report

GAW Reactive Gases SAG Meeting
Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Wed, Nov 13, 10:00 h – Fri, Nov 15, 14:00 h
Meeting report
Participants:
Hajime Akimoto
Paul Novelli (via telephone)
Jan Bottenheim
Stuart Penkett
Brigitte Buchmann
Christian Plaß-Dülmer
Ian Galbally
Tom Ryerson (via telephone)
Stefan Gilge
Martin Schultz
Detlev Helmig
Rainer Steinbrecher
Hiroshi Koide
Oksana Tarasova
Allistair Lewis
Kjetil Torseth
Guests:
Stephan Thiel (KIT, Garmisch-Partenkirchen)
Marigold Penkett
Meeting presentations are available at http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/arep/gaw/reactive_gases.html
Summary
The second meeting of the science advisory group (SAG) reactive gases (RG) took place in
Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, from Wednesday, Nov 13, to Friday, Nov 15, 2013. Except for two
SAG members from the United States (T. Ryerson, P. Novelli), all members were physically present. The
two missing members were able to connect via telephone during the relevant parts of the meeting.
At the opening of the meeting, M. Schultz, the newly appointed chair of the group, welcomed all
participants and expressed his gratitude to R. Steinbrecher as local organizer and to S. Penkett for his
achievements as previous SAG chair. The agenda (see Annex 1) was slightly modified in order to
accommodate the telephone connection with P. Novelli on TOP 7. During the meeting it became clear
that a discussion is needed on the GAW publication strategy. This was therefore added to the agenda
(TOP 16).
Besides taking stock of the achievements over the last two years, the main objective of this workshop
was the planning of activities for 2014, including a preview of reporting activities that are expected from
SAG members during the next year. 2014 will be an important milestone due to the formulation of the
new implementation plan 2016-2019 (this succeeds the current strategic plan with its addendum), and
because of the celebrations of the 25th anniversary of GAW (coinciding with the iCACGP/IGAC conference
in Natal, Brazil, September 2014). The SAG RG will publish its first bulletin, and we hope to make good
progress with the implementation of the new NOx and VOC measurements while continuing the
successful network operations for (surface) ozone and CO. The new chair emphasizes the importance to
increase the usage of GAW data and the visibility of the program through scientific publications and
“glossy brochures”. A particularly important application for GAW data is their use in the evaluation of
(primarily global) chemistry transport and chemistry climate models. The SAG RG will seek to strengthen
its links to those communities. Another focal point of activities shall be the integration of surface
(station) measurements with aircraft data. In order to strengthen the group in this respect, Dr. Valerie
Thouret (CNRS, Toulouse, France) will be invited as a new member (see Annex 3).
Group photo of the SAG RG members who
were present in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
Front row (from left to right): H. Akimoto,
H. Koide, J. Bottenheim; Standing (from left
to right): O. Tarasova, B. Buchmann, I.
Galbally, C. Plaß-Dülmer, R. Steinbrecher, D.
Helmig, M. Schultz, K. Torseth, A. Lewis, S.
Gilge, M. Penkett, S. Penkett
Detailed report
Topic 1: Current WMO priorities, strategic planning and feedback from
GAW2013
(Chair: Oksana Tarasova, rapporteur: Martin Schultz)
Oksana Tarasova reported on four main aspects that will be relevant for the SAG RG and the reactive
gases program in GAW over the coming year (and beyond): (i) Strategic planning process, GAW strategy,
objectives etc.; (ii) GAW networks (outcome of GAW-2013 Symposium); (iii) Quality assurance, quality
indicators, data quality objectives (DQO), how GAW and its quality assurance (QA) System are linked with
Rolling Review of Requirements process; (iv) Collaboration activities.
WMO is currently designing a new strategic plan for the period 2016-2019, which will now cover all
WMO activities. Individual programs such as GAW will no longer write their own strategic plan, but
instead summarize their goals and activities in an implementation plan. For GAW, this implementation
plan will cover the period 2016-2024 and its drafting begins in December 2013 (i.e. after the Commission
on Atmospheric Sciences (CAS) meeting) with a first request for high-level input.1 The implementation
plan will include the description of GAW (observing system, QA, Central Facilities and their terms of
reference, procedures for stations, stations requirements, focal areas and thematic tasks), but the terms
of reference for advisory bodies will be specified elsewhere (i.e. as CAS documents).
All SAG members will be asked to provide their input to the implementation plan before June 2014. The
new plan shall become effective in spring 2015.
The current (2012-2015) strategic plan of GAW lists 5 “strategic thrusts” which were reviewed during the
GAW symposium in spring 2013 and should be reflected for the new GAW implementation plan:
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Improving service quality and service delivery
Advancing scientific research and applications development and implementation of technologies
Strengthen capacity building
Build and enhance partnerships and cooperation
Strengthen good governance
From the overarching big themes of the WMO strategy, two are of relevance for reactive gases: Global
Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) and WMO Integrated Global Observing System (WIGOS) and
WMO Information System (WIS). It will be important to maintain a link to these and to further define the
“services” that can be delivered by the reactive gases program.
Oksana Tarasova then reported on the outcome of the discussion groups during the 2013 GAW
symposium (see slides 15-20 from her presentation). Two key points with relevance for the SAG RG are:


1
Recognition that the GAW network has reached different levels of development in various world
regions
A rather clear statement that GAW needs to improve its visibility.
This anticipated request for input was sent by the new chair of OPAG-EPAC, Greg Carmichael, on Dec. 16, 2013.
In terms of quality assurance, GAW satisfies ISO requirements and is a front-runner with regard to
establishing and implementing QA standards and procedures. Standard operating procedures and
measurement guidelines constitute an essential element of the QA principles and remain core activities
of the SAGs.
Concerning the “Rolling review of requirements” (RRR) there is a strategic requirement to obtain true
user input concerning the needs and quality objectives of individual observed variables. The role of the
SAGs is to translate these user requirements into technical requirements of the observing system. There
is ongoing discussion how to actually implement the RRR process. First experiences with the central
spreadsheet have proven rather discouraging for many SAG members, because the spreadsheet
categories were obviously biased towards a satellite data perspective. Martin Schultz will raise this point
in a letter to the CAS and proposes that the secretariat should organize a large user workshop in order to
sample user requirements as this first step cannot be the task of the SAG.
Concerning the collaboration with other programs and initiatives, GAW has many links with other
international organisations and research projects. However, it has to be kept in mind, that GAW is not a
project, but a program with a long-term commitment. Inter-organisation collaborations (WHO, UNESCO,
UNEP) help GAW to maintain user-engagement. Perhaps there could be a stronger link to GEO. Research
projects provide very valuable input to GAW and are essential to drive new developments. Links to
regional programs (e.g. EMEP, EANET) should be further strengthened in order to maximize the
availability of data and ensure similar quality standards. However, double submissions of data should be
avoided and a stronger link between data centers is needed.
Finally, Oksana Tarasova mentioned that there are several issues which require discussions among SAGs.
Martin Schultz seconded this and suggested to establish some inter-SAG task groups which should be
formed on an ad-hoc basis in order to attempt greater harmonisation of QA principles, guideline
documents, data related aspects etc. within GAW. The secretariat should allocate some funding for
meetings of such groups, and the SAGs should consider opportunities to meet side-by-side at one
location and schedule a joint session during these meetings.
