Chapter 2 - Climate Data and Monitoring

The Australian Climate Network

Australia maintains national networks of meteorological, atmosphere, oceanographic and terrestrial observing systems that provide the basis for its climate network. The principal data base for describing the climate of Australia, its variability and its long-term trends, is provided by the national meteorological network, established, operated and maintained by the Bureau of Meteorology under the authority of the Meteorology Act 1955. This network records a range of meteorological variables in support of climate monitoring and prediction as well as weather forecasting and warning services.

Marine and ocean observation networks are operated by a number of Australian organisations including the Bureau of Meteorology, CSIRO Marine Research, the National Tidal Facility of Australia, the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Institute for Marine Science (AIMS). Observations are collected in support of climate monitoring and prediction, weather forecasting and warning services, as well as ocean and marine research.

Terrestrial observing networks are the least well-established element of Australia's climate network. While programs to observe various terrestrial climate variables, such as radiation, fresh water, land cover and forestry and fire distribution, do operate in Australia, few operate on a national basis or with long-term climate monitoring as an objective, and many operate solely on the basis of short-term research funding.

These various networks, whilst established principally in response to national needs, make an important contribution to global climate monitoring through the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS), the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) and the Global Terrestrial Observing System (GTOS).

This section draws on the detailed national report on systematic observation of climate, prepared as part of Australia’s third National Communication to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC), and transmitted to the FCCC secretariat in March 2002. Copies of the report, Australia’s Global Climate Observing Systems: a detailed national report on systematic observation of climate are available from the Bureau of Meteorology website ( www.bom.gov.au/inside/eiab/gcosgoos/Australia_NC3-GCOS_Annex.pdf).