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Voluntary Observing Ships (VOS)

Etienne CharpentierWMO Observing Systems Division (OSD)

Session IV, YOPP Observing Session IV, YOPP Observing ComponentComponent

continuous satellite measurements of sea surface temperature, height, winds, ocean color, and sea ice Total in situ networks 67% Dec 2014

Surface measurements from volunteer ships (VOS)

Global drifting surface buoy array

Tide gauge network (GLOSS committed)

XBT sub-surface temperature section network

Argo profiling float network

Repeat hydrography and carbon inventory

100%

250 ships in VOSclim pilot project

5° resolution array: 1250 floats

100%

40%

39%

100%

62%

300 real-time reporting gauges

37000 XBTs deployed

3° resolution array: 3200 floats

Full ocean survey in 10 years

Global tropical moored buoy network76%

125 moorings planned87 combined sites

Global time series network66%

30 34 40 45 48 55 56 59 60 62 62 62 62 62%

2000 2001 2002 20132003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Representative Milestones Original goal for full

implementation by 2010

System % sustained, of initial goals

100%

ice buoys

Fast data

Slow/no data

GPS

(Planned)

67%

2014

GOOS/GCOS 2010 implementation goals for climate observations

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All marine meteorological and oceanographic observing platforms reporting to the Global

Ocean Observing System (GOOS)

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Ship observations

• Surface Meteorological Data• VOS (April. 2015)

- 3045 recruited vessels, incl. 1649 selected ships & 498 VOSClim ships

- 40% reporting SLP monthly

- ≈ 2000 ships using e-logbooks

- ≈ 400 AWS on ships, increasing

- ≈ 150 000 obs./month

• VOSClim- 498 vessels, incl. 116 AWS

- Efforts needed to record the additional elements

• Ship masking issue (Res. 27 EC-59)

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Ship observations (ASAP)

• Atmospheric soundings (ASAP)• 18 vessels in 2015• Complement AMDAR over the oceans• About 5500 soundings per year• 4200 from E-ASAP (N. Atlantic, Med.)

- 70% profiles reach 100hPa- 15 vessels in 2015

• Japan, South Africa• HK, China (planning)

• Rep. of Korea (planning)

KPRI to make soundings

in Arctic in Aug. 2015

from vessel ARAON

ASAP Observations in polar regions essentially

made by Research Vessels. POLARSTERN is

performing routine soundings operations in

Arctic & Antarctic summers. Other

occasional soundings made by ODEN (Sweden)

and ARAON (Korea)

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Ship observations (SOOP & ocean obs.)

• Oceanographic data• SOOPIP (XBTs)

- 29 of 50 lines fully implemented- Complement tropical moorings and Argo

• IOCCP- Ocean carbon

• GO-SHIP- Hydrographic surveys

• GOSUD, SAMOS- Surface ocean data (SST, SSS)- Research quality data

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• There are limited opportunities to recruit manually reporting Voluntary Observing ships to make weather observations in the data sparse polar regions.

• It is difficult for Port Meteorological Officers (PMOs) to inspect ship ships operating these areas and to ensure the quality of their observations

• Re-supply of calibrated meteorological instruments can also be difficult

• Traditionally only a few research ships have provided consistent data in Arctic/Antarctic areas

• However an increasing number of cruise ships, ocean yachts and supply ships are now visiting these waters

VOS Recruitment in Polar Regions

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Annual VOS Data Coverage(2014)

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Current VOS data Coverage(May 2015)

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Current VOS data Coverage(May 2015)

Seventh Session of the JCOMM Ship Observations Team (SOT), Victoria, Canada, 22-26 April 2013

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Monthly Pressure Density January 2015

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• The Scientific Community on Antarctic Research (SCAR) Expert Group on Operational Meteorology in the Antarctic produces an annual list of the names and call signs of ships that are known to have made meteorological observations in Antarctica each season.

• The SCAR website also lists ships, yachts and launches that are known, or suspected, to have visited Antarctic waters but which didn’t submit any weather observations

• http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/met/jds/met/SCAR_oma.htm

Antarctic Waters

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Antarctic Waters

• Currently estimated to be 23 ships reporting in these waters and 60 not reporting in Antarctic waters.

• Overall increase in shipping in Antarctic waters, but with the number reporting observations not changing.

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Antarctic Waters

• SOT regularly encourages PMO’s to make determined efforts to recruit ships that operate in Antarctic waters to the VOS Scheme

• Best solution is to install AWS systems on suitable ships (although these typically report only pressure, air temperature , humidity and sometimes wind and sst – whereas manned VOS also report a wide range of visual elements like clouds sea state and weather)

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Arctic Waters

• A paper was submitted to the first session of the International Maritime Organization’s Sub-Committee on Navigation, Communications and Search and Rescue (NCSR) - 30 June to 4 July 2014 - encouraging enhanced participation in the VOS Scheme in the Arctic

• Submitted jointly by Canada, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and the United States

• NCSR invited IMO Member States to consider increased participation in the VOS Scheme

• WMO supported the paper at the meeting and plans to submit a further paper seeking IMO members assistance with increasing participation in the WMO VOS Scheme.

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We need to …

• Increase automation of ocean going vessels that visit Antarctic regions to report manned and automatic observations (most research ships are now fully automated)

• Develop simpler plug & play AWS systems that can be easily installed

The way forward for VOS In Polar Regions (1/2)

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We need to …

• Increase ‘buy-in’ from shipping companies that operate in polar regions ( especially cruise ships operators) to help us install, re-supply and maintain our instruments – or to send observations using their own ships instruments

• Increase co-operation from countries bordering Antarctica for ship inspections ( PMO 5 Meeting in Chile will help). We already have a good PMO service in S. African and Australian ports

The way forward for VOS In Polar Regions (1/2)

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Questions ?