Topic 2: GAWTEC
(Chair: Stefan Gilge, Rapporteur: Christian Plass-Dülmer)
A presentation on GAWTEC activities and training courses was given by Stefan Gilge.
In addition to the presentation and the positive facts presented there, several positive comments on
GAWTEC were given:
Improved networking due to contacts among course participants and to lecturers
Some lecturers reported persisting contacts to participants over years after the courses
The selection of participants has greatly improved
The practical aspects of the courses are highly appreciated by participants (training on instruments and
data evaluation) and should be expanded with concurrent reduction of the more theoretical parts.
One point of critic was the fact that travel expenses are high and people have to leave their stations for 2
weeks, which stations frequently can’t afford. Thus, a wish for shorter and regional courses was made.
Regional training centres by WMO could be used.
Financial support still is only provided by German institutions, WMO/GAW (travel support), and the
lecturers providing free lectures. Financial resources are rather limited and the situation will get worse
due to envisioned further cut-downs of German support.
There were three key questions brought up:
How is the success of GAWTEC measured, and how could measures be improved?
How are the decision on GAWTEC course topics and participant selection made and are they
adequate?
Should there be regional courses in future and is it possible to use / expand the WMO
regional training centres?
The SAG decided to ask Karin Woudsma, the current manager of the GAWTEC program, for a report to
these key questions, which should also consider the following questions and details:
How many participants are after several years (5 years) still at their station and active in the
field of the atmospheric monitoring?
Would a second questionnaire a year after the course help to evaluate the success?
Could station audits be used to check the success and how?
Would an external review of the success of GAWTEC be helpful?
How are course demands from programs or projects (in a timely way) considered?
Finally, Karin should be asked for her vision of how to improve GAWTEC, whether more regional training
activities could be implemented, and how this could be achieved.
Christian and Oksana will ask Karin Woudsma for her willingness to provide such a review to SAG. In fact,
this report has now already been provided. It was added to this meeting report as Annex 5.
This Report shall then be reviewed by the SAG members.
Topic 3: Review of activities in 2012/13 and action points from last SAG RG
meeting
(Chair: Martin Schultz, rapporteur: Stuart Penkett)
The Reactive Gases SAG has accomplished quite a few tasks during the previous two years. This was
presented at the GAW symposium in spring 2013 (see http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/arep/gaw/
documents/GAW-2013-Penkett-Schultz-SAG-RG.pdf). Besides many activities concerning the
implementation of standards, audits, measurement guidelines, etc., the group has established a
comprehensive series of documents as listed in the table below. Of particular importance for the
development of measurement programs for NOx and VOCs is the European ACTRIS program, which for
example funds work that will lead to standard operating procedures in 2014. These will then be adapted
for use in GAW by the SAG members.
Overview of GAW documents (GAW report number and publication year) concerning RG operations
(extracted from CIMO chapter 16)
Compound
Measurement guidelines
Other documents
Ozone
209 (2013)
ozone sondes: 201 (2011)
ozone (data) workshop: 199
(2011)
CO
192 (2010)
calibration scale: 206a (2012)
network, QA/QC: 166a (2006)
VOC
in prep.
general recomm: 171a (2007)
sampling SOP: 204 (2012)
NOx/NOy
in prep.
general recomm: 195a (2011)
SO2
--
general recomm: 143b (2001)
H2
--
calibration scale: 206a (2012)
Strategic Plan 2008-2015: 172 (2007); Addendum 2012-2015: 197 (2011)
NRT data delivery (MACC): 189 (2010)
WDCGG data submission: 188 (2009), 174 (2008)
a
: workshop proceedings
: Global Atmosphere Watch Measurements Guide (WMO TD No. 1073)
b
A formal decision was taken by the SAG RG to abandon hydrogen (H2) as a compound that will be
pursued further. H2 is a gas with low reactivity and it is of relatively little interest to the community. A
number of other gases would require more urgent attention (e.g. NH3, NOy, peroxides), but even for
these it will be difficult to generate sufficient momentum to set-up a global network activity, especially
since several other reactive gases observations still face a number of challenges and the global network
appears to be shrinking rather than expanding in many regions. The network density and coverage is
probably the most severe threat to the reactive gases observations in GAW, and the SAG will have to
actively seek opportunities to overcome these limitations. Two major chances in this regard are the close
collaboration with research projects such as ACTRIS in Europe, and a close link to monitoring activities in
Asia (e.g. EANET). It is noted that the SAG RG maintains such links via its member Hajime Akimoto.
Reactive gases have not been a strong focus activity of EANET in the past.
Concerning the action points from the first SAG meeting (Malta, April 2011), Martin Schultz noted that
several issues had been phrased in a way that made it difficult to track progress. This was partly related
to the fresh formation of the SAG (several new members had been appointed just prior to that meeting).
The group therefore decided to declare most of the previous action items as closed and focus its
activities instead on a new set of items (see Annex 4).
Two of the former action items are worth mentioning explicitly here:
1. “Plan SO2 workshop (preferable in Asia), invite experts”: this has been postponed, because a
decision was taken to prioritize NOx measurements first. Some activities in preparation for
adding SO2 to the list of GAW reactive gases have been undertaken, but these primarily concern
tracking of the scientific literature and of information on SO2 measurement techniques.
2. “To appoint a further SAG member with expert knowledge on satellite measurements and future
satellite programmes”: this issue has also been postponed in favor of firstly strengthening the
representation of tropospheric in-situ observations in the reactive gases group. There had been a
decision in Malta to approach Dr. Valerie Thouret from the IAGOS (http://www.iagos.org/)
program, but until now no formal invitation to join the SAG had been issued to her. This has now
been renewed (see Topic 12). The SAG RG group feels that it will be better to expand the
breadth of topics slowly and reconsider satellite measurements at a later time. This issue is also
related to task 7.47 in the addendum of the 2012-2015 strategic plan.
3. “Improved data flagging and metadata information (e.g. report of missing values)”: during work
on the ozone measurement guidelines a specific proposal for “RG flags” was made. This is
currently developed further in discussions also with other SAGs and the expert team on world
data centers (ET-WDC; see also Topic 14).
Topic 4: Summary of VOC meeting and way forward for VOC
(Chair: Rainer Steinbrecher, rapporteur: Kjetil Torseth)
Rainer Steinbrecher presented news on VOCs and ways forward. Focus was on the 4th GAW Expert
workshop on VOCs (York, Sept 2012) and the progress related to Observations and analysis, quality
assurance and gas standards. Status is that for roughly 30% of GAW VOC target species, a global picture
is available from observations and that there is a need to strengthen monitoring efforts. Quality
assurance efforts indicate that data quality in general satisfy DQO, but with several exceptions. The
proposal was made to adopt the more stringent DQOs of ACTRIS (Aerosols, Clouds and Trace Gas
Research Infrastructure Network). Activities also included development of Standard Operating
Procedures and Measurement guidelines, as well as discussions about emerging new measurement
techniques (PTRMS, Laser Optical methods etc). Finally, the presentation introduced the status on
ongoing efforts towards the establishment of Central Calibration Laboratories for VOCs, and how CCLs
can be more involved in global round robin experiments. The SAG took note of the presentation and
supported the views presented.
