Mission:

To improve global atmospheric climate observing through a diverse and integrated set of global, regional, and bi-lateral observing activities.

Objective:

The U.S. GCOS program has been one of the leaders in the global effort to maintain systematic climate observations and the program provides support in three-tiered approach of global, regional, and bi-lateral support. As part of the global support for GCOS, and in response to a U.S. Presidential Climate Change Research Initiative (CCRI), the U.S. has formulated a Framework for International GCOS Support plan. This plan focuses on the status of GCOS, what is needed to bring GCOS to its operational-design level, and the support needed from the scientific, donor, and host communities to implement selected improvements to it primarily through the support of GUAN and GSN stations, but also via support for the GCOS Lead Data Center at NCDC, the operation of the Global Observing System Information Center, as well as support to selected improvements in the Global Atmosphere Watch. On the regional level, via State Department supported bi-lateral climate agreements with Australia and New Zealand, the program supports the Pacific Islands regional GCOS program; with the Pacific being of critical importance to climate (e.g., source of El Nino) and given the general sparseness of data from this critical climate region, a strong regional program in support of GCOS is a benefit to the global climate observing effort. In the past year the U.S. (via the State Department) has entered into a number of important bi-lateral climate agreements. Specifically, the U.S. GCOS Program Office is involved in funding projects with Australia, China, New Zealand, and South Africa. These bi-laterals cover a wide range of projects dealing with climate prediction, ocean observing, stratospheric detection, water vapor measurements, capacity building and training, and communication of information, and will focus the attention and resources of all these countries towards developing a more sustainable and robust GCOS program.

International Program Background:

The Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) was established in 1992 to ensure that the observations and information needed to address climate-related issues are obtained and made available to all potential users. It is co-sponsored by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Council for Science (ICSU). GCOS is intended to be a long-term, user-driven operational system capable of providing the comprehensive observations required for monitoring the climate system, for detecting and attributing climate change, for assessing the impacts of climate variability and change, and for supporting research toward improved understanding, modelling and prediction of the climate system. It addresses the total climate system including physical, chemical and biological properties, and atmospheric, oceanic, hydrologic, cryospheric and terrestrial processes.

GCOS does not itself directly make observations nor generate data products. It stimulates, encourages, coordinates and otherwise facilitates the taking of the needed observations by national or international organizations in support of their own requirements as well as of common goals. It provides an operational framework for integrating, and enhancing as needed, observational systems of participating countries and organizations into a comprehensive system focussed on the requirements for climate issues. GCOS builds upon, and works in partnership with, other existing and developing observing systems such as the Global Ocean Observing System, the Global Terrestrial Observing System, and the Global Observing System and Global Atmospheric Watch of the World Meteorological Organization.

GCOS is directed by a Steering Committee which provides guidance, coordination and oversight to the programme. Three science panels, reporting to the Steering Committee, have been established to define the observations needed in each of the main global domains (atmosphere, oceans, and land), to prepare specific programme elements and to make recommendations for implementation. The GCOS Secretariat, located at the WMO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, supports the activities of the Steering Committee, the panels and the GCOS programme as a whole.

Overall GCOS Objectives:

GCOS is intended to meet the needs for:

• Climate system monitoring, climate change detection and monitoring the impacts of and the response to climate change, especially in terrestrial ecosystems and mean sea-level;
• Climate data for application to national economic development;
• Research toward improved understanding, modelling and prediction of the climate system.

• Seasonal-to-interannual climate prediction;
• The earliest possible detection of climate trends and climate change due to human activities;
• Reduction of the major uncertainties in long-term climate prediction;
• Improved data for impact analysis.
• GCOS will build, to the extent possible, on existing operational and research observing, data management and information distribution systems, and further enhancements of these systems. The

• Existing and enhanced World Weather Watch (WWW) systems;
• The Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) and related atmospheric constituent observing systems;
• The Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) for physical, chemical and biological measurements;
• The Global Terrestrial Observing System (GTOS) for land surface ecosystem, hydrosphere, and cryosphere measurements;
• The maintenance and enhancement of programmes monitoring other key components of the climate system, such as terrestrial ecosystems (including the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP)), as well as clouds and the hydrological cycle, the earth's radiation budget, ice sheets and precipitation over the oceans (including the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP));
• Programmes to monitor the key physical, chemical and biological aspects of the impacts of climate change (including the World Climate Impact Assessment and Response Strategies Programme);
• Data communication and other infrastructures necessary to support operational climate forecasting (including the World Climate Data and Monitoring Programme (WCDMP) and the Climate Information and Prediction Services (CLIPS)).