global cryosphere watch contributions from and ...€¦ · contributions from and expectations of...

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1 Global Cryosphere Watch–

contributions from and expectations ofthe internationally coordinated glacier

monitoring

Michael Zemp

World Glacier Monitoring Service, Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Switzerland

the devil’s advocatepotential partner

GCOS (2010)

“Free and unrestricted international share of

high-quality, long-term and standardized data

and information products is one of the basic requirements for advances in research.”

global terrestrial network of glaciers | gcw contributions and expectations

Glacier monitoring: internationally coordinated since 1894

François-Alphonse Forel, 1841–1912

1894: International Glacier Commission

“variations périodiques”global vs. regional developmentterrestrial vs. extraterrestrial forcingIce Age originobservations for the generations to come

Today: Global Terrestrial Network for Glaciers (GTN-G)

climate changesea level riserunoffhazards


Global Terrestrial Network for Glaciers (GTN-G)

Steering Committee

Advisory Board Executive Board

World Glacier Monitoring

Service

US National Snow and Ice Data Center

Global Land Ice Measurements

from Space

available funding for operational work


WGMS General Assembly of National Correspondents 2010

Find our summary report, as published in the NASA Earth Observer, Vol. 23,4: 28-31,

on our website: http://www.wgms.ch/ga.html


A worldwide scientific collaboration network

WGMS (2008)

WGMS National Correspondents for: Antarctica, Argentina, Austria, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Germany, Greenland, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Mexico, Mongolia, Nepal, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Russia, Tanzania, Uganda, U.S.A., and Uzbekistan


Global Terrestrial Network for Glaciers: strategy

integrated / tiered observing strategyTier 1: multi-component obs. system across environmental gradientsTier 2: process understanding and model calibration

=> extensive energy/mass balance, flowTier 3: regional indicators

=> mass change (index stakes, photogrammetry, LIDAR)Tier 4: regional representativeness

=> cumulative length change; DEM differencingTier 5: global coverage

=> inventories (remote sensing/geoinformatics)

main goals of long-termobservations:

process understandingmodel validationchange detectionimpact assessments

change detection:rate of changeacceleration trendspre-industrial variabilitychange patterns

Haeberli et al. (2000)

A multi-level, integrative strategy combining:local process understanding with global coverage,

in-situ measurements with remote sensing, and traditional observations with new technologies


Global glacier distribution

WGMS (2008)UNEP (2007)

100,000 glaciers

100,000 glaciers


photos by M. Zemp and H. Machguth

Glacier fluctuation series

WGMS (2008)

photo by S. Kappeler

100 glaciers

1,000 glaciers


FoGWGMS

WGIWGMS / NSIDC

GLIMSNSIDC

Glacier photosNSIDC

One-stop data-portal on www.gtn-g.org

www.wgms.ch ¦ www.nsidc.org ¦ www.glims.org ¦ www.gtn-g.org

Terminology, guidelines and standards, assessment reports

WGMS (2008)Kaser et al. (2003) Cogley et al. (2011)

Zemp, M. (2011): Glacier monitoring at local, mountain, and global scale.Habilitation Thesis, Faculty of Science, University of Zurich, Switzerland.


WGMS (2008): online available from: : http://www.grid.unep.ch/glaciers/


POSTER

Global Cryosphere Watch“The Global Cryosphere Watch aims to establish a sustained,

global, robust, end-to-end cryosphere observing and

monitoring system” (GCW Handouts 2011)


Implementation note:

Global Atmosphere Watch mainly builds on observation series run by national met and hydro services.

Global Cryosphere Watch will have to mainly build on observations series from scientific projects.

GCOS GTOS

TOPC

ICSU

WDS

IUGG

IACS

UNFAO

UNEP UNESCO

WMO

GLIMS RC

WGMS NCWGMS PI

IPCC

GEOSSUNFCCC

CliC

EKK

SCNAT

UZH

ICSI

IAHSCIG

GRID/ARENDAL

DEWA

IHP

CCS

GKSEP

SACVAW/ETH

UFR

GTN-H

GTN-P

ICIMODNVE

PAGES

NCCR-C

FAGS

WDC-G

GTN-G

WGMS

GLIMS

NSIDC

PSFGTTS/WGI

FoGGMBB

GPC

SCAR

GLACIODYN

CRYOCLIM

GLOBGLACIER

GLACIER_CCI

WCRP

GEO

GCW

How to make a difference?

(Implementation) Strategy: ☺

Implementation Plan: ???

Available resources: ???


What role does GCW want to play in the glacier monitoring world?

GCW

GCW

GCW

GCW

GCW

GCW


GCW as authoritative source for data and information

“The Global Cryosphere Watch, working with WMO members and

partners, will provide authoritative, clear, and useable data,

information, and analysis on the past, current and future state of the

cryosphere […]” (GCW Handouts 2011)

WGMS can contribute:

long-term experience in coordinating the international glacier monitoring

data and information on glacier distribution and changes

Implementation questions:

authoritative? [service v.s. project]

who are the data/info users?

who are the data/info providers?

why should they contribute to GCW?

missing services? [GT-Nets]

data, meta-data or information portal?

assessment reports?

standardized data only?

available long-term resources?

…


‘Authoritative’ data made available to unknown users

Atlas of the cryosphere (NSIDC)showing ice sheet thickness


Terminology, best practices, guidelines, and standards

Cogley et al. (2011)

“[…] timely reminder of the importance of a “standard”

vocabulary. “

“[…] to have these as a GCW glossary of cryospheric terms. […]”

“[…] translated into 6 languages.”(B. Goodison, personal comm. 2011)

Some facts about the Mass Balance Glossary:

11 authors; experts from the glacier research and monitoring community

3 years of work

> 450 terms (one language only)

update of earlier glossary


Cryospheric observation network of «supersites»

“The Global Cryosphere Watch, will initiate a comprehensive cryosphere observing network called “CryoNet”,

a network of reference sites or “supersites” […]” (GCW Explanatory

Memerandum 2011)

WGMS can contribute:

long-term experience in coordinating the international glacier monitoring

37 ‘reference’ glaciers with long-term and continuous mass-balance monitoring programmes (cf. Zemp et al. 2009, Ann. Glaciol.)

Implementation questions:

new or existing sites?

representativeness?

new label may down-rate other important series…

does it really make sense to monitor “as many cryospheric variables as possible” at one site?

maybe better link the existing long-term cryo-sites to automatic weather stations

available long-term resources?

…


Potential contributions from the WGMS and GTN-G to GCW:long-term experience in coordinating the international glacier monitoringrepresentation of the glacier monitoring communitydata and information about glacier distribution and changes

Our expectations of GCW:well-elaborated implementation plan that is feasible in light of available resourcesclear positioning within other international organizationsclose collaboration with authoritative data services

WGMS (2008)

conclusions

In other words:

Please add value (and not just another acronym) to the zoo of international organizations and focus on few but well implemented

tasks.

[email protected]

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