Operational high latitude surface irradiance products from polar orbiting satellites

AbstractIt remains a challenge to find an adequate approach for operational estimation of surface incoming short- and longwave irradiance at high latitudes using polar orbiting meteorological satellite data. In this presentation validation results at a number of North Atlantic and Arctic Ocean high latitude stations are presented and discussed. The validation results have revealed that although the method works well and normally fulfil the operational requirements, there is room for improvement. A number of issues that can improve the estimates at high latitudes have been identified. These improvements are partly related to improved cloud classification using satellite data and partly related to improved handling of multiple reflections over bright surfaces (snow and sea ice), especially in broken cloud conditions. Furthermore, the availability of validation sites over open ocean and sea ice is a challenge

A Global Cryosphere Watch

There is now an unprecedented demand for authoritative information on the past, present, and future states of the world’s snow and ice resources. The cryosphere is one of the most useful indicators of climate change, yet is one of the most under-sampled domains in the climate system. The Sixteenth World Meteorological Congress (Geneva, 2011) decided to embark on the development of a Global Cryosphere Watch (GCW) as an International Polar Year (IPY) legacy. Through WMO and its partners, GCW is now being implemented for sustained cryosphere observing and monitoring and provision of cryosphere data and information. GCW will ensure a comprehensive, coordinated, and sustainable system of observations and information that will allow for a full understanding of the cryosphere and its changes. It will initiate a surface-based cryosphere observing network called “CryoNet” that will establish best practices and guidelines for cryospheric measurement, data formats, and metadata by building on existing efforts. A complementary task involves developing an inventory of candidate satellite products that are mature and generally accepted by the scientific community. GCW is establishing interoperability between data management systems, and the GCW data portal will provide the ability to exchange data and information with a distributed network of providers.Il existe maintenant une demande sans précédent d’information faisant autorité sur l’état passé, présent et futur des ressources en neige et en glace de la planète. La cryosphère constitue l’un des indicateurs les plus utiles au sujet du changement climatique et pourtant, il s’agit de l’un des domaines du système climatique les plus sous-échantillonnés. Le seizième Congrès météorologique mondial (Genève, 2011) a décidé de mettre au point un système de surveillance mondiale de la cryosphère (Global Cryosphere Watch – GCW) en guise de legs à l’Année polaire internationale. Grâce au concours de l’Organisation météorologique mondiale (OMM) et de ses partenaires, le GCW est en train d’être mis en oeuvre en vue de l’observation et de la surveillance durables de la cryosphère ainsi que de l’obtention de données et d’informations sur la cryosphère. Le GCW donnera lieu à un système exhaustif, coordonné et durable d’observations et d’informations qui permettront de comprendre à fond la cryosphère et les changements qui s’y rapportent. Il comprendra un réseau d’observation de la cryosphère en surface appelé « CryoNet », réseau qui établira les pratiques et les lignes directrices exemplaires en matière de mesure cryosphérique, de formats des données et de métadonnées en s’appuyant sur les efforts actuels. Une tâche complémentaire consiste à dresser l’inventaire des produits satellitaires évolués et généralement acceptés par le monde scientifique. Le GCW établit l’interopérabilité entre les systèmes de gestion des données, et le portail des données du GCW donnera la possibilité d’échanger des données et des informations avec un réseau de fournisseurs interconnectés

