To complete and distribute the WMO/WHO Guidelines on Heat-health Warning Systems and
health-related assessments of the thermal environment which will include procedures that could be used worldwide by both climate and health
specialists to develop and operate heat/health and cold-spell/health warning systems, and to make recommendations on regional workshops for
implementation of the new procedures;
(c) To recommend further actions to make health-related warning systems a fully
integrated part of CLIPS operations, Climate Watch and Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DPM) systems;
(d) To identify the needs of the health sector for climate information including monthly
to seasonal predictions (for planning and in early warning systems) and considerations of climate change, particularly focusing on climate information
relevant to increased risks of infectious diseases (e.g. Yellow Fever, Cholera, West Nile Fever, Malaria, Dengue Fever, Influenza, meningitis and
possibly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Avian Influenza);
(e) To consider possible coincidences between temperature extremes and air quality
extremes in the different climate regions, and to study health effects of these multiple stress events;
(f) To develop, in partnership with NMHS climate services programmes, the WMO
Regional Associations and relevant partners in the health sector, useful and understandable tailored climate products for application to health,
including specific attention to high latitudes (role of climate variability and change on health of people and in communities in Polar Regions);
(g) To identify the international and national groups (e.g. the World Health
Organization, the International Society of Biometeorology, the International Association of Urban Climatology, and including programmes within NMHSs
and in WMO such as Public Weather Services on biometeorology, and the AREP GURME project) with active programmes in climate and health, to gather
information on their areas of interest and expertise, and then to investigate potential synergies and projects with these groups;
(h) To incorporate the WMO cross-cutting themes (on Disaster Prevention and Mitigation,
Space/GEO and Least Developed Countries) into planning and activities of the ET, and to collaborate as needed with experts (across all related
disciplines) in other CCl ETs, in ETs of other WMO Technical Commissions, and in relevant external Organizations;
(i) To provide guidance on, and make recommendations for, the design and conduct of
specific demonstration and pilot projects, including the calculation of cost/benefits and value of climate predictions from the user point of
view;
(j) To explore, document and make recommendations for addressing the needs for
capacity building in each region, pertinent to this topic;
(k) To submit reports in accordance with timetables established by the OPAG chair and/or
Management Group.
Leader:
Glenn
McGregor (UK)
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5.10 Expert Team on Climate and Energy
(a)
To report on case studies that demonstrate the benefits of, and problems related to, the use of climate information and predictions in support
of energy operations, taking special account of end-user liaison;
(b) To recommend enhancements to climate services in support of energy development and
operations, paying particular attention to the needs of developing countries for making use of renewable energy;
(c) To review and recommend related training material, including distance-learning
packages;
(d) To prepare a status report on climate data needs for supporting wind and solar energy
development, on the adequacy of WMO-specified instruments and observing practices to supply these, and on opportunities to use modelling, data
interpolation methods and satellite observations to overcome problems in providing site-specific information;
(e) To update TN 172 and TN 175 on “Meteorological Aspects of the Utilization of Solar
Radiation as an Energy Source” and “Meteorological Aspects of the Utilization of Wind as an Energy Source”, respectively, into a single document
“Meteorological Aspects of Utilization of Renewable Energy Sources”;
(f) To continue to work on applications of climate as a resource for renewable
energies, and to arrange for closer cooperation with WCIRP and UNEP on renewable energy (e.g. UNEP’s SWERA, the Solar and Wind Energy Resource
Assessment) Project etc., and on energy as part of the Millennium Development Goals and sustainable development;
(g) To scope which organizations are active in ‘climate and energy’, at national and
international levels (both within, and external to NMHSs), to foster development of collaborations and promote shared projects, and to minimize
duplication of activity;
(h) To develop, in partnership with NMHS climate services programmes, the WMO Regional
Associations and CLIPS Focal Points, tailored climate products for application to the energy sector, including special attention to services at high
latitudes;
(i) To incorporate the WMO cross-cutting themes (on Disaster Prevention and
Mitigation, Space/GEO and Least Developed Countries) into planning and activities of the ET, and to collaborate as needed with experts (across all
related disciplines) in other CCl ETs, in ETs of other WMO Technical Commissions, and in relevant external Organizations;
(j) To provide guidance on, and make recommendations for, the design and conduct of
specific demonstration and pilot projects, including the calculation of cost/benefits and value of climate predictions from the user point of
view;
(k) To explore, document and make recommendations for addressing the needs for capacity
building in each region, pertinent to this topic;
(l) To submit reports in accordance with timetables established by the OPAG chair
and/or Management Group.