VOC measurements in GAW currently rely on national programs or project funding (e.g. INSTAAR). It is
important to note that financial support for the VOC infrastructure is only provided to a limited extend
by QA-SAC Germany but this is not sufficient and development relies on project funding, e.g. ACTRIS.
Over the mid-term a more sustainable solution for funding stations and infrastructure needs to be found.
Topic 5: VOC chapter in “Green book”
(Chair: Hiroshi Koide, rapporteur: Oksana Tarasova)
Hiroshi Koide reported the progress on the VOC chapter (chapter 11) firstly introduced in the WDCGG
Data Summary No.37 issued March 2013 with the consensus of the SAG, and discussed expanding the
global analysis. With the discussion material for TOP 5, the members agreed to provide collaboratively
the additional global analysis paragraph of the parameter propane, in the next issue (No.38) of the
Summary, with omitting the single station plots from the last issue, along the line of other chapters’
contents and layout. The SAG pointed out the plate (stations and temporal distribution) figures and the
carpet figures are useful and encouraged the WDCGG to provide an interactive drawing tool of these
figures for any available parameters in its archive in the course of the planned reform of its web service.
Seasonal and interannual variation of latitudinally averaged ethane (top) and propane (bottom)
molefractions after manual screening of data sets at the WDCGG (from WDCGG data book no. 38)
Topic 6: Development of the NOx network
(Chair: Stefan Gilge, rapporteur: Jan Bottenheim)
Stefan Gilge reported on the progress of the ACTRIS project (http://www.actris.net/). This project can
be seen as useful guidance for what eventually should constitute the way that GAW will recommend
such data are obtained for inclusion in the WDCGG archive.
ACTRIS organized round robin tests and a side-by-side intercomparison to determine how comparable
measurements form the different participating groups are. Round-robin results showed that most
groups yield results within the DQOs, level 1, as defined in GAW report 195. The side-by-side
comparisons were equally promising although, as expected, the ultimate tests with ambient air showed
larger variability than a comparison on zero air with 5ppb NO added. Since NO2 mixing ratios are
calculated from the difference between the NO and NO.c modes, the scatter for zero NO2 measurements
at higher NO mixing ratios is larger than at lower levels. Expected errors from using a molybdenum
converter only for NO2 showed up, as well as some other oddities (no suitable A/D converter used,
wrong calibration data used). Overall the commercial instruments appear to be able to satisfy the DQO
(level 1) for NO (40 ppt or 3%) and NO2 (80 ppt or 3%) if calibration and maintenance are properly
performed. Results are available but not yet public and will be reported in 2014. Work is in progress
to write a measurement guide. One issue still under discussion is the stability of calibration standards.
Currently, almost all activities are based on the Chemoluminescence Detector (CLD) technique. There is a
strong recommendation to move towards a blue light converter (BLC) for the NO2 to NO conversion.
The ACTRIS program continues until the end of 2014 (the final report will not be available until early
2015). Some 10 ACTRIS sites are already GAW sites (e.g. Pallas, Schauinsland, Monte Cimone, Beo
Moussala, …) or would like to become GAW sites (e.g. Auchencorth Moss). Whether additional
ACTRIS sites will eventually operate on a long term basis is unknown. Infrastructure supporting
activities are currently funded by ACTRIS only for 4 years. Currently, data are delivered to EBAS
(http://ebas.nilu.no/), and from there directly to WDCGG so continuation certainly would be nice.
The following Figure summarizes the available NOx data in the WDCGG as of March 2013 (see
http://ds.data.jma.go.jp/gmd/wdcgg/pub/products/summary/sum37/, plates 33-35). Two main of issues
become apparent from these figures:
1. There are more stations reporting NO2 than NO.
2. Concentration values for several stations appear abnormously large (more than 10 ppbv)
These issues should be investigated over the coming year. Furthermore, it needs to be investigated how
other available NOx data sets can be integrated with the GAW database and how the GAW quality
assurance standards can be applied to such data from other projects.
Topic 7: Progress and plans concerning CO measurements
(Chair: Brigitte Buchmann, rapporteur: Hajime Akimoto)
Paul Novelli reported by telephone connection on the revision of WMO CO scales. The goal of the
revision is to provide an internally consistent scale covering the period of 1990 and forward. Two
versions of the WMO scale are currently used for measurements of CO at GAW related laboratories:
X2000 and X2004. X2000 is based on primary standard prepared in 1989, 1996 and 2000, and was used
until 2004 for measurements using GC with mercuric oxide detection (GC_HgO). X2004 is based on
primary standard prepared in 2000 and 2006, and measurements were made using a fluorescence
technique (VURF) and more recent off-axis integrated output spectroscopy (ICOS). The VURF and ICOS
instruments are superior to GC_HgO in their linier response, detection limits, precision and long-term
reproducibility. The measurement error has decreased from ~1-3 to ~ 0.1-0.5 nmol mol-1 by these new
techniques. A new primary standard was prepared using a gravimetric technique, and the recent more
precise and better methods to produce CO-free air have reduced the gravimetric error from 1.2 to 0.4%.
The WMO CCL at NOAA is developing a revision of previous scales, and the new standard is anticipated
to be WMO CO X2014.
Brigitte Buchmann reported on CO measurement techniques. CO measurement techniques, which have
been practically used, are NDIR (Non Dispersive Infrared Absorption), GC-HgO (Gas Chromatography with
HgO Detector), GC-FID (Gas Chromatography with FID Detector), VURF (Vacuum UV Resonance
Fluorescence), CRDS (Cavity Ring Down Spectroscopy), and QCL (Quantum Cascade Laser Spectroscopy).
Among these techniques, performance of more recent CRDS, VURF, Mini-QCL, and ICOS-QCL were
compared at EMPA. The standard deviations of instrument noise at 1 min time resolution were reported
to be 11.7, 0.81, 0.09 and 0.09 ppb, respectively, for these techniques, showing superior performance of
QCL. All techniques were linear except for the ICOS-QCL, which exhibited a larger zero intercept. All the 4
instruments at EMPA showed agreement within 2 nmol mol-1 (WMO compatibility goal) for ambient air.
A rough qualitative sketch showing precision vs. time resolution is presented as below.
Topic 8: Introduction to upcoming SAG tasks
(Chair: Martin Schultz, rapporteur: Oksana Tarasova)
Oksana Tarasova summarized the upcoming SAG tasks from the point of view of the secretariat. They are
listed here as bullets for a better overview, for details, please consult the meeting presentation on this
topic.
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Provide input to the GAW implementation plan for 2016-2024
Provide input to the budget preparation 2016-2019:
o Planned publications
o Additional meetings
o GAWTEC training activities
o Other SAG activities in line with the implementation plan
Provide input to the Rolling Review of Requirements (RRR); at a minimum review the variable
names and user requirements available at
http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/www/OSY/RRR-DB.html
Contribute to review of the Commission for Instruments and Methods of Observation (CIMO)
guide around March 2014 (input was provided, clarifications may be needed after review); web
page http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/www/IMOP/CIMO-Guide.html
Contribute to new edition of GAW report 143 on measurement guidelines
Contribute to glossy brochure for 25th GAW anniversary
Provide input for improving the GAW and specifically GAW RG web pages
In addition, as was discussed before, the SAG decided to prepare the first RG bulletin in 2014. Other
action items are summarized in Annex 4.
