WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION Weather – Climate - Water

1. WMO Information System (WIS)Managing & Moving Weather, Water and Climate Informationin the 21st Century WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION Weather – Climate - Water CIMO December 2006 World Meteorological Organization

2. Overview • What is the WMO Information System (WIS)? • Why is it being developed? • What services will it provide? • What will the NMHS gain from WIS? • What is the overall WIS plan? • How far has its implementation progressed? • What are the major challenges still to be met? World Meteorological Organization

3. WMO Information System (WIS) Direction from WMO Congress (2003) • Develop: • Over-arching approach for solving data management problems for all WMO and related international programmes • A single, coordinated global infrastructure, the WMO Information System (WIS) for the collection and sharing of information World Meteorological Organization

4. Reasons for WIS • Various WMO Programmes developing information systems independently • Incompatibilities, inefficiencies, duplication of effort and higher overall costs • Continued systems development in an uncoordinated manner would: • Exacerbate these problems • Increase difficulty in sharing information between programmes • Further isolate WMO Programmes from each other and from wider environmental community World Meteorological Organization

5. Current situation: GTS WWW GTS Regional/Specialized Meteorological Centres Meteorological and R&D Satellite Operator Centres World Meteorological Centres National MeteorologicalCentres interconnects World Meteorological Organization

6. Current situation: GTS For WWW • GTS provides: • Information collection and distribution • Real-time push for WWW data & products (and some other programmes data) • Information management • Standard data formats • Implicit metadata & catalogs World Meteorological Organization

7. Current situation: GTS and Other WMO Programmes systems • Information exchange • Multiplicity of procedures • Real-time and non-real-time • Very limited pull • Information management • Multiplicity of data formats • Uncoordinated/lack of metadata & catalogs • No discovery World Meteorological Organization

8. WIS Vision • Integrated approach for all WMO Programmes • Routine collection and dissemination of time-critical and operation-critical data and products: • Real-time “push”through dedicated telecommunication • Data Discovery, Access and Retrieval service: • “Pull” through the Internet (HTTP, FTP,…) • Timely delivery of data and products: • Delayed mode “push” through dedicated telecommunication means and public data networks, especially the Internet • Unified procedures • More efficient data exchange • Coordinated and standardized metadata • Interoperability between programmes • Improved data management • ISO 191xxx series for geographic information World Meteorological Organization

9. Structure of WIS Functional centres interconnected by data communication networks: • National Centres (NC) • Links national data providers and users to regional and global data exchange nodes, and administrates access to WIS • Data Collection and Production Centres (DCPC) • Provides for regional and international exchange of WMO programmes’ data and products • Supports data and information push and pull • Global Information System Centres (GISC) • Provides for global exchange of data and products • Collects and provides metadata for all data and products • Supports data and information discovery and pull World Meteorological Organization

10. DCPC NC NC NC/ DCPC Managed, Regional and Internet NC NC/DCPC Communication Networks NC GISC NC GISC GISC NC DCPC DCPC GISC GISC Satellite Dissemination (IGDDS, RETIM, etc) NC NC SatelliteTwo-Way Systems NC NC On-demand “pull” WIS World Radiation Centre Regional Instrument Centres International Organizations (IAEA, CTBTO, UNEP, FAO.. ) GAW World Data Centres GCOS Data Centres Global Run-off Data Centre Global Precip. Climatology Centre IRI, Hadley Centre, and other climate research centres; Universities; Regional Climate Centres (CIIFEN, etc.) Commercial Service Providers WMO World Data Centres International Projects (e.g. GMES HALO) internet Real-time “push” World Meteorological Organization

11. WIS Data Policies • Complies with WMO data policies • Res. 40 (Cg-XII) and Res. 25 (Cg-XIII) • Will follow evolution of WMO data policy • Procedures for managing of access rights, control of data retrieval, registration and identification of users, etc can be defined, as and when required • Anonymous downloading is technically possible, but depends on whether a NC permits that feature • Has no system-inherent features that would violate international legal frameworks World Meteorological Organization

12. What will a NMHS gain from the WIS? • Improved forecasting/warning services • Faster and more cost-effective exchange of operation-critical information; • Improved and expanded range of services • Discovery and access to new data and products: • Satellite data and products, ensemble prediction products, climate predictions, oceanographic data and products, operational, and research data and products, reports, publications • Strengthened role as national service provider • Ability to “push” to national users critical information: • Warnings, advisories, selected measurements, etc.; (eg: national agencies dealing in disaster mitigation, agriculture, energy and water management,) • Better appreciation by partner agencies • Supports their “pulling” relevant information from WMO World Meteorological Organization

13. WIS contribution to GEO W M O Weather Domain Climate Domain Water Domain GTS IGDDS W I S Internet GEO-NetCast G E O Health Energy Disasters Weather Climate Water Agriculture Ecosystems Biodiversity World Meteorological Organization

14. WIS implementation • Phase A: GTS Evolution into WIS • Provides consolidation/improvement for time-critical and operation-critical data • Includes extension to meet operational requirements of WMO programmes in addition to World Weather Watch (including improved management of services); • Phase B: Migration to WIS • Provides for an extension of the information services through flexible data discovery, access and retrieval services to all users, as well as flexible timely delivery services; World Meteorological Organization

15. WIS Implementation – accomplishments • Continued GTS upgrades (IMTN, satellite-based datacast,..) • WMO Core metadata • Internet portal • Basic data acquisition, discovery and push-pull services • GISC prototype: RA VI VGISC project • DCPCs prototypes: • ECMWF & EUMETSAT associated with VGISC project • NCAR (Boulder) • NODC (Obninsk) for JCOMM related data • IGGDS (Space-based data) • Asia-Pacific VPN pilot project • Technical Conference on WIS (Korea, 6-8 November 2006); VGISC & DCPC prototype demo World Meteorological Organization

16. European Virtual GISC Project World Meteorological Organization

17. Key Future Milestones • Consolidate plans on development, governance and implementation of WIS: 2006-2008 • Develop WIS regulatory documentation and guidance material for implementation, including specifications for the GISC interfaces and a unified user interface: 2006-2008 • Develop scheme and practices for security, authentication and authorization procedures for WIS services : 2007-2008 • Implementation of first operational GISC: 2008 • Implementation of other operational GISCs: 2009 - 2011 • Implementation of DCPCs, i.e. WIS interfaces at WMO programmes’ centres: 2008-2011 World Meteorological Organization

18. Challenges • Good progress made in concept, technological solutions and prototypes for WIS, but much work to be done for an operational WIS • Understanding of WIS – both internal and external to WMO: • What it is, why it is important, what it does for NMHSs, what needs to be done, … • Active participation of WMO Technical Commissions and other bodies -- stating requirements, developing metadata and implementing WIS interface at their data centres, etc • Involvement of all NMHSs in the WIS development, including awareness of users communities • Adequate financial and human resources for WIS development into operations World Meteorological Organization

19. CIMO participation Benefit and coordination for IMOP activities, derived from the WIS: • Pursue CIMO’s involvement in development of WMO Metadata Core Profile with CBS/ Inter-Programme Expert Team on Metadata Implementation • Identify the specific CIMO requirements with respect to data management, data discovery and retrieval and non-real-time information exchange • Coordinate CIMO participation through the Meeting of the Presidents of the Technical Commissions World Meteorological Organization

20. Thank you World Meteorological Organization