Long-Term Climate Monitoring by the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS)

Abstract

Historically, decisions shaping the essential characteristics of climate observing systems — including the spatial distribution of observing sites and areas, the choice of which climate elements to observe, the frequency of such observations, the numerical expression of the observations, and the formatting, archiving and distribution of resulting climate data sets — were conditioned by the need to know how climate and its determinants vary through time and space. Heretofore, such systems were constructed primarily to benefit the research community interested in understanding the functioning of the climate system. The needs of users of climate data for impact assessment, including researchers, came last. Times have changed.