Chapter 6 Australian Participation in GCOS/GOOS/GTOS

International Status of GCOS, GOOS and GTOS > Cooperative Planning Activities

As noted earlier, the common goals and many common concerns of GCOS, GOOS and GTOS have led to an increasing degree of cooperation between the three in planning for global environmental monitoring (see Figure 6.8).

Figure 6.8. The synergetic operation of the programs of the three global observing systems ensures collaboration and information exchange. The partnered programs are: the Global Observing System Information Center (GOSIC); the Terrestrial Observation Panel for Climate (TOPC); Terrestrial Carbon Observations (TCO); the Ocean Observation Panel for Climate (OOPC); and collaboration on coastal zones between GOOS and GTOS. The Integrated Global Observing Strategy (IGOS) aims to provide strategies for linking the various systems, sponsors and agencies.

GCOS and GOOS collaborate in planning for climate observations over the oceans, GCOS and GTOS for terrestrial climate observations, and GOOS and GTOS in observations of the coastal zone. Joint scientific panels have already prepared plans for the first two of these. A joint planning meeting was also held in 1996 to develop an integrated strategy for in situ observations for the three systems. Joint GCOS/GOOS/GTOS Sponsors' meetings began in 1997 (there were two that year), with the most recent meeting, the sixth, being held in Paris in May-June 2001.

Joint planning for space based observations is also occurring through the international Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS), of which GCOS and GOOS are affiliate bodies. CEOS has embarked on an initiative to link its activi- ties with complementary observations programmes, through an Integrated Global Observing Strategy (IGOS) which aims to enhance the links between the global observing systems and the earth satellite agencies. CEOS established a Strategic Implementation Team (SIT). In 2001, the SIT became a permanent body within the CEOS structure. The SIT aims to address the role and function of the space component of an IGOS, and six prototype demonstration projects have been selected as indicative of the characteristics of an IGOS and to demonstrate the benefits of an integrated approach to planning global observations. The IGOS partners have also adopted a thematic approach to develop joint planning activities to address particular cross-cutting themes such as oceans, disaster management, and the carbon cycle.