Mission: to promote continuity and maintenance of high quality climate observations and long-term data sets for monitoring, understanding, modelling and assessing Earth’s climate system

WCRP places very high priority on obtaining and using the highest possible quality observations (including re-analysis of satellite data and model-based re-analysis of all types of observations) for climate research. WCRP exploits these observations and re-analyses in its input to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment reports and other wide-ranging policy advice. In all observational improvement issues WCRP works very closely with the GCOS (Global Climate Observation System) and with the Global Earth Observing System of Systems (GEOSS). The WCRP Observation and Assimilation Panel (WOAP) coordinates with the WCRP/GCOS co-sponsored panels AOPC (Atmospheric Observation Panel for Climate) and OOPC (Ocean Observation Panel for Climate) and the GCOS Terrestrial Observation Panel for Climate (TOPC) to establish high quality and long-lived observations of the climate. WCRP projects and contributors have led atmospheric re-analysis for 20 years and are now closely involved in the development of ocean re-analysis and in future consideration of whole Earth system re-analysis.

See WCRP/Observations & Analysis 1-pager prepared for the WMO 60th session of the Executive Council (June 2008)

Dr K. Trenberth (Chair WOAP)
National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO, USA
E-mail: trenbert@ucar.edu

Dr E. Lindstrom (Chair OOPC)
NASA Headquarters, USA
E-mail: eric.j.lindstrom@nasa.gov

Dr A. Simmons (Chair AOPC)
E-mail: Adrian.Simmons@ecmwf.int