Topic 9: Recent developments and action items concerning surface ozone
(Chair: I. Galbally and A. Lewis, Rapporteur: Stefan Gilge)
•
Guidelines:
Guidelines are ready to use; took > 1 year. There is no final decision yet on a revised UV absorption cross
section for ozone. If adopted, some reprocessing of existing data sets may be required. This process
would then have to be organized by the SAG, WDCGG, and WOUDC.
•
Ozone zero:
Are there UV-absorbers, which were affected by scrubbers? -> Obviously – see Stefan’s experiences with
particles from small forest fires in MG.
•
New techniques:
CRDS for NH3 can in principle also measure ozone. -> Maybe there will be a CRDS instrument in future.
•
Network density and 3rd dimension:
GAW has too few continental sites in certain regions of the world. Australia: a new site and a new
research vessel with atmospheric chemistry lab on board start now.
In Russia exists a “private” O3 network. Should this be involved in GAW? -> A first reaction was cautious
appreciation. Certainly, filling the vast gap of surface measurements in Russia would be very valuable.
However, until the quality of these measurements is affirmed, we cannot make a qualified judgment.
EMPA will investigate this.
Traditionally, vertical profiles of ozone were covered in the ozone SAG, however with a focus largely on
the stratosphere. The SAG RG is interested to work towards a better integration between surface data
and vertical profiles from aircraft measurements and ozone sondings. In the longer-term satellite data
may also be brought in to complement the picture.
•
Near realtime (NRT) delivery:
14 stations deliver data regularly to an ftp site at DWD Hohenpeissenberg for use in the evaluation of the
MACC global atmospheric forecasting system (http://www.copernicus-atmosphere.eu/d/services/gac/
verif/grg/gaw/gaw_station_ts/). The data submission takes place on cycles that are much shorter than
the usual GAW guideline of 1 year after measurement. The data submission frequency varies from a few
hours to ~ 3 months, and there is presently no long-term obligation to keep up the “rapid delivery”
mode. A guideline for NRT delivery has been published in GAW report 189
(http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/arep/gaw/documents/WMO_TD_No_1527_GAW_189_web.pdf ). In
spite of various attempts to engage more GAW sites to participate in NRT delivery, the reaction is slow.
Contact for interested parties is [email protected].
•
Station audits:
How do we get more station audits? This would enhance data quality. -> Possibility of travelling
instrument should be checked by WCC.
•
O3 in models / use of data:
Modellers are working with GAW O3 data. A guest presentation from Mat Evans’ group (University of
York) highlighted a number of issues with ozone data in the WDCGG. While a large fraction of data are
well formatted and straightforward to use, in about 10% of all cases there are issues with metadata and
inconsistencies found in the datasets. The Data Centre is going to revolve the data delivery tools facing
the problems with metadata submission. This issue is very important for enhancing data usage of GAW
data.
If problems with any kind of data occur, consulting with data provider, user and WDC should take place
and data should be refreshed a.s.a.p.. It is important to ensure that all participants get knowledge on
these changes and all changes are well documented. This has to be done at the primary data base and
must be mirrored to all other databases where these data are stored. In some cases it could be useful to
resubmit the whole data set over the entire time period. Further discussions among the Expert team on
world data centers (ET-WDC) will also reconsider the rules for data submission and “problem fixing”,
with the objective to strengthen the role of world data centers as data “curators” who have
responsibility for the formal correctness (formatting, metadata) of the data sets.
All remarks concerning the data (e.g. logbook) should be available to all data users even when a site does
not exist any longer. -> Submission of logbook in “pdf” format to WDC or GAWSIS. Discussion where is
the best place to store. Maybe there will be a platform in “WIS” (metadata base for meteorological sites)
for this. The “INGOS” group (http://www.ingos-infrastructure.eu/) tries to evaluate “old” data and is
keen on such information.
Topic 10: The way forward for the SAG RG: Input to Implementation Plan
2016-19
(Chair: Martin Schultz, rapporteur: Allistair Lewis)
The SAG discussed some of the key issues relating to the reactive gas activities in GAW and the effective
implementation of the 2016-2019 WMO Plan. In general terms integration of new observations and
networks into GAW was seen as highly desirable and an essential component of the implementation
plan. The ease with this this might be achieved was likely to be variable; some networks and
methodologies were compatible with approaches and technologies already adopted by GAW, whilst
others would be more challenging. A key role for the SAG therefore was to advise on the integration of
new activities and to engage externally to ensure that GAW reached as widely as possible and to
encourage new partners.
The configuration of the GAW RG network was discussed at some length. There are some obvious data
gaps in geographic terms in Asia and Russia. The potential inclusion of observations from a range of
different sites was discussed, e.g. from EANET locations which spans 44 sites in 13 countries. The
importance in increasing coverage in these regions is supported by EO data which shows the extent and
scale of NO2 pollution for example over China and related regions. The specific lack of GAW stations in
India was highlighted as a current weakness.
The SAG discussed the extent to which the current species coverage of the RG program met scientific
requirements. Potential new measurements included:



Ammonia (to complement SO2) and sulfate,
Peroxides (hydrogen and organic),
Organic nitrogen compounds (tracers and reservoirs): PAN, HCN, CH3CN.
The RG-SAG considered it essential that there was a dialogue between different SAGs to promote
integration of measurements across the full GAW programme, and to ensure that complementary
measurements are made where possible. Nitrogen species were highlighted in particular since they cut
across RG, precipitation, GHG and aerosols SAGs.
It was noted that in practice measurements are often developed in a scientifically coherent way at
individual observatories, since local and directing scientists do themselves have direct interests in
ensuring their programmes have maximum scientific value.
Some potential exists for GAW and indeed individual SAGs to provide more general advice on which
species should be measured at individual locations, even if these fall outside of those required for
long-term GAW records. Some notes of caution were sounded about taking this approach since SAG
recommendations are not attributed to individuals, or indeed committees (for example IGAC, IGBP) but
in theory reflect the view of the UN. Attempting to obtain a ‘UN’ consensus view on atmospheric
chemistry more generally may not be time well spent.
Despite the above it was felt that some greater clarification of the role of GAW in supporting ‘process
science’ in addition to long term trends would be useful. Likewise, there is a need to better define the
priority for integrating of 3D data (i.e. aircraft measurements) into GAW. While this appears logical in the
case of long-term programs (IAGOS, CARIBIC), more discussion is needed on the potential role of field
campaigns, even though it is acknowledged that these generally provide the most detailed information
on atmospheric composition available.
An agreement was reached to support the publication of a RG bulletin; past experience with the GHG
bulletin is that these are widely cited by the press and are considered authoritative on the subject.
WMO leads on their production including translation into 6 languages and the monitoring of their uptake
by media. A range of length of documents are produced, from 4 pages for the GHG version to 80 pages
for ozone. The shorter format was preferred for RGs.
Alternative dissemination methods were discussed including the publication of activities in papers such
as ACP and Atmos. Environ. used previously to report on EMEP and ACCENT respectively. The new open
access journal Elementa was also considered.
The SAG also considered that a number of other documents required further work and input in 2014
including a revision of the GAW report 143 on measurement techniques, a glossy brochure to mark the
25th anniversary of GAW, the RG updates to the Green book, new NOx guidelines and possibly a new
document with recommendations relating to CO scale changes.
