Global Climate Observing System
The Chairman noted that Dr Spence had already provided an update of GCOS in his earlier remarks.
Global Ocean Observing System
The Chairman invited Mr Withrow, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC), to report on GOOS activities. He reported on the remote sensing programme which had been developed for GOOS, noting that climate-related requirements had been the purview of the SOP, and that other requirements were being developed by the Ocean Satellite Remote Sensing (OSRS) panel and the international Sea Ocean Colour Group. The results are provided to appropriate organisations, including CEOS, the Coordination Group for Meteorological Satellites (CGMS), and national agencies.
Dr Ryder, the former Chairman of the SOP, contributed to the GOOS update by reporting on the European GOOS activity (EuroGOOS) from a meeting in Den Haag, the Netherlands. EuroGOOS was established to promote the creation of efficient operational oceanographic services for the European seas and the participation of Europe in global ocean monitoring and prediction. Papers from the conference concentrated upon establishing methodologies for implementing such services and upon the associated economic and social benefits. He pointed out this regional, even local, manifestation of benefit from global, satellite remote sensing needed to be understood and articulated in the assignment of priorities by the GOSSP. Because they played such a significant role in assimilating data from satellites and were the main method of generating predictive services, he also noted that the panel needed to keep abreast of developments in the field of numerical modelling for the atmosphere and oceans.
Global Terrestrial Observing System
The Chairman invited Dr Cihlar, Chairman of the TOPC, to report on GTOS. Dr Cihlar pointed out that the main concern of GTOS will focus on those issues of most concern to human activities. While climate will remain a priority, GTOS must also address pollution and toxicity, loss of biodiversity, water resources, and land use and degradation. He noted the first meeting of the GTOS Steering Committee (SC) would be in Rome at FAO in early December 1996. As a result of the significant progress made by the TOPC, he expected that the SC would likely focus on non-climate components as a matter of priority.
Dr Cihlar reminded the panel that GTOS was being invited to become an affiliate of CEOS. [Editor note: The SC agreed to accept this invitation and recommended that the GOSSP provides a primary link with CEOS]
