Low-frequency MW imagery Soil moisture, salinity, sea surface wind, sea-ice thickness, snow cover extent and SWE (1.4 to 37 GHz) MW cross-track upper stratospheric and mesospheric sounders Atmospheric temperature profiles in stratosphere and mesosphere UV/VIS/NIR sounders, and limb Atmospheric composition and aerosol Precipitation radars and cloud radars Precipitation (liquid and solid), cloud phase, cloud top height, cloud particle distribution and amount and profiles, aerosol, dust, volcanic ash MW sounder and imagery in inclined orbits Total column water vapour; precipitation; sea surface wind speed [and direction]; cloud liquid water; sea/land surface temperature; soil moisture Absolutely calibrated broadband radiometers, and TSI and SSI radiometers Broadband radiative flux; radiation budget; total solar irradiance; spectral solar irradiance GNSS radio occultation (basic constellation) Atmospheric temperature and humidity; ionospheric electron density; ice sheet altimetry) Narrow-band or hyperspectral imagers Ocean colour; vegetation (including burnt areas); aerosols; cloud properties; albedo High-resolution VIS/IR imagers Land use, vegetation; flood, landslide monitoring; ice-floe distribution; sea-ice extent/concentration, snow cover extent and properties; permafrost SAR imagery and altimeters Sea state, sea surface height, sea ice motion, seas-ice classification, ice-floe geometry, ice sheets, soil moisture, floods, permafrost Gravimetry missions Ground water, oceanography, ice and snow mass Other missions Solar wind in situ plasma and energetic particles, magnetic field, at L1 Energetic particle flux and energy spectrum (Radiation storms, geomagnetic storms ) Solar coronagraph and radio-spectrograph, at L1 imagery (detection of coronal mass ejections and solar activity monitoring) In-situ plasma probes and energetic particle spectrometers at GEO and LEO, and magnetic field at GEO Energetic particle flux and energy spectrum (Radiation storms, geomagnetic storms) Magnetometers on GEO orbit Geomagnetic field at GEO altitude (geomagnetic storms) On-orbit measurement reference standards for VIS/NIR, IR, MW absolute calibration Table 2: Tier 2: Backbone system with open orbit configuration and flexibility to optimize the implementation Instruments: Geophysical variables and phenomena:
other applications in selected areas. Common formats and lightning observation archives will be developed. Weather radars Precipitation (hydrometeor size distribution, phase, type), wind, humidity (from refractivity), sand and dust storm variables, some biological variables (e.g. bird densities) There will be expansion of Doppler and polarimetric weather radars to developing nations, including training on processing and interpretation, and capacity development to handle the extremely large amounts of data. Emerging technologies will gain widespread use: electronically-scanning (phased-array) adaptive radars will acquire data in unconventional ways, necessitating adaptation by data exchange and processing infrastructure. A weather data exchange framework will serve all users and achieve homogeneous data formats for international exchange. Automated Shipboard Aerological Platform (ASAP) observations Wind, temperature, humidity, pressure Commercial ships will be designed to facilitate the making of metocean observations, including installation and use of ASAP systems. Near-surface observations over land Surface weather and climate observations Surface pressure, temperature, land surface temperature, humidity, wind; visibility; clouds; precipitation; precipitation type, surface radiation variables; soil temperature; soil moisture; snow depth, snowfall, snow density Tiered networks will be established: climate reference networks, baseline networks (including RBON), and comprehensive networks including non-NMHS and volunteer observing networks/national mesonets. observations will be collected and disseminated and integrated with NMHS and other observations. Automated Climate Reference Network stations (temperature and precipitation) will be deployed in all WMO Regions to improve
stratigraphy, river ice jams and dams, river icing (aufeis), maximum level quality data (temperature, sediment load, algae, etc.) and river discharge gauging stations will be installed Crowd sourcing of information on flooding and river drying via the development of public observing networks and social media (including impact reporting) Ground water borehole observations Ground water level Ground water monitoring networks will be established at national level, and the data will be exchanged internationally Crowd sourcing of information on water levels in wells and wells drying will be acquired and incorporated by water management agencies Near-surface observations over ocean Ground-based observing stations at sea (ocean, island, coastal and fixed