3.1 Five-Year Goals of TOPC
Dr Cihlar reviewed TOPC five-year goals accepted at the previous meeting and endorsed by the steering committees of GCOS and GTOS:
Assist in the establishment of networks, ensure their longer-term viability including necessary ongoing support of GCOS/GTOS. Functional networks will be established for ecology, glaciers, permafrost, and hydrology.
Stimulate completion or near-completion of two demonstration projects, Net Primary Productivity (NPP) and Global Observation of Forest Cover (GOFC).
Stimulate compilation of critical data sets for use in IPCC or for other important users.
Demonstrate continuing responsiveness to (changing) requirements, including those flowing from IGBP, IPCC, convention secretariats, WCRP.
Dr Cihlar stated that TOPC actions during the past year, adopted at the previous meeting or newly undertaken during the year, are consistent with these goals and have advanced progress towards them. He briefly reviewed the actions decided on at the TOPC-IV meeting in Corvallis, Oregon, and noted that since most were also concerned with items to be discussed during the meeting, they would be addressed at that time, except for the progress made by the Global Observing Systems Information Center (GOSIC) in making accessible data sets identified by TOPC.
3.2 GOSIC Report Provided by Dr Wilson, Summarized by Dr Cihlar.
GOSIC examined various metadata possibilities and accepted the NASA Global Change Master Directory format. The data sets identified by TOPC-IV were entered, and linkages and a search strategy to locate data sets were developed. A link has also been provided between the TOPC data requirements and the registered data sets (http://www.gos.udel.edu/)
Satellite observation requirements. GOSIC obtained the WMO/CEOS database and constructed a very preliminary interface. It allows different views of the database: one can view the parameters, instruments and missions for an application area, or the instruments and missions for a parameter. TOPC is listed as an application area.
GOSIC also produced a trial data flow diagram, using the Canadian forest fire detection and mapping project based on satellite data. The data flow is presented in the form of a diagram that was discussed at TOPC-IV, meeting with the addition of an “interpreter” box for a final high level decision support function. All the elements are to be linked to textual explanations of who the users actually are and where the models are run, the products generated, and who is responsible for these.
