GOS
Global Observing Systems
In the 1980s several UN agencies, in particular IOC, WMO
and UNEP, recognized the need for a comprehensive, long-term,
global monitoring programme to observe phenomena related
to climate change.
They began preparations for such a programme, taking advantage
of ongoing international, regional and national programmes
in this area – for example, the World Ocean Circulation
Experiment (WOCE), Tropical Oceans and Global Atmosphere
(TOGA), Global Ocean Flux Study (GOFS), Integrated Global
Ocean Service System (IGOSS), Global Sea Level Observing
System (GLOSS), etc. (see links below). Their draft proposal
for a “Long-Term Global Monitoring System of Coastal
and Near-Shore Phenomena related to Global Climate Changes”
was submitted to experts for consideration in 1990.
Years later these efforts have borne fruit, and three inter-related
global systems to observe the environment of the planet
are being organized by United Nations organizations in cooperation
with the scientific community and national governments to
become the main elements of the UN-EARTHWATCH. These include:
Global Climate Observing System (GCOS)
plans the collection of data on long-term climate change.
It is sponsored by the World Meteorological Organization
(WMO), the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC)of
UNESCO, the International Council for Science (ICSU) and
the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The GCOS
Joint Planning Office is located at WMO in Geneva.
Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) implements
operational observation programmes for the oceans and coastal
areas, related to five programme areas: Climate change and
Variability, Marine Living Resources, Oceanographic Data
Services, the Coastal Zone and Health of the Oceans. It
is sponsored by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission
(IOC) of UNESCO, the International Council for Science (ICSU),
the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the
World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The GOOS Project
Office is located at IOC in Paris.
Global Terrestrial Observing System (GTOS)
develops and networks observations of long-term changes
in land quality, availability of freshwater resources, pollution
and toxicity, loss of biodiversity, and climate change.
It is sponsored by the Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations (FAO), the International Council for
Science (ICSU), the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO), and the World Meteorological Organization
(WMO). The GTOS Secretariat is located at FAO in Rome. Visit
the GTOS website.
These and other major satellite and surface-based systems
for global environmental observations of the atmosphere,
oceans and land are partners in the Integrated Global
Observing Strategy (IGOS).
Visit these websites:
Global
Observing System (GOS)
Global
Climate Observing System (GCOS)
Global Ocean Observing
Systam (GOOS)
Global Terrestrial Observing
System (GTOS)
Integrated Global
Observing Strategy (IGOS)
World
Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE)
Tropical
Oceans and Global Atmosphere (TOGA)
Joint
Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS)
Joint WMO-IOC
Technical Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology.
Integrated Global Ocean Service System (formerly IGOSS)
Global
Sea Level Observing System (GLOSS)
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