Program Charter for Climate Observation and Monitoring Program
March 29, 2008
Program Manager: Thomas R. Karl
Climate Goal Lead: Chester J. Koblinsky
Executive Summary
The goal of the Climate Observations and Monitoring (COM) Program is to describe and understand the state of the climate system through the operations and maintenance of an integrated ensemble reference network of climate observing systems, monitoring climate variation and change through processing and assessments of the data to include the Arctic region, better quantification of information on atmospheric composition (CO2, GHGs, stratospheric O3), forcing, and feedbacks that contribute to changes in Earth's climate system, and data information management and access. Some former Climate Forcing program (CLF) projects are now part of the COM program. The COM Program directly supports the other two Climate Goal programs: Climate Research and Modeling (CRM) and Climate Service Development (CSD). COM contributes to the success of the other four NOAA Mission Goals: Ecosystems, Weather and Water, Commerce and Transportation, and Mission Support and associated Sub-goals. Examples would be working with the W&W goal, Air Quality program on joint studies on radiation balance and air quality, Science and Technology Infusion program on a joint effort in developing new measurement technologies for multiple observing platform use (e.g. UAV development), and the Mission Support, Modeling and Observing Infrastructure Sub-goal Environmental Modeling program to provide atmospheric composition data for impact scenarios.
A major objective of the COM Program is to provide NOAA with the capabilities and capacities to contribute to the national and global objectives outlined in the Strategic Plan for the Climate Change Science Program (CCSP), the U.S. Integrated Earth Observation System (IEOS) Strategic Plan, and the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) 10-Year Implementation Plan. These contributions are built on NOAA's ongoing expertise and capabilities in observing systems, data management, climate analysis, education and outreach, applied research, and predictions of future climate variability and the associated impacts to society, such as the El Niño phenomenon. The COM program directly contributes to NOAA's ability to provide "a predictive understanding of the global climate system on time scales of weeks to decades to centuries and longer with quantified uncertainties sufficient for making informed and reasoned decisions."
The COM Program is organized into two capabilities: Climate System Observations (Oceans, Atmosphere, and Climate Forcing) and Data Management and Information. These capabilities taken together increase the value and utility of observations, improve the performance of models, reduce the uncertainty of predictions, develop, produce, and deliver NOAA climate products and services which contribute to the Climate Service Development Program. Climate System Observations are the foundation for research critical to understanding the earth's climate system, monitoring current climate variations and placing them into historical perspective, supporting climate information products and services, and improving climate research and modeling. Data Management and Information consists of two major activities conducted in coordination: data management services and data stewardship. They constitute a comprehensive end-to-end process including movement of data and information from the observing system sensors to the data users. Data management services include the acquisition, inventory, quality control processing, metadata cataloging, validation, reprocessing, storage, dissemination (access and retrieval), and archiving of data. Data stewardship is the application of rigorous processing and oversight to ensure that data sets meet the needs of research, business and industry, government, and private sector users. It provides the means by which satellite derived climate data and information records are produced by blending in-situ reference and satellite measurements of essential climate (state) variables. The above COM activities are essential to supporting the development of policies and plans that address climate impacts on national and global economies, environments, and societies.
At any one time there are at least 25 different projects funded under the COM program being carried out in laboratories and offices at many geographic locations across the U.S., its territories, and other globally distributed sites. Refer to www.climate.noaa.gov for information about the NOAA Climate Goal. NOAA's national and global observations can be explored at nosa.noaa.gov. Refer to the appendix for a listing of additional URL links that support associated COM projects and activities.
Download the full Climate Observation and Monitoring Program Charter Document
