CEOP | IGOS | IGWCO    

     The Coordinated Enhanced Observing Period (CEOP) was originally envisioned as a major step towards bringing together the research activities in the GEWEX Hydrometeorology Panel (GHP) and is being developed and implemented within the Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX) of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP).
     Although initiated and managed within GEWEX, the implementation of CEOP requires close and strong co-operation across other projects and related activities within the WCRP; in particular, the Climate Variability and Predictability (CLIVAR) study, the emerging Climate and Cryosphere (CliC) project, and the joint World Meteorology Organization (WMO) Commission for Atmospheric Sciences/Joint Scientific Committee WCRP Working Group on Numerical Experimentation (WGNE). It has also been endorsed by the Integrated Global Observing Strategy Partnership (IGOS-P) as the first element of the IGOS Water Cycle Theme.
     The Committee on Earth Observation Satellite (CEOS) agencies use their best efforts to contribute to CEOP and in particular, to cooperate the CEOP satellite data integration and the field campaigns at reference sites.
     Some of the ultimate goals of these groups are related to more accurate determination of the water cycle in association with climate variability and change as well as baseline data on the impacts of this variability on water resources. CEOP will enable us to address such crucial issues through a 'hands-on', focused examination of the water cycle over a particular time period.

CEOP | IGOS | IGWCO    

     The Integrated Global Observing Strategy (IGOS) is a strategic planning process, involving a number of partners, that links research, long-term monitoring and operational programmes, as well as data producers and users, in a structure that helps determine observation gaps and identify the resources to fill observation needs.
     IGOS is a framework for decisions and resource allocation by individual funding agencies, providing governments with improved understanding of the need for global observations through the presentation of an overarching view of current system capabilities and limitations - thereby helping to reduce unnecessary duplication of observations.
     IGOS focuses primarily on the observing aspects of the process of providing environmental information for decision-making.
     IGOS is intended to cover all forms of data collection concerning the physical, chemical, biological and human environment including the associated impacts.
     IGOS is based on the recognition that data collection must be user driven, leading to results which will increase scientific understanding and guide early warning, policy-setting and decision-making for sustainable development and environmental protection.
     IGOS provides opportunities for capacity building and assisting countries to obtain maximum benefit from the total set of observations.

CEOP | IGOS | IGWCO    

     In the summer of 2000, the IGOS Partnership identified the water cycle as a critical area where a Theme was needed to meet the anticipated requirements for water cycle observations to support global initiatives such as Agenda 21, the Programme for Action for Sustainable Development and the UN Convention on Climate Change. In addition, the Integrated Global Water Cycle Observations (IGWCO) theme is needed to provide monitoring data and contribute to improved predictions for variables such as precipitation, soil moisture and runoff over many times scales and spatial scales from local to global. IGWCO is also needed to address several critical science questions regarding the role of the water and energy cycle in maintaining the stability of the Earth's climate system, feedback processes involving clouds and land surfaces that influence regional and global climate change, and the availability of fresh water resources. The observations required to advance our understanding and modeling of these and other scien cequestions cannot be adequately addressed through continued reliance on ad-hoc observing systems. In August 2002, the World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg recognized the paramount importance of water issues and encouraged supporting global observations for improved understanding of the global water cycle. The Water Cycle Theme will be built on the experience of projects, such as the WCRP's Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX), that deal with the development of global data sets for clouds, precipitation and other important water-cycle variables such as soil moisture, evaporation/evapotranspiration, energy and radiation budget parameters, among others.