Topic 11: WDCGG database reform
(Chair: Hiroshi Koide, rapporteur: Martin Schultz)
Hiroshi Koide presented the plans at WDCGG to reform the WDCGG database and infrastructure. The
main rationale will be to ease access to the data for users and simplify and standardize the data
submission process. The new system shall also allow better control over data downloads and better
information on the data policy, and it shall provide better support for interoperable data access.
There shall be a 1:1 relation between data sets and metadata including version tracking, and a consistent
flagging system shall be used to report on the data quality (see also Topic 14). Data users will be asked to
register before downloading data; the details of the registration process and information to be supplied
still needs to be worked out. Adding metadata shall be standardized and simplified through web masks
using controlled vocabulary lists. It shall become easy for station managers to obtain a quick overview
about the data from their station. As was suggested earlier, JMA will also try to implement a quick look
feature by compound (see figure in Topic 6 report).
Concerning metadata there will be an attempt to make use of vocabulary from the climate and
forecasting netcdf convention (CF), and better harmonization with GAWSIS will be sought. The bulk data
submission from regional centers such as EBAS needs to be improved, although the machinery for this is
largely in place. The new database system is expected to be released in early 2016.
One issue for the WDCGG is its commitment to long-term stability which in the past has been impacted
by relatively frequent staff changes.
Topic 12: SAG composition and tasks
(Chair: Martin Schultz, rapporteur: Oksana Tarasova)
The current SAG RG consists of 15 scientists from 8 countries (see Annex 3) and the GAW secretary Dr.
Oksana Tarasova. Membership is male-dominated and has a strong European component, which in part
reflects where funding support for GAW activities comes from. Topically, there is a reasonable
distribution across the species that are measured within the GAW RG programme, and a link to the
aircraft measurement and modelling communities is present.
Two SAG members indicated their wish to step down over the coming year: H. Akimoto wishes to be
replaced by a younger colleague, and B. Buchmann suggested appointing Dr. Christoph Zellweger from
the same institute (EMPA) as a replacement for her, because he is more intrinsically involved with GAW
activities and the operation of the CO WCC. Both requests were agreed upon by the SAG members, and
O. Tarasova was asked to forward the request to exchange B. Buchmann with C. Zellweger to
OPAG-EPAC. A suitable replacement for H. Akimoto shall be discussed at the next SAG meeting in 2014.
Following up on discussions that had taken place during the Malta SAG RG meeting in 2011, it was
proposed again and agreed to appoint Dr. Valerie Thouret from CNRS, Toulouse, France as an additional
SAG RG member in order to strengthen the links to the aircraft measurement and modelling
communities. V. Thouret is a co-chair of the IAGOS programme which is currently undergoing a transition
to become an operational monitoring programme and aims to expand its fleet of measurements from
currently 6 passenger aircraft to 20 aircraft by 2020. The instruments are carried by various airlines
worldwide and provide quasi global coverage, although the southern hemisphere is clearly
undersampled at present.
Without specific suggestions it was further suggested to strengthen the Asian participation to the SAG
and members were asked to prepare suggestions for one more candidate from Korea or China (female
scientists should be preferred if feasible). There is no urgency, but a decision should be taken during the
next SAG meeting in 2014. Africa and South America are also not represented in the SAG RG. A
suggestion was made to actively seek for a suitable South American candidate during (or before) the
iCGACP/IGAC conference in September 2014 which will be close to the next SAG meeting in time.
O. Tarasova indicated that the SAG RG is already larger than what is recommended by OPAG-EPAC (i.e.
10-12 persons). The members argue that there is a good reason for a larger group, because there are
many reactive gases which need to be addressed in this SAG. Nevertheless, the chair expressed his wish
to limit the size to 15 members and he will approach certain members over the coming year to free their
seats in favour of new members from other world regions or new members covering new topics. It is
important to note that SAG RG discussions are considered open and guests (in limited number) are
welcome. However, there will be no sponsoring of guests by the WMO secretariat.
Topic 13: Reactive gases products and services
(Chair: Tom Ryerson, rapporteur: Brigitte Buchmann)
T. Ryerson presented a talk suggesting ways to improve visibility of GAW reactive gas data, among them
1) Better publicize existing uses; 2) highlight relevance to ongoing modeling activities, and 3) lead the
way by actively publishing using the GAW data.
The presentation noted there are many high-profile analyses using GAW reactive gas data by
international collaborators (examples given were on regional emissions assessments, long-term trends
analysis, and model evaluation, from papers in Nature, J. Geophys. Res. , and Geophys. Res. Lett) so the
data are clearly being used. There was discussion among the SAG members on how to better highlight
the GAW-specific contributions to scientific publications in the future; this may be facilitated by setting
up digital object identifiers (DOI) for GAW datasets, mentioned under TOP 15 below.
The GAW reactive gas measurement network continues to provide unique and essential data for model
evalution. There are clear opportunities for GAW to further contribute to the ongoing SPARC/IGAC
Chemistry-Climate Model Initiative (CCMI), especially for evaluation data for the 1960-2010 hindcast
runs that are largely completed and are the focus of this year’s CCMI analysis. Active engagement by
GAW representatives in the ongoing CCMI exercise will benefit both GAW and the CCM community as
they pursue their stated focus on “observations for model evaluation”.
Another way to leverage existing community efforts to extend the use of GAW reactive gas data would
be to link to new, and perhaps underutilized, data sets. The example given was from the
recently-completed NSF HIAPER Pole-to-Pole Observations (HIPPO) airborne field mission. GAW station
data in the remote atmosphere provide long-term context for evaluating the representativeness of this
class of airborne field mission that attempts to systematically sample the atmosphere. Forging links
between HIPPO and GAW would similarly benefit both communities, and further demonstrate the wide
utility of GAW reactive gas data through additional scientific publications.
Topic 14: Data quality flagging and processing
(Chair: Martin Schultz, rapporteur: Hiroshi Koide)
This agenda item was moved to the end of the meeting in order to allow early departure of various SAG
RG members. The discussion arose from the preparation of the ozone measurement guidelines (GAW
report 209), where I. Galbally and M. Schultz proposed to adopt the NOAA CMDL flagging system for
greenhouse gases with minor adjustments and standardisation of codes. The NOAA system comprises of
a three-letter code. Data of acceptable quality are marked “…”, whereas any error condition will invoke
the replacement of one dot by a letter. For example, “I.C” denotes invalid data due to a consistency
problem with two analysers. For details, see GAW report 209, pages 38 ff.
M. Schultz reported that the European IGAS project, which deals with data management of IAGOS
aircraft data, is also considering to adopt this flagging scheme, and it would be valuable if GAW would
seek to develop one flagging scheme for all data (or at least try to limit the number of flagging schemes
used).
K. Torseth reported on the numerical scheme that is used in EBAS and for the WDCA. This scheme
contains many more conditions than the three-letter scheme, which sometimes creates problems on the
side of the database managers. Many flag values were specifically requested from the precipitation
chemistry group. One important aspect of the data flagging in EBAS is the possibility to add flags from
the data center. This is missing from the NOAA approach but might be a valuable property if the role of
the WDCs as data custodians will be strengthened in the future.
