Report of the 2nd GOSUD/SAMOS Workshop, 10-12 June 2008, Seattle, Washington, USA
GOSUD/SAMOS (2009). Report of the 2nd GOSUD/SAMOS Workshop, 10-12 June 2008, Seattle, Washington, USA. Original release: 5 October 2008 Last Update: 27 January 2009 Version 3.1. IOC Workshop Report, 218. SAMOS/GOSUD: Seattle. 72 pp.
Part of: IOC Workshop Report. UNESCO: Paris, more
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Document type: Meeting report
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| Abstract |
On 10-12 June 2008, the NOAA Climate Observation Division sponsored the 2nd Joint Global Ocean Surface Underway Data (GOSUD)/Shipboard Automated Meteorological and Oceanographic System (SAMOS) Workshop in Seattle, WA, USA. The workshop focused on the ongoing collaboration between GOSUD and SAMOS and addressing the needs of the research and operational community for high-quality underway oceanographic and meteorological observations from ships. The SAMOS initiative is working to improve access to calibrated, quality-controlled, surface marine meteorological data collected in-situ by automated instrumentation on research vessels (primarily) and select merchant ships. GOSUD focuses on the collection, quality evaluation, and distribution of near surface ocean parameters (for the moment mainly salinity and sea temperature) from vessels. The workshop organizing committee (Shawn Smith, Mark Bourassa, Loic Petit de la Villéon, David Forcucci, and Phillip McGillivary) brought together a panel consisting of operational and research scientists, educators, marine technicians, and private sector and government representatives to address several key topics (see below). Participants from the U.S. government represented NOAA (AOML, COD, ESRL, NDBC, NODC, NWS, PMC, and PMEL) and the United States Coast Guard. CIRES, LUMCON, Florida State University, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, Oregon State University, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Stony Brook University, and the Universities of Delaware, Maryland, Miami, and Rhode Island represented the United States university community. A significant international presence included representatives from the Bureau of Meteorology (Australia); Environment Canada (Canada); LEGOS, IFREMER, and Meteo France (France); the University of Hamburg (Germany); the Directorate of Civil Aviation (Kuwait); the Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research (Nigeria), University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain); and the NOCS (UK). Educators were present from ACT, IIRP, and MATE. Finally, Earth and Space Research, the RMR Company, and two consultants represented the private sector. The workshop was comprised of invited and contributed talks, poster presentations, plenary discussions, and the SAMOS and GOSUD technical working group meetings. Broad topic areas included new opportunities for international collaboration, emerging technologies, scientific application of underway measurements, and data and metadata issues. New sessions included a technician’s round-table discussion and developing educational initiatives. Scientific discussion centered around the need for high-quality meteorological and thermosalinograph observations to support satellite calibration and validation, ocean data assimilation, polar studies, air-sea flux estimation, and improving analyses of precipitation, carbon, and radiation. Determining the regions of the ocean and observational parameters necessary to achieve operational and research objectives requires input by the scientific user community. The CLIVAR community should be one way to approach the scientific community. This input will allow SAMOS and GOSUD to target their limited resources on vessels operating in the high priority regions. The vessel operators and marine technicians were very supportive of the activities of SAMOS and GOSUD. They requested a clear set of guidelines for parameters to measure, routine monitoring activities, and calibration schedules. The operators also desire additional routine feedback on data flow and data quality. A clear need for training and educational material was noted by the technical community. The dissemination of best practices guides for existing techs and pre-cruise training for new techs were suggested. The result of the workshop was a series of action items (Appendix A) and seven recommendations. |
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