earth science

Global Climate Observing System

Global Climate Observing System is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Global Climate Observing System rather than just read about it. In short: The Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) was established in 1992 as an outcome of the Second World Climate Conference, to ensure that the observations and information needed to address climate-related issues are obtained and made available to all potential users. The GCOS is co-sponsored by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, the United Natio…

Key takeaways

Global Climate Observing System belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Global Climate Observing System to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Global Climate Observing System from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) was established in 1992 as an outcome of the Second World Climate Conference, to ensure that the observations and information needed to address climate-related issues are obtained and made available to all potential users. The GCOS 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). In order to assess and monitor the adequacy of in-situ observation networks as well as satellite-based observing systems, GCOS regularly reports on the adequacy of the current climate observing system to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and thereby identifies the needs of the current climate observing system. GCOS is a system that comprises the climate-relevant components of many contributing observing systems and networks. Its mission is to help ensure that these contributing systems, taken as a whole, provide the comprehensive information on the global climate system that is required by users, including individuals, national and international organizations, institutions and agencies. The programme promotes the sustained provision and availability of reliable physical, chemical and biological observations and data records for the total climate system - across the atmospheric, oceanic and terrestrial domains, including the hydrological cycle, the carbon cycle and the cryosphere.

Structure The primary observing systems contributing to the GCOS are the WMO Integrated Global Observing System (WIGOS), the Global Cryosphere Watch (GCW), and the World Hydrological Cycle Observing System (WHYCOS), and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission-led Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS). A number of other domain-based and cross-domain research and operational observing systems also provide important contributions and encompass both in-situ and satellite observations. GCOS is both supported by and supports the international scientific and technical community, and the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) co-sponsors the expert panels set up by GCOS for the atmospheric, oceanic and terrestrial domains. The composite observing system designated by GCOS serves as the climate-observation component of the broader Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), and at the same time a number of specific observing-system initiatives of GEOSS contribute to the GCOS.

Essential climate variables (ECVs)

GCOS has identified 50 essential climate variables (ECVs) considered to be feasible for global climate observation and to have a high impact on the requirements of the UNFCCC and other stakeholders. There is a strong need for sustained observation of these ECVs, as the observations are needed for the generation and updating of global climate products and derived information. GCOS and its partners are developing ways of improving the generation and supply of data products relating to the ECVs.

Expert panels Three expert panels have been established by the GCOS Steering Committee 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. GCOS is both supported by and supports the international scientific community, and therefore the three expert panels are co-sponsored by the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP). The Atmospheric, Ocean, and Terrestrial Observation Panel for Climate gather scientific and technical experts in the respective areas to generate inputs from these fields to the climate observing community. Those expert panels report to the GCOS Steering Committee, and have been established to define the observations needed in each of the main global domains to prepare scientific programme-elements and to make recommendations for implementation.

Atmospheric Observation Panel for Climate (AOPC) AOPC was established in recognition of the need for specific scientific and technical input concerning atmospheric observations for climate. Its aim is to ensure the quality, long-term homogeneity and continuity of data needed. AOPC supports and is supported by the WMO Integrated Global Observing System (WIGOS). Key activities of AOPC are:

Assessing the current state of the atmospheric component of the global observing system for climate and identify its gaps and adequacies; Securing the implementation of designated GCOS Networks and promote the establishment and enhancement of new and current systems to provide long-term and consistent data and information for Essential Climate Variables, such as earth radiation budget, surface radiation, greenhouse gases, water vapour, clouds and aerosols; Liaising with relevant research, operational and end-user bodies in order to determine and maintain the requirements for data to monitor, understand and predict the dynamical, physical and chemical state of the atmosphere and its interface on seasonal and multi-decadal time scales, on both global and regional levels; Promoting the transfer and accessibility to the user community, as well as the rehabilitation of historical observational and proxy climate data sets.

Ocean Observations Panel for Climate (OOPC) OOPC, co-sponsored by GOOS, as well as GCOS and WCRP, is a scientific and technical advisory group charged with making recommendations for a sustained global ocean observing system for climate in support of the goals of its sponsors. This includes recommendations for phased implementation. The Panel also aids in the development of strategies for evaluation and evolution of the system and of its recommendations, and supports global ocean observing activities by interested parties through liaison and advocacy for the agreed observing plans. OOPC recognizes the need for sustainable ocean observations, and the increased need to connect to societal issues in the coastal zone. OOPC's role has evolved to oversee the ocean component of the GCOS, and the physical variables for GOOS, while defining long-term observing requirements for climate research of WCRP. Key activities of OOPC are:

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Global Climate Observing System

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Global Climate Observing System claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Global Climate Observing System before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Global Climate Observing System ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Global Climate Observing System

In research: Global Climate Observing System appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Global Climate Observing System in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Global Climate Observing System is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Earth observation projects, Meteorological organizations, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Global Climate Observing System outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Global Climate Observing System in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Global Climate Observing System means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Global Climate Observing System out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Global Climate Observing System in simple terms?

Why does Global Climate Observing System matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Global Climate Observing System?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Global Climate Observing System.