WATEROCEANS CARBON Atm. Chem.COASTALGEOHAZARDS

LAND COVERCRYOSPHERE

UNDER DEVELOPMENT

APPROVED

IOCGTOSUNEP

UNESCOGOOS

FAO

ICSU

WMO

IGBPWCRP

GCOS

IGFACEOS

GEODESY

CONSIDERED

HEALTH

• One of main goals of the project is to develop cryospheric observations

• What needs to be observed, why and how• Who is capable to making the required observations• Who will pay for this? • How to ensure that needed observations form datasets of

required quality and duration?• How to access the observations and datasets?• How to sustain observing systems?

We need an strategy for cryospheric observations, which would be approved by funders

CliC and observations

• An idea for IGOS-P to consider covering an important domain in Earth observations - Approved by IGOSP-11, Rome, Italy, 27 May 2004

• Preparation of Report (analysis of requirements, identification of gaps, search for solutions, working out recommendations, identification of needed actions, preparation of implementation timeline)

• Approved Report• Implementation

IGOS Theme Development Steps

• Chair – Jeff Key, NOAA/NESDIS, USAVice-Chairs – Mark Drinkwater, ESA, The Netherlands Jinro Ukita, Chiba University, Japan

• Groups: – CliC (Barry Goodison, Vladimir Ryabinin, Victoria Lytle)– SCAR (Marzena Kaczmarska, Colin Summerhayes)

• Current contributors: 54 total– Countries: USA (19), Canada (13), Norway (6), Austria (2),

Switzerland (3), UK (2), Netherlands (1), Finland (1), Germany (2), Italy (1), China (1), Japan (1), Australia (1), Russia (1)

– Topical areas: sea ice (13), lake and river ice (2), ice sheets, ice caps, and glaciers (10), snow (6), permafrost and frozen ground (3), precipitation (3), polar climate (2), data management (4), buoys (2)

IGOS-Cryo Writing Team Composition

Workshops• 1st IGOS-Cryo Workshop, Kananaskis,

Canada, 2-4 March 2005, supported by CSA, 22 participants

• 2nd IGOS-Cryo Workshop, Yokohama, Japan, 24-25 April 2006, supported by JAXA and JAMSTEC, hosted by JAMSTEC, 36 participants

Cryosphere satellite missions:

LIAG1950

n = 145

Courtesy Claude Duguay

Lake - Ice Observations

(as an in situ example)

LIAG1970

n = 234(Number of sites reporting

ice observations)

Courtesy Claude Duguay

Lake - Ice Observations

LIAG1990

n = 132

Courtesy Claude Duguay

Lake - Ice Observations

LIAG1995

n = 87

Courtesy Claude Duguay

Lake - Ice Observations

CID2000

n = 4

Courtesy Claude Duguay

Lake - Ice Observations

Way forward

• Need to build, as much as possible, a consensus between the users and observation/ data providers (on requirements and their feasibility).

• We are going to open the draft report and all recommendations for a review by the whole cryospheric community, insist on having input from major groups and update the requirements and recommendations in the report

• in parallel we will systematically approach all major involved Themes and programs: GCOS, GOOS, GTOS, WMO GSN, CEOS, GEOSS, etc. etc. – the way forward has to be agreed and the Theme must be owned by these partners.

Already Achieved Impact of the Cryosphere Theme

Improved coverage of cryospheric elements in the GCOS Implementation Plan (autumn 2004) – at the Theme initial phase

Work with GEO, GCOS SC, OOPC, GTOS – increased awareness

Contribution to GCOS-CEOS Report on Satellite based products for UNFCCC (2006)

Activity Recommendations for GEO 2006-07 Work Plan

Contributions to IPY planning (multiple projects)

Support to CryoSat-2, re-launch 2009

ESA Earth Observation Programme Board meeting 18.05.2006:

• "Assessment Studies" for six new mission concepts - included in these six missions is the "CoreH2O“ (snow hydrology) mission,

• possibility of secondary cryospheric objective on BIOMASS mission

Approximate Timeline

• Initial report and all recommendations finalisedmid-Sep 2006• Initial IGOS Cryosphere Theme Report made open to reviewby the wide cryospheric community end Oct 2006 • Review of the input and recommendations by the Team at the third Theme workshop, ESTEC/ESA, Noordwijk

mid-Oct 2006• Incorporation of the open review results into the ReportOct-Nov 2006• Discussion of the report and recommendations with relevant international bodies (WMO, WCRP, CEOS SIT, GEOSS, GCOS, IGOS Themes, etc., etc.)Dec 2006

A Small Sample of RecommendationsIn Situ Observations:

• A central international archive (e.g. global lake ice monitoring network) or several regional archives (part of the network) are needed.

• A set of target regions and lakes/rivers for future long-term monitoring needs to be identified.• The reactivation of existing lake ice or river ice sites or the addition of new observation sites, through the establishment of networks

of volunteers and with schools must be encouraged. • Increase the number of permafrost temperature, active layer, and seasonal freezing sites to include under represented areas in both

hemispheres.• Upgrade sites to include automated data loggers, remote data acquisition and instrumentation for collection of ancillary climate data

including snow observations. • Continue and expand meteorological measurements from AWS networks over ice sheets.• Continue conventional point precipitation measurements against declining networks in many countries; sustain and enhance the

gauge network in the cold regions; develop guidelines on the minimum station density required for climate research studies on solid precipitation in cold climate regions; …

Satellite Observations:• A key requirement of future sensor systems for observing sea ice is continuation of the passive microwave record, with consistent

frequencies.• The potential of passive microwave (and scatterometer) data to map ice cover (concentration and extent), open water, ice thickness,

and snow depth on ice on large lakes should be examined.• Notwithstanding the success of the Radarsat-1 Antarctic Mapping Missions (AMM), a follow-on Antarctic missions with Radarsat-2

should be considered.

Research:• Improved estimates of melt and freeze conditions, floe size distribution, lead statistics, pond area and albedo on a global scale are

required for validation and assimilation into models. Research is required to improve and validate algorithms, new sensors and data fusion techniques.

• A comparison of conventional (surface-based) observations of freeze-up and break-up with satellite-derived time series, starting in the 1970s-1980s with AVHRR data, is needed. This would ensure some continuity in the transition between the surface-based and satellite observations (i.e. post 1980s when many of the lake/river ice sites were lost).

For More Information

http://stratus.ssec.wisc.edu/igos-cryo