INTERACT: FAIR Data from Cold Region Research Stations

The International Network for Terrestrial Research and Monitoring in the Arctic (INTERACT) is a EU Horizon 2020 funded infrastructure project seeking to provide a geographically comprehensive infrastructure for arctic and high altitude research stations. The overall objective of the project is to facilitate the identification of environmental and ecological change, the understanding of change and prediction of future changes. The second phase of the project commenced October 2016. One of the major tasks in the project is to create a coordinated and unified data management approach that would optimize potential future reuse, sharing, and guarantee data and metadata stewardship and preservation. Herein we present the preliminary plan to carry out this objective by focusing on four principles: Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability (FAIR). Currently, 79 sites in arctic and northern alpine areas are part of the INTERACT network. Data collected at these stations are from different scientific disciplines, e.g. geo-sciences (including the atmosphere and cryosphere), hydrology, biology, ecology, and to some extent anthropology. These data are generated as a result of monitoring activities or short term projects. A survey of data management practices in INTERACT was conducted at the beginning of the project. The main finding is that data management at INTERACT stations is highly heterogeneous. In order to establish a unified view on all the data collected by INTERACT stations and through this show the benefit of INTERACT, interoperability at the discovery metadata and data levels is required. The first step towards this is taken through a Data Management Plan (DMP) which is identifying the general principles, common standards to apply and data dissemination principles. The DMP for INTERACT is a living document oriented towards international data management frameworks like World Meteorological Organization Information System (utilized by e.g. Global Cryosphere Watch, Global Atmosphere Watch), and aligned with the activities of the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) and Sustaining Arctic Observing Network (SAON) Arctic Arctic Data Committee (ADC). INTERACT emphasizes long term data preservation (as promoted by ICSU-WDS), community driven best practices (e.g. RDA), and the principles outlined by the ADC, that promote free, ethically open, sustained, and timely access to Arctic data. This approach should provide easy integration with the H2020 Open Research Data Pilot, and ensure data access to a variety of stakeholders (e.g. ESA DUE, GlobPermafrost, etc.). The initial data management effort focuses on discovery metadata, utilizing internationally accepted standards, protocols and vocabularies, ensuring the interoperability with international systems and frameworks, and the preservation of scientific legacy. Datasets will be documented using the Global Change Master Directory/Directory Interchange Format or ISO19115 standards. To provide interoperability at the data level, long term archival of data across different national repositories with long term mandates in self-explaining file formats (e.g. NetCDF, HDF/HDF5) is envisioned eventually. Therefore, our goal is to establish a unified approach to metadata and data generated by stations in the INTERACT network. This will be beneficial for scientific purposes, but also for monitoring activities. The latter is particularly important as Arctic monitoring to a large degree rely on the effort of the scientific community

SIOS’s Earth observation and remote sensing activities toward building an efficient regional observing system in Svalbard

Publisher PD

Polar Data Forum IV – An Ocean of Opportunities

This paper reports on the Hackathon Sessions organised at the Polar Data Forum IV (PDF IV) (20–24 September 2021), during which 351 participants from 50 different countries discussed collaboratively about the latest developments in polar data management. The 4th edition of the PDF hosted lively discussions on (i) best practices for polar data management, (ii) data policy, (ii) documenting data flows into aggregators, (iv) data interoperability, (v) polar federated search, (vi) semantics and vocabularies, (vii) Virtual Research Environments (VREs), and (viii) new polar technologies. This paper provides an overview of the organisational aspects of PDF IV and summarises the polar data objectives and outcomes by describing the conclusions drawn from the Hackathon Sessions

Downwelling surface radiative fluxes at Bjørnøya (Dec 2015 - Aug 2016), link to netCDF file

Downwelling surface radiative fluxes observed at the meteorological station at Bjørnøya in the Barents Sea. Measurements are made using Kipp and Zonen CMP21 and CGR4 pyranometers and pyrgeometers. Daily maintenance is performed by the meteorological personnel at the station. Data are averaged over the last minute and the time is set to UTC. This data set was originally supported by the Norwegian Research Council but is now continued by the Norwegian Meteorological Institute. The quality control performed is by visual inspection and by comparison of clear sky values against RTM simulations. Originally this station was started as an IPY station funded through iAOOS-Norway and IPY-THORPEX, currently it is continued by METNO

Keeping track of samples in multidisciplinary fieldwork

We here present methods, tools and results for efficiently collecting metadata and tracking samples collected in the field. The samples and metadata were collected during scientific cruises conducted by amongst others marine biologists, oceanographers, geochemists and marine geologists in the Nansen Legacy project. It is here reported on the successful development and implementation of a system for labeling, tracking and openly publishing metadata from the cruises. The results and tools have been made openly available, as they are suitable for a range of situations, from the individual scientist working in the field to large research missions