Leader:
Dennis
Elliott (USA)
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5.11 Expert Team on Climate and Tourism
(a)
To develop methodologies to establish statistical relationships between meteorological conditions and touristic frequentation and destination;
(b) To assess the impact of climate variability and climate change on the tourism
industry, especially in sensitive areas such as coastal zones and mountains, with a view to supporting sustainable tourism (e.g. evaluation of changes
in precipitation patterns that can lead to water shortages for major tourist destinations; changes in sea temperatures that can lead to coral
bleaching episodes; investigation of thermal and precipitation extremes in mountainous zones; sea-level rise; shifts in seasonality; the role of
climate in infrastructure damage, biodiversity change, storm surge waves and their impacts, erosion of shores and beaches, disruption to core services
for water, energy and food, etc.);
(c) To investigate the impacts of the tourism business (air traffic, energy consumption,
etc.) on climate (i.e. to explore whether tourism can exacerbate climate change);
(d) To develop, in partnership with the World Tourism Organization (WTO), NMHS climate
services programmes, the WMO Regional Associations, and tourism professionals, tailored climate products for application to tourism, including for
destinations at high latitudes;
(e) To develop templates for climate-related brochures and outreach products, to show to
tourists (travelers) the work of the local NMHSs;
(f) To develop information and methodologies for NMHSs in risk assessment
(including to follow on from the WMO/WTO book ‘Handbook on natural disaster reduction in tourism areas’), in collaboration with the WMO DPM
Programme;
(g) To develop information related to climate as a resource (not just a hazard) for WMO
Web pages and publications;
(h) To investigate climato-therapy, in conjunction with the ET on Climate and Health;
(i) To incorporate the WMO cross-cutting themes (on Disaster Prevention and
Mitigation, Space/GEO and Least Developed Countries) into planning and activities of the ET, and to collaborate as needed with experts (across all
related disciplines) in other CCl ETs, with other WMO Technical Commissions, and in relevant external Organizations including the World Tourism
Organization (WTO) and IOC/UNESCO, and regional economic groups (e.g. SADC, IGAD, NEPAD, etc.);
(j) To provide guidance on, and make recommendations for, the design and conduct of
specific demonstration and pilot projects, including the calculation of cost/benefits and value of climate predictions from the user point of
view;
(k) To explore, document and make recommendations for addressing the needs for capacity
building in each region, pertinent to this topic;
(l) To submit reports in accordance with timetables established by the OPAG chair
and/or Management Group.
Leader:
Dan
Scott (Canada)
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5.12 Expert Team on Urban and Building Climatology
(a)
To develop the UBC science that is used by National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHS) staff and the users of their services,
including:
(i)
To develop and promote guidelines for standardization of scientific communication on urban climate issues;
(ii)
To aid in the improvement of models of urban surface atmosphere exchanges through collaboration with other key organizations.
For example to facilitate: development of a directory of models; model Intercomparisons; and an inventory of climatologically significant
characteristics of the world’s cities;
(iii) To assess the effect of built
environment and urbanization on the archived long-term climate data records;
(iv) To collaborate with relevant scientific
organizations (e.g. International Association for Urban Climate (IAUC), International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction
(CIB), Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)) and their activities;
(b)
To further the application of the UBC science, including:
(i)
To develop and disseminate reference materials (e.g. Technical Notes (TNs), Bibliographies, etc.);
(ii)
To improve communication, coordination and collaboration with relevant international agencies and science programmes, NMHSs and WMO scientific
programmes (e.g. through the Commission for Atmospheric Sciences (CAS), the Commission for Basic Systems, (CBS) and the Commission for Hydrology (CHy),
the World Climate Research Programme and the Global Energy and Water Cycle experiment (WCRP/GEWEX));
(iii)
To develop a WMO ‘vision’ of the role of urban climate. For example, to include the
cross-cutting themes, relate to the Millenium Development Goals (MPGs), sustainable development; poverty reduction; reduction of risk from natural
hazards; and the potential impacts of current and changing climates on the social, economic and environmental ‘health’
of urban areas;
(c)
To facilitate training of NMHS staff, which will help them better interact with and serve the end-users of urban meteorological, climatological
and hydrological services (e.g. urban managers, urban planners, urban landscape architects and building design professionals, etc.), including:
(i)
To gather and further develop training materials;
(ii) To organize a series of regional
training workshops, particularly to support capacity-building in developing countries;
(iii) To produce and maintain guidance
materials that relate to the built environment and climate, for specific end-user applications (e.g. Technical Notes, web resources and training
curricula and materials for meteorological personnel);
(iv) To explore the most efficient and
cost-effective methods by which to deliver the training, and related materials and tools;
(d) To identify and respond
to other relevant activities in OPAGs 3 and 4 on CLIPS and Climate Applications and Services;
(e)
To incorporate the WMO cross-cutting themes (on Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, Space/GEO and Least Developed Countries) into planning and
activities of the ET, and to collaborate as needed with experts (across all related disciplines) in other CCl ETs, in ETs of other WMO Technical
Commissions, and in relevant external Organizations;
(f) To provide guidance on, and make recommendations for, the design and conduct of
specific demonstration and pilot projects, including the calculation of cost/benefits and value of climate predictions from the user point of
view;
(g) To explore, document and make recommendations for addressing the needs for capacity
building in each region, pertinent to this topic;
(h) To submit reports in accordance with timetables established by the Chair of the OPAG
and/or the Management Group.
Leader:
Sue
Grimmond UK
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OPAG 5: Expert Teams and Rapporteurs Reporting Directly to the President and/or Management Group
5.13
Expert Team on the Guide to Climatological Practices (WMO-No. 100)
(a)
To follow on the results of the meeting of the Expert Team on the Guide to Climatological Practices (19-23 September 2005, Toulouse, France) to
develop any outstanding text and to compile a full integrated draft text, including annexes, of the third edition of the Guide to Climatological
Practices, within the timeframe agreed-upon (i.e. by mid-2006);
(b) To consult with experts in NMHSs, regional associations and relevant bodies, as
required, in development of the text, and to ensure regional balance in the examples used;
(c) To work with the WMO Secretariat on matters of acquisition of high-quality
illustrations and photographs, as needed; editing; peer review; CCl and WMO approvals; translation; graphics development and layout; publishing; and
development of web-based selections from the final version;
(d) To submit reports in accordance with timetables established by the CCl Management
Group.
Leader:
Ned
Guttman (USA)
Experts: Ian
Barnes-Keoghan (Australia) and Aleksandr Sterin (Russian Federation)
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