Due to legal requirements for some data providers and data centers, it will not be possible to implement
one consistent flagging scheme for all data. Instead it shall be explored to what extent the NOAA flagging
scheme can be mapped onto the EBAS scheme and vice versa. M. Schultz and H. Koide agreed to do this
in preparation for the ET-WDC meeting in Tokio in January 2014, where this topic will also be discussed.
The results shall be communicated to the SAG RG.
Topic 15: GAW data policy
(Chair: Martin Schultz, rapporteur: Hiroshi Koide)
A survey of the data policies listed on the various GAW world data centers revealed a rather
inhomogeneous picture and indicates a problem of the GAW programme as a whole. M. Schultz
informed the SAG RG that this topic shall be discussed at the ET-WDC meeting in Tokio in January 2014.
SAG RG members agreed that the visibility of GAW should be increased by explicitly referring to GAW in
the data policy and by providing clearer recommendations how data providers and the GAW programme
shall be cited.
Another issue with the present data policy concerns the use of GAW data for (routine) model evaluation.
It is clearly impractical to individually contact > 50 data providers and work out agreements on
co-authorship when the entire GAW data set of one compound shall be compared to model results. For
this type of application one will need to seek a different solution. This is out of scope for the SAG RG, but
the chair will interact with the ET-WDC, the secretariat and the CAS in order to adjust the data policy to
modellers’ needs. This is seen as a critical step to enhance the use of GAW data, but it must be ensured
that the rights of data owners are respected and that they remain visible. One potential solution in this
regard could be the introduction of digital object identifiers (DOI) for GAW datasets. This shall be further
explored (also a topic for the ET-WDC).
Topic 16: Publications and outreach
(Chair: Martin Schultz, rapporteur: Oksana Tarasova)
The topic of GAW (RG) publications and outreach activities was discussed several times during the
meeting and summarized again at the end. An overwhelming majority of the SAG RG members supports
the idea to produce an RG bulletin, which should be similar in format and layout as the greenhouse gas
bulletin which very successfully promoted GAW activities on greenhouse gases. It is planned to prepare a
first outline in January 2014 (see Annex 4) and to release the first RG bulletin during or before the
iCACGP/IGAC conference in September 2014. The publication frequency for the bulletin shall be annual.
Various existing national publication activities (e.g. GAW briefs from DWD) provide a good starting point.
Graphics and layout can be provided by the WMO publication office.
S. Penkett had proposed a comprehensive GAW RG review article during the Malta meeting in 2011 and
renewed this suggestion in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. He laid out a potential chapter structure and sought
support and active contribution to this activity. However, the majority of SAG RG members prefer to
abandon this plan and focus instead on a series of individual publications plus the necessary work on
GAW documents, a glossy brochure to celebrate the 25th GAW anniversary in 2014, and the RG bulletin.
Another reason for hesitating is the fact that the status of the measurements, their quality assurance
and the data submission is very diverse for different compounds.
Coming back to the topic of enhancing the visibility of GAW through a more consolidated publication
strategy, a suggestion was made to open a special issue or a “series” in one journal and actively invite
the GAW community to contribute publications to this issue or series. D. Helmig suggested Elementa, a
new journal with great flexibility and well in scope, as one possible venue. Atmospheric Chemistry and
Physics and/or Atmospheric Measurement Technologies (Copernicus journals) were mentioned as
alternatives. O. Tarasova agreed to circulate these ideas among the chairs of all GAW SAGs. [An initial
discussion by email revealed a lot of support for this as long as it is voluntary.]
A comment was made that the GAW website could be improved. However, there was too little time to
go into details. SAG RG members are encouraged to send specific suggestions to O. Tarasova with cc to
the SAG members.
Topic 17: Planning of next meeting
(Chair: Martin Schultz, rapporteur: Oksana Tarasova)
In general it was felt that SAG RG meetings should be held on an annual basis, even though it may not be
necessary for all SAG members to attend the meeting every year. Specifically, it will be very important to
organize another meeting in 2014 as this period will see the development of the new GAW
Implementation Plan and this will require discussions in the SAG. Optimum timing for the meeting will be
in September or October 2014. This opens two possibilities: either back-to-back with the VOC expert
meeting that is planned in South Korea in October, or back-to-back with the iCGACP/IGAC conference in
Natal, Brazil in September. O. Tarasova will set up a doodle poll after discussion with KRISS on the
options for South Korea (see Annex 4).
In the meantime the dates for the next SAG RG meeting have been fixed. It will take place at KRISS,
Seoul, South Korea from Oct. 22 to Oct. 24, 2014.
Annex 1: Agenda
GAW Reactive Gases SAG Meeting
Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Wed, Nov 13, 10:00 h – Fri, Nov 15, 14:00 h
Venue:
KIT Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Institut für Meteorologie und Klimaforschung (IMK-IFU)
Kreuzeckbahnstraße 19
82467 Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Local organizer: Rainer Steinbrecher ([email protected])
AGENDA
Wednesday, Nov 13:
10:00 – 10:15 h Welcome
10:15 – 11:30 h TOP 1: Current WMO Priorities and Strategic Planning and feedback
from GAW2013: Towards the WMO GAW Implementation Plan 2016-2019
[O. Tarasova]
11:30-12:30 h TOP 2: Capacity building activities:
-- GAWTEC, ideas to assess “outcome”
-- Use of the WMO Regional Training Centers
[S. Gilge]
12:30-13:30 h LUNCH
13:30 – 15:30 h TOP 3: Review of activities in 2012/13 and the action points from the last SAG meeting
[M. Schultz]
S. Penkett: Status of GAW RG overview report
15:30 – 16:00 h COFFEE
16:00 -17:00 h TOP 4: Summary of VOC meeting and way forward for VOC
[R. Steinbrecher]
17:00 – 17:30 h TOP 5: VOC chapter in “Green Book”
[H. Koide]
17:30 – 18:15 h TOP 6: Development of the NOx network
[S. Gilge]
18:15 h Adjourn
Thursday, Nov 14
09:00 – 10:30 h TOP 7: Progress and plans concerning CO measurements
[P. Novelli and B. Buchmann]
P. Novelli: new calibration scale
B. Buchmann: new audit procedures
10:30 – 11:00 Coffee break
11:00 – 12:30 TOP 8: Introduction to upcoming SAG tasks
[O. Tarasova]
12:30 – 13:30 h LUNCH
13:30 – 14:30 h TOP 13: Reactive gases products and services
[T. Ryerson via Webex]
14:30 – 15:30 h TOP 9: Recent developments and action items concerning surface ozone
[I. Galbally and A. Lewis]
15:30 – 16:00 h COFFEE
16:00 – 17:00 h and TOP 10: The way forward for the SAG RG:
Input for Implementation Plan 2016-2019
[M. Schultz]
17:00 – 18:00 h TOP 12: SAG composition and tasks
[M. Schultz]
18:00 h Adjourn
Friday, Nov 15
09:00 – 10:00 h TOP 11: WDCGG database reform
[H. Koide]
10:00 – 10:30 h TOP 14: Data quality flagging and processing
[M. Schultz]
10:30 – 11: 00 h COFFEE
11:00 – 11:30 h TOP 14: Data quality flagging and processing, continued
[M. Schultz]
11:30 – 12:00 h TOP 15: GAW Data policy
[O. Tarasova]
12:00 – 13:00 h Summary of action points, Planning of next meeting(s)
[M. Schultz]
13:00 – 14:00 h LUNCH
14:00 h ADJOURN
Annex 2: Letter to CAS
This letter was drafted at the SAG meeting and sent to Oystein Hov (met.no) as chair of the Commission
on Atmospheric Sciences (CAS) who had their 3-annual symposium in Antalya, Turkey the week following
the SAG RG meeting. A reply by Oystein Hov indicated his willingness to bring these issues into the CAS
discussions.
