IOCCG Task Force for
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Background: The IOCCG recognises that it is important to have an independent assessment of Essential Climate Variables (ECVs) outside of space agencies, which is best done through a standing working group. The framework, scope and draft terms of reference for an IOCCG task force to evaluate the ocean colour ECVs produced by various agencies was prepared at the 20th IOCCG Executive meeting (Villefranche, 8-9 September 2011) and finalised at the 21st IOCCG Executive meeting (Denpasar, Indonesia, 1 March 2012). All agencies on the IOCCG Executive Committee are expected to support this task force with dedicated resources. Rationale: Fully characterized and broadly accepted GCOS-compliant global ocean-colour radiometry ECV products are very valuable inputs for climate studies. However, existing products generated by different instruments or space agencies lack consistency and exhibit small but consistent biases that need to be resolved. It is therefore critical that the various ECV products produced by different agencies are validated and inter-compared to establish confidence limits for the establishment of a long and coherent time-series of global ocean-colour ECV products. Furthermore these datasets need to be assessed not only with regards to each other and independent ground-truth, but also with respect to the target requirements as defined in the GCOS Satellite Supplement. In future, the mandate of the CEOS virtual constellations may be augmented to support the long-term generation of climate data records (CDRs). The Ocean-Colour Radiometry Virtual Constellation (OCR-VC) will thus be tasked to evaluate ECVs in an independent, systematic and recurrent way. For this reason, the IOCCG resolved to establish an IOCCG task force to carry out this task, focusing on the global products which should be defined, along with the protocols. This work will also support the CEOS working group on Climate whose mandate is to facilitate the implementation and exploitation of ECV time-series related to climate monitoring through coordination of the existing activities undertaken by CEOS member agencies. Mission Statement: The goal of this international scientific expert group is to undertake a critical comparison of available ocean-colour ECV data products and provide guidance on the generation of better, long-term OCR climate data records. Terms of Reference:
TheIOCCG task force shall perform the following functions:
Functioning of the IOCCG Task Force:
Members:
The Chair(s) of the task force will be proposed by the IOCCG Executive. If not already an IOCCG member, the task force Chair(s) will be invited to become a member of the IOCCG Committee, and will be expected to serve a 3-year term on the working group. Working group members (a total of 6 to 8) will be proposed by the Chair(s) and will be approved by the IOCCG Executive before appointment. Working group members should be drawn from a variety of institutions and organizations, and should comprise both agency and non-agency representation and include a broad range of relevant disciplines and competencies. Task force members will also be expected to serve a 3-year term. Additional outside consultants or experts may be consulted and invited to attend meetings when a particular subject or objective is to be addressed. The following are suggested criteria as guidance for selection:
Below is a list of current Task Force members for Ocean Colour ECV Assessment (in alphabetical order):
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EVC Assessment Documents
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