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Consistency of Satellite Climate Data Records for Earth System Monitoring

  • Popp, Thomas German Aerospace Center (DLR), Wessling, Germany
  • Hegglin, Michaela I. University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom
  • Hollmann, Rainer Deutscher Wetterdienst, Offenbach, Germany
  • Ardhuin, Fabrice Laboratory of Ocean Physics and Satellite Oceanography, IFREMER, Plouzané, France
  • Bartsch, Annett b.geos GmbH, Korneuburg, Austria
  • Bastos, Ana Department of Geography, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany
  • Bennett, Victoria Centre for Environmental Data Analysis, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell, and National Centre for Earth Observation, Harwell, United Kingdom
  • Boutin, Jacqueline Sorbonne Université, CNRS, IRD, MNHN, Laboratoire d’Océanographie et du Climat: Expérimentations et Approches Numériques, Paris, France
  • Brockmann, Carsten Brockmann Consult GmbH, Hamburg, Germany
  • Buchwitz, Michael Institute of Environmental Physics (IUP), University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
  • Chuvieco, Emilio Environmental Remote Sensing, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
  • Ciais, Philippe IPSL–LSCE, Gif sur Yvette, France
  • Dorigo, Wouter Department of Geodesy and Geoinformation, TU Wien, Vienna, Austria
  • Ghent, Darren National Centre for Earth Observation, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom
  • Jones, Richard Met Office Hadley Centre, Exeter, United Kingdom
  • Lavergne, Thomas Norwegian Meteorological Institute, Oslo, Norway
  • Merchant, Christopher J. University of Reading, and National Centre for Earth Observation, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom
  • Meyssignac, Benoit LEGOS CNES, CNRS, IRD, Université de Toulouse, Toulouse, France
  • Paul, Frank Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
  • Quegan, Shaun School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
  • Sathyendranath, Shubha Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Plymouth, United Kingdom
  • Scanlon, Tracy Department of Geodesy and Geoinformation, TU Wien, Vienna, Austria
  • Schröder, Marc Deutscher Wetterdienst, Offenbach, Germany
  • Simis, Stefan G. H. Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Plymouth, United Kingdom
  • Willén, Ulrika Swedish Hydrological and Meteorological Institute, Norrköping, Sweden
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  • Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. - American Meteorological Society. - 2020, vol. 101, no. 11, p. E1948-E1971
Atmospheric Science
English AbstractClimate data records (CDRs) of essential climate variables (ECVs) as defined by the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) derived from satellite instruments help to characterize the main components of the Earth system, to identify the state and evolution of its processes, and to constrain the budgets of key cycles of water, carbon, and energy. The Climate Change Initiative (CCI) of the European Space Agency (ESA) coordinates the derivation of CDRs for 21 GCOS ECVs. The combined use of multiple ECVs for Earth system science applications requires consistency between and across their respective CDRs. As a comprehensive definition for multi-ECV consistency is missing so far, this study proposes defining consistency on three levels: 1) consistency in format and metadata to facilitate their synergetic use (technical level); 2) consistency in assumptions and auxiliary datasets to minimize incompatibilities among datasets (retrieval level); and 3) consistency between combined or multiple CDRs within their estimated uncertainties or physical constraints (scientific level). Analyzing consistency between CDRs of multiple quantities is a challenging task and requires coordination between different observational communities, which is facilitated by the CCI program. The interdependencies of the satellite-based CDRs derived within the CCI program are analyzed to identify where consistency considerations are most important. The study also summarizes measures taken in CCI to ensure consistency on the technical level, and develops a concept for assessing consistency on the retrieval and scientific levels in the light of underlying physical knowledge. Finally, this study presents the current status of consistency between the CCI CDRs and future efforts needed to further improve it.
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  • English
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bronze
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https://sonar.ch/global/documents/132844
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