A message from the GAW SAG on reactive gases to the CAS
Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Friday, 15 November 2013
During its recent meeting in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the WMO GAW SAG on reactive gases brought up a
number of issues that are of relevance for the GAW programme in general. We would like to bring these
to the attention of the CAS and hope that they can be discussed during CAS-16 where appropriate.
1) Meteorological data: the value of the GAW data could be greatly enhanced if basic meteorological
information from the GAW stations were made easily accessible through the world data centers. These
data (at a minimum temperature, pressure, humidity, and wind speed and direction) are essential for the
interpretation of atmospheric composition data, but even more relevant if GAW data are to be used for
the evaluation of operational global pollution and air quality models (as for example in the European
Copernicus Atmosphere Service/MACC) and chemistry climate models (e.g. in the SPARC/IGAC Chemistry
Climate Modeling Initiative (CCMI). It seems obvious that the meteorological data are measured at the
GAW stations, but it is almost impossible for users at this point to get access to them, and only very few
stations do report meteorological data to the world data centers.
2) Strategic objectives of GAW: while the RG programme in GAW has been very successful in building a
global observation network for a number of key reactive gases, it must be recognized that large gaps
remain both in terms of global coverage and trace substances that would merit global observations from
their scientific importance. Firstly this concerns the need to obtain information about the vertical
structure of the atmospheric composition (beyond ozone observations which have been traditionally
included in the ozone SAG discussions). Specifically in the area of reactive gases some opportunities exist
to build stronger links to existing regional networks and research programmes. Therefore, the
integration of networks and related coordination tasks should be emphasized more strongly in the future
GAW work programme and the CAS is asked to support such activities.
3) GAW publication strategy: The success of the GAW programme could be further enhanced by
consolidating the publication and outreach strategy of GAW. There are some very successful elements
(e.g. the GHG bulletins), but overall the publication strategy appears too diverse. GAW should make an
effort to become more visible as a programme in scientific publications. Among other measures this will
require a revision and harmonisation of the GAW data policy/terms of use.
4) Inter-SAG working groups: in order to react to the grand challenges and to enhance the visibility of
the GAW programme and the use of GAW data, there is a need to better harmonize certain aspects of
measurement strategy, documentation, QA/QC procedures and database organisation across the GAW
topics. This has been quite successful with respect to world data centers (ET-WDC), but we see a need to
build stronger links among the topical SAGs by establishing and supporting inter-SAG working groups
both on thematic areas (e.g. nitrogen cycle, carbon cycle, air pollution issues, acid deposition) and on
technical aspects (harmonisation of metadata and data flagging, etc.). A suggestion would be to
formulate acknowledgements as “The data were obtained by [LAB X] under the WMO GAW
programme.” Another measure to enhance cooperation among SAGs would be the circulation of SAG
meeting minutes across all SAGs.
5) Rolling Review of Requirements: the SAG RG acknowledges the need for RRR, but given that this is a
new and emerging process which should involve different stakeholders, would like to propose that a
larger international meeting be organized to sample input on user requirements in different areas. These
could then be discussed and assessed in the workings of the SAG.
Annex 3: SAG members and tasks
Name and address
AKIMOTO, Hajime (until Oct. 2014)
Asia Center for Air Pollution Research (ACAP)
1182 Sowa Nishi-ku ,
950 2144 NIIGATA-SHI
Japan
Email: [email protected]
BOTTENHEIM, Jan
Environment Canada
4905 Dufferin Street ,
M3H 5T4 TORONTO
Canada
Email: [email protected]
BUCHMANN, Brigitte (stepping down)
EMPA
Ueberlandstrasse 129 ,
CH-8600 DUEBENDORF
Switzerland
Email: [email protected]
GALBALLY, Ian
CSIRO
3195 ASPENDALE Private Bag 1
Australia
Email: [email protected]
GILGE, Stefan
Deutscher Wetterdienst
Albin-Schwaiger-Weg 10
D-82383 HOHENPEISSENBERG
Germany
Email: [email protected]
HELMIG, Detlev
University of Colorado
1560 30th Street ,
80309 BOULDER
United States of America
Email: [email protected]
KOIDE, Hiroshi
Japan Meteorological Agency
Otemachi 1-3-4, Chiyoda-ku
TOKYO 100-8122
Responsibilities
link to EANET
surface ozone, NOx
CO, ex officio for WCC CO and WCC (surface)
ozone
surface ozone and NOx
NOx, SO2
VOCs
ex officio for WDCGG
Japan
Email: [email protected]
LEWIS, Alastair
University of York
Heslington ,
YO10 5DD YORK
United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland
Email: [email protected]
NOVELLI, Paul
NOAA/Earth System Research Laboratory
325 Broadway
80305 BOULDER
United States of America
Email: [email protected]
PENKETT, Stuart2
University of East Anglia
NR4 7TJ NORWICH
United Kingdom
Email: [email protected]
PLASS-DÜLMER, Christian
Deutscher Wetterdienst DWD
Albin Schwaiger Weg 10 ,
D-82383 HOHENPEISSENBERG
Germany
Email: [email protected]
RYERSON, Tom
NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory
325 Broadway ,
80305 BOULDER
United States of America
Email: [email protected]
SCHULTZ, Martin
Institute of Energy and Climate Research
IEK-8: Troposphere
Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH,
D-52425 JULICH P.O. Box 1913
Germany
Email: [email protected]
STEINBRECHER, Rainer
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Kreuzeckbahnstr. 19 ,
2
VOCs
CO, ex officio for CCL CO
VOCs
VOCs
aircraft data, link to modelling community
chair, link to modelling community, ET-WDC
VOCs, ex officio for WCC VOCs
During the preparations of this report, the SAG members received email from Stuart Penkett declaring his
resignation from all WMO activities.
82467 GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN
Germany
Email: [email protected]
TORSETH, Kjetil
Norwegian Institute for Air Research
2027 KJELLER P.O. Box 100
Norway
Email: [email protected];[email protected]
THOURET, Valerie (pending approval)
OBSERVATOIRE MIDI-PYRENEES
14, avenue Edouard Belin
31400 TOULOUSE
Email: [email protected]
ZELLWEGER, Christoph (pending approval)
EMPA
Überlandstrasse 129
8600 Dübendorf
Switzerland
EMail: [email protected]
link to EMEP, EBAS
link to aircraft data (IAGOS), link to modelling
community
CO [replacing B. Buchmann as ex officio member
for WCC CO and ozone]
Annex 4: Action items
Status: 15 Nov 2013
No.
