IOC Committee on International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange, Twenty-first Session, Liège, Belgium, 23-26 March 2011

The IOC Committee on International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange held its Twenty-first Session (IODE-XXI) at the Palais des Congrès, Liège, Belgium between 23 and 26 March 2011. The Session was attended by 74 participants from 36 IOC Member States and seven organizations. The Session’s outcomes included: (i) the further steps towards the adoption of OBIS by IODE, including the recommended establishment of an IOC Project Office for IODE/OBIS; (ii) the continuation of the IOC Project Office for IODE in Ostend, Belgium; (iii) a Statement on the IODE role in the ICSU World Data System; (iv) the planned further expansion of OceanTeacher to include a wider range of IOC disciplines as well as the recommended development of a five-year training plan; (v) the planned revision of the IOC Strategic Plan for Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (2012–2015). The Committee elected Ms Sissy Iona (Greece) and Mr Ariel Troisi (Argentina) as IODE Co-Chairs

Understanding space weather to shield society: A global road map for 2015-2025 commissioned by COSPAR and ILWS

There is a growing appreciation that the environmental conditions that we call space weather impact the technological infrastructure that powers the coupled economies around the world. With that comes the need to better shield society against space weather by improving forecasts, environmental specifications, and infrastructure design. [...] advanced understanding of space weather requires a coordinated international approach to effectively provide awareness of the processes within the Sun-Earth system through observation-driven models. This roadmap prioritizes the scientific focus areas and research infrastructure that are needed to significantly advance our understanding of space weather of all intensities and of its implications for society. Advancement of the existing system observatory through the addition of small to moderate state-of-the-art capabilities designed to fill observational gaps will enable significant advances. Such a strategy requires urgent action: key instrumentation needs to be sustained, and action needs to be taken before core capabilities are lost in the aging ensemble. We recommend advances through priority focus (1) on observation-based modeling throughout the Sun-Earth system, (2) on forecasts more than 12 hrs ahead of the magnetic structure of incoming coronal mass ejections, (3) on understanding the geospace response to variable solar-wind stresses that lead to intense geomagnetically-induced currents and ionospheric and radiation storms, and (4) on developing a comprehensive specification of space climate, including the characterization of extreme space storms to guide resilient and robust engineering of technological infrastructures. The roadmap clusters its implementation recommendations by formulating three action pathways, and outlines needed instrumentation and research programs and infrastructure for each of these. [...]Comment: In press for Advances of Space Research: an international roadmap on the science of space weather, commissioned by COSPAR and ILWS (63 pages and 4 figures

Understanding Earth’s Polar Challenges:International Polar Year 2007-2008. Summary by the IPY Joint Committee.

The International Polar Year (IPY) 2007–2008, co-sponsored by ICSU and WMO, became the largest coordinated research program in the Earth’s polar regions, following in the footsteps of its predecessor, the first and second International Polar Years in 1881-1883 and 1932-1933 and the International Geophysical Year 1957–1958. The summary "Understanding Earth's Polar Challenges: International Polar Year 2007-2008" captures the context, motivations, initiation, planning, implementation and the outcomes of the International Polar Year (IPY) 2007–2008, as well as the lessons derived from this key undertaking

Understanding Earth's Polar Challenges: International Polar Year 2007-2008 - Summary by the IPY Joint Committee

The International Polar Year (IPY) 2007–2008, co-sponsored by ICSU and WMO, became the largest coordinated research program in the Earth’s polar regions, following in the footsteps of its predecessor, the first and second International Polar Years in 1881-1883 and 1932-1933 and the International Geophysical Year 1957–1958. An estimated 50,000 researchers, local observers, educators, students, and support personnel from more than 60 nations were involved in the 228 international IPY projects (170 in science, 1 in data management, and 57 in education and outreach) and related national efforts. IPY generated intensive research and observations in the Arctic and Antarctica over a two-year period, 1 March 2007–1 March 2009, with many activities continuing beyond that date. The summary "Understanding Earth's Polar Challenges: International Polar Year 2007-2008" captures the context, motivations, initiation, planning, implementation and the outcomes of the International Polar Year (IPY) 2007–2008, as well as the lessons derived from this key undertaking

Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation: Special Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

This Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX) has been jointly coordinated by Working Groups I (WGI) and II (WGII) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The report focuses on the relationship between climate change and extreme weather and climate events, the impacts of such events, and the strategies to manage the associated risks. The IPCC was jointly established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in particular to assess in a comprehensive, objective, and transparent manner all the relevant scientific, technical, and socioeconomic information to contribute in understanding the scientific basis of risk of human-induced climate change, the potential impacts, and the adaptation and mitigation options. Beginning in 1990, the IPCC has produced a series of Assessment Reports, Special Reports, Technical Papers, methodologies, and other key documents which have since become the standard references for policymakers and scientists.This Special Report, in particular, contributes to frame the challenge of dealing with extreme weather and climate events as an issue in decisionmaking under uncertainty, analyzing response in the context of risk management. The report consists of nine chapters, covering risk management; observed and projected changes in extreme weather and climate events; exposure and vulnerability to as well as losses resulting from such events; adaptation options from the local to the international scale; the role of sustainable development in modulating risks; and insights from specific case studies

Activities and Plan of the Center for Geophysics (Beijing) from WDC to WDS

In this report we introduce the development of the WDC for Geophysics, Beijing included our activities in the electronic Geophysical Year (eGY) and in the transition period from WDC to WDS. We also present our future plans. We have engaged in the development of geophysical informatics and related data science. We began the data visualization of geomagnetic fields in the GIS system. Our database has been expanded from geomagnetic data to the data of solid geophysics, including geothermal data, gravity data, and the records of aurora sightings in ancient China. We also joined the study of the history of the development of geophysics in China organized by the Chinese Geophysical Society (CGS)