In order to take advantage of the Sentinel program, the Norwegian Space Agency decided to establish a national collaborative ground segment for satellite data with the purpose of simplifying data access, ensure support for operational national services and long term preservation of data. This is the NBS where MET Norway has the technical responsibility in terms of providing the infrastructure and storage capacity for data management. Serving the data through two separate platforms, the end users have access to the data in its original format in addition to Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 products in NetCDF-4/CF. Using the latter format, services like regridding, subsetting, visualization and aggregation are integrated utilizing OPeNDAP in combination with OGC WMS and OGC WPS. In addition, data uploading and retrieving operations are simplified for an end user since streaming of data by means of OPeNDAP is supported in multiple programming languages. Due to the strong coupling between space based earth observations, in-situ observation, model data etc, disseminating data in a generic data management system utilizing NetCDF-4/CF and OPeNDAP is convenient for seamless integration across branches. However, the current CF version is not mature for handling all parts of the Sentinel data but future development looks very promising.

Introduction — s1 Chapter 1: Essential Variables — s4 1.1 Ocean temperature and salinity Sandrine Mulet, Bruno Buongiorno Nardelli, Simon Good, Andrea Pisano, Eric Greiner, Maeva Monier, Emmanuel...

The Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS) ocean state-of-the-art ocean reporting for the global ocean and European seas is part of the production center service elements in order to establish a unique reference of value-added expert information at a regular frequency. This is achieved through two principal activities: 1. Annual release of the peer-reviewed CMEMS Ocean State Report containing a state-of-the-art value-added synthesis of the ocean state, variability and change from the past to present 2. Ocean Monitoring Indicators and related operational framework on the CMEMS web portal. In particular, CMEMS has developed several indicators based on global or regional ocean reanalyses. For a series of indicators, consistency estimates are available, based on a multiproduct approach inherited from CLIVAR/GODAEIV-TT ORA IP. This activity is aiming to reach a wide audience from the scientific community, over climate and environmental service and agencies, environmental reporting bodies, decision maker to the general public. Currently, the ocean state report activity is in its 5th cycle, and a huge number of indicators have been made freely available via the CMEMS web portal, including numerical data, scientific and quality context and product documentation. We will give here an overview on the CMEMS ocean reporting activity, highlight main outcomes, and introduce future plans and developments.

This paper describes use of Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) C-band scatterometer data for determination of the sea ice edge. The variation in backscatter with measurement geometry is different for the sea ice surface compared to the open water surface. Utilizing the ASCAT antenna configuration with three different look angles for the same surface spot, a new ASCAT sea ice parameter has been defined. One year of ASCAT measurements has been collocated with background sea ice information to derive probability distributions for the ASCAT sea ice parameter given the known ice condition. The result can be used in an inverse methodology, a Bayesian approach, to calculate the probability of sea ice from the ASCAT measurements. The method has been tested for a full year and validated against high-resolution satellite images and ice charts from an operational Ice Service. It reveals a realistic ice edge result, however, with weather-induced noise problems in terms of “false sea ice.” For automatic ice edge detection, ancillary information is needed to remove this noise. The paper shows how the method also can be used for ice edge detection with passive microwave data from SSM/I, and how it can be extended to utilize ASCAT together with SSM/I in a multisensor approach.

Assimilation systems synthesize diverse in-situ and satellite data streams into full four-dimensional state estimates by combining the strengths of each data set and also of the model. The resulting analysis provides an integrated view of the information in the various observations as well as derived estimates of unobserved quantities. Assimilation systems are particularly important for the ocean where subsurface observations, even today, are sparse and intermittent compared with the scales needed to represent ocean variability and where satellites only sense the surface. Increasingly, models and assimilation systems are being used to provide information about the current observing system and to help in the design plans for new observations. Whether it is as a user of observations or a contributor to evaluation of the observing system, ocean synthesis and assimilation systems are now an integral part of the global ocean observing and information system. Major advances have been made over the last decade under the auspices of WCRP's Climate Variability and Predictability Project (CLIVAR) and the Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment (GODAE). In addition to advances in the assimilation systems, there have been major developments in the observing system, with satellite altimetry, the tropical moored buoy arrays in the Pacific and Atlantic, and more recently Argo. These developments have led to significant advances in our understanding and prediction of ocean variations at both mesoscale and climate scales. Many challenges remain. Some of these challenges lie in the observations themselves, some in the assimilation systems that, even in the more recent era of unprecedented observations from satellite altimetry and Argo, provide different views of climate variations. Yet there are many examples of successful applications from ocean assimilation products. Use of these systems for assessing the observing system helps identify the strengths of each observation type, and indicates that none of the current observations is redundant. Indeed, the indication is that the ocean remains under-sampled and that further improvements in the observing system are needed for both climate monitoring and prediction. Future developments will be increasingly towards consistent analyses across components of the Earth system using, e.g., coupled atmosphere-ocean models.