Task
Responsible
Due date
Status
Progress
1
Remove H2 from list of reactive
gases
Oksana
Better
sooner
than later
2
SAG chair to provide input for
SSC implementation plan
Schultz
Dec. 2013
closed
Input delivered on Dec 20,
2013
3
Communicate with GAWTEC,
SAG recommends a program
review with report back to SAGs
Oksana,
Christian
March
2014
in
progress
Questionnaire sent to
Karin Woudsma and
answers received (see
Annex 5)
4
Explore applying for dedicated
funding to provide training in
measurement techniques at
regional training centers
Oksana
April 2014
5
Research avenues to ease
shipment of compressed gas
standards
Brigitte,
Rainer
now
closed
it is possible to ship
cylinders as diplomatic
goods, but you still need a
declaration for dangerous
goods – thus transport
companies have to be
involved
6
Develop improved data flagging
and metadata information
Martin with
WDCGG
(Hiroshi)
to be
reported
on in Oct
2014
in
progress
Discussions at ET-WDC
meeting in Tokyo (Jan
2014); Idea of harmonized
flagging scheme for users
generally supported,
scheme must be simple
and will be based on
proposal by WOUDC.
7
Harmonization of CO time
series archived at WDCGG,
correct data accordingly, and
request approval by data
submitters
Paul Novelli
8
Talk to CCQM on NO primary
standard
Rainer,
Oksana
31 Dec
2013
9
Coordination/collection of
NMHC data sets (UC Irvine et al)
Detlev
report in
Oct 2014
A lot of progress
presented by Paul and
Michelle, still need to
provide labs with
correction factors
11
Look at variables and topics for
IPET-OSDE workshop (RRR)
Ian
Feb 2014
12
Check if ozone WCC can
evaluate new Russian ozone
network of 10 stations
Brigitte
report in
Oct 2014
already
started
CLD instruments
13
Initiate Reactive Gases Bulletin
Martin
January
2014
in
progress
First structure draft sent
to SAG members on Feb
13, 2014.
14
Peer-reviewed manuscript
series, encourage targeted
manuscripts, ask for titles by
March, provide info on
Elementa as possible journal
option
Martin, Detlev
Mar 2014
15
Generate archive with
publications that build on GAW
observations
Tom, Brigitte
Feb 2014
16
Invite Valery Thouret to join
SAG as representative of
vertical profiling program,
replacement for Hajime?, South
America representative?
Oksana
Dec 2013
17
Set up doodle poll for meeting
dates in Oct 2014; negotiate
with Seoul
Oksana
end Nov
2013
18
Write 3-4 pages for glossy
25-years GAW brochure
all, lead:
Martin
start:
March
2014,
close: June
2014
19
MG for NOx
Stefan
mid 2015
20
MG for VOC
Christian,
Rainer
mid 2015
21
Check where data quality flags
can be mapped between EMEP
and 3-letter codes
Martin, Kjetil
end Dec
2013
Inform Oksana!
in
progress
A list of publications
referenced in GAWSIS was
provided by J. Klausen
closed
Next meeting will take
place in South Korea Oct
22-24, 2014.
closed
ET-WDC discussions
abandoned the idea of a
generalization of the
3-letter code approach.
(see action item 6)
Annex 5: GAWTEC review
During the time of writing of this report, Karin Woudsma was asked the questions defined by the SAG
and answered them as follows. As she will soon change jobs, there may be some adjustments required
for the continuation of the GAWTEC activities. Stefan Gilge and Christian Plass-Dülmer are looking into
this.
-
How is the success of GAWTEC measured, and how could measures be improved?
Generally it is not easy to measure the success of the GAWTEC courses.
When there is an audit made by the WCC it can be noticed whether the former participants are
inter-acting like they have been trained. This feedback is provided from the WCC to GAWTEC
coordinator.
Sometimes the GAWTEC coordinator gets a direct request and / or feedback afterwards from a
former trainee that the training was really helpful and he uses the learned stuff a lot.
Additionally it happened that a former trainee send a mail (2 years after the GAWTEC course) to
all trainees of his course, telling that he is working on data (in this case SF6) and doing a
comparison of the data. So he needs all the data from whichever station he could get the data. 2
days later all the trainees had answered where the data from their station are to be found or they
sent the data directly to him.
At the moment there is no idea how the measures could be improved.
- How are the decision on GAWTEC course topics and participant selection made and
are they adequate?
GAWTEC topics:
- Input from SAG members,
- Input from lecturers about projects they support (as an example: CATCOS, supported by
MeteoSwiss) the new hired persons for that project
- Input from twinning partner
- Time line: which course topic was not taught recently?
- Applications which are not fitting for the upcoming course (as an example: on an aerosol course
a lot people applied who are actually working with PC – or the other way round)
Participant selection:
A list with all applications is put together and (at the end of the application time) send to all
lecturers and WMO (Oksana). The first selection is done by the GAWTEC coordinator on base of
the application – work topic of the applicant, profession, experience. This info also is provided to
the lecturers and WMO (Oksana).
The feedback from WMO, lecturers and twinning partners is used to make the final decision
together with WMO (a topic which is getting more and more important is the expected travel
expenses; whom to invite). The GAWTEC coordinator always asks people from more “rich”
countries / stations, whether they can take over the travel costs themselves.
In my opinion this topic and participants selection is ok.
- How many participants are after several years (5 years) still at their station?
This is difficult to say. I´m sending out informations to former participants up to 3 years after the
course. For the person not working there any more, my only indicator is a not working email
address. But this can have other reasons, too. Like change of the name due to marriage...
But in the other way the GAWTEC training courses has high reputation in the countries and
stations. So just recently (start of January 2014) I received an email from a former participant
(GAWTEC 18; Edison Kurniawan; Indonesia) that now he is the station manager from Bukit. The
former station manager Mr. Herizal got a new position in Jakarta.
- Would a second questionnaire a year after the course help to evaluate the success?
Yes, this would be a help. But of course the former participants have to fill it out honestly.
- Could station audits be used to check the success and how?
That´s for sure. The auditor is there at the station and can investigate the progress of the station
and the employees directly.
- Would an external review of the success of GAWTEC be helpful?
What type of an external review are you thinking of? Which person, institution and how to do
that?
- How are course demands from programmes or projects (in a timely way) considered?
If I get the information of requests from programmes and / or projects this definitely has a big
influence in the selection of the topics for the next course. (See also above: CATCOS)
- What is your vision to improve GAWTEC, should there be more regional training
activities, and how this could be achieved?
From a learning point of view regional training activities can be a benefit in terms of shorter travel
time and travel costs. However, one effect of GAWTEC will be missing: The intercultural,
international communication between the different persons, backgrounds, stations and work
philosophy. In my opinion it always really helpful for the participants to see that nobody is working
on his “small island”. Other participants are fighting the same problems in a completely different
environment. With more or less each course one longer lasting friendship develops. This also
helps to communicate in the group even after the course. Sometimes I´m receiving emails which
are sent to all GAWTEC members from that course, telling news of work and private happenings.
See also further up to my comment about the participant asking for SF6 data.
Another comment: Meanwhile the number of applications is 30 - 40 for each course. 10-15 are
working on a different topic than the course (this is also used as a hint for the choosing the topic
for the next course; as I have written before). 5-10 have been trained before, sometimes they are
applying for the same course topic as the course topic they have joined before.
So you have 15-20 applicants who would make sense.
If you set up regional centres (regional centres to each topic of the GAW?) it would to be seen
whether you have enough good applicants for the GAWTEC course. This should to be
investigated.