platform/station locations) and Coastal Stations, including ice radar Surface pressure, temperature, humidity, wind, visibility, amount, type and base-height, precipitation, temperature, directional and 2D wave spectra, sea ice, surface radiation variables, surface currents Ice thickness, ice type, and topography, ice motion Higher data rate and cheaper satellite data telecommunication will be established for remote automated stations. More coastal HF radars will be used, with better standardization of the instruments, and sharing of the data internationally. Arctic: Potential for coastal stations near fast ice and drifting sea ice Antarctic: Antarctic Fast Ice Network sites as a potential due to an already established infrastructure. Ship observations Surface pressure, temperature, humidity, wind, visibility, cloud amount, type and base-height, precipitation, weather, sea surface temperature, wave direction, period and height, salinity, currents, bathymetry, CO2 concentration, Commercial will be designed and equipped to facilitate the making of metocean observations. There will be increased use of X-Band radars for wave observations and sea-ice ridges. More systematic radiometer measurements will be made from ships for satellite validation. More systematic use will be made of
Ice tethered platform observations Temperature, salinity, current, fast-ice observations Higher data rates will be supported, with reduced cost of transmission. profiles will extend deeper (6000 m). There will be more measurements. ice-moored AFIN (Antarctic Fast-Ice Network) sensor suite Instrumented marine animals Temperature, salinity, sea There will be more systematic use of instrumented marine animals (sea mammals, some fish species being tracked, turtles). Cryospheric observations : ice sheets glaciers, permafrost Ice sheets: surface accumulation and ablation, ice sheets thickness, ice velocity, Ice/firn temperature profile, snow cover, snow profile Glaciers: mass balance (accumulation, ablation), Equilibrium Line Altitude, Glacier thickness, Ice flow velocity, calving flux, Glacier discharge, Snow/firn/ice temperature profile, Surface albedo Snow over glaciers (stratification, chemistry, and isotope content). Permafrost: ground temperature, active layer thickness, rock glacier creep velocity, rock glacier discharge, rock glacier spring temperature, seasonal frost heath/subsidence, surface elevation change, ground ice volume, coastal retreat, soil moisture Combining snow radar coverage with new, highly accurate digital elevation models of glacier surfaces (from airborne Lidar or satellite platforms) More systematic glacier and permafrost monitoring will be established as partnership between research and operational agencies, at national and regional level, and the data will be standardized and exchanged internationally Long term sustainability of research stations is required, to facilitate the availability of climatological records. Space weather observations
Solar optical observations White light, H-alpha and calcium K images. Sunspots, flares, filaments, prominences, coronal holes New telescopes will be able to resolve more spatial details. Higher observing frequency will provide better time resolution of dynamic behaviour of solar structures. International dissemination of similar observations will provide 24-hour solar watch capabilities. Solar radio observations – spectrograph and discrete frequencies Coronal mass ejections, radio fadeouts, solar activity (10.7 cm flux) New telescopes will be able to resolve more spatial details. Higher observing frequency will provide better time resolution of dynamic behaviour of structures. International dissemination of similar observations will provide 24-hour watch capabilities. Ionospheric observations - ionosonde Measurements of the of the ionospheres ability to reflect high frequency radio waves at various frequencies and heights. There will be improved time resolution. There will be automation of ionogram analysis. There will be an expansion of ionosonde network. Ionospheric observations - riometer Measures the "opacity" of the ionosphere to radio noise. Absorption events. There will be an expansion of riometer networks. Ionospheric observations - GNSS Total electron content of ionosphere, ionospheric gradients, ionospheric scintillation. There will be improved spatial resolution through extensive expansion of the network of GNSS receivers. will be improved time resolution. Geomagnetic observations Measurements of Earth's magnetic field and geomagnetic disturbances. There will be improved spatial resolution through extensive expansion of the network of magnetometers. There will be improved time resolution Improved real-time data retrieval Cosmic ray observations Radiation measurements Neutron and muon monitors New SW services There will be improved real-time data quality