IN SITU OBSERVATIONS: SYSTEMS AND MANAGEMENT
217
Coverage
Global Network
homogeneous
coverage
Global to regional
network. Good
trans-basin
coverage
Global network but
very sparse coverage
Timeliness
Operational
within 1 day for
85% of the data
Used by
operational
models within
Godae
From 1-2 days for
vessels that have
realtime
transmission to
month for the
others. Data used
for validation
purposes at the
moment
Operational for
TAO/TRITON/PIR
ATA array that is
used in operational
models
Mostly R&D for the
rest of the sites
because data not
easily available.
International
coordination
Well organised
both for
implementation
and data
management
Implementation
organized at
national level for
implementation
(France, USA,
etc.).
Starting to be well
organized on data
management level
International
organisation is
trying to be
organized but it s
hard to achieve.
5.
Data management
At present, there is no consensus on data management and
communication strategy for effectively integrating the wide variety of
complex marine environmental measurements and observations across
disciplines, institutions, and temporal and spatial scales. Data are obtained
by diverse means (ships, drifters, floats, moorings, seafloor observatories,
etc.), they come in very different forms, from a single variable measured in a
single point to multivariate, four dimensional collections of data, that can
represent from a few bytes a day to gigabytes
Even if an in-situ observing system were to make great measurements in
a sustained way, if the data are not available easily to the operational users,
they will not be used because they will not meet the operational modellers
basic requirements: a data system for operational oceanography must
provide quality controlled data, in a timely way, on a regular basis,
according to procedures that are clearly documented and evolve upon
common agreed decisions between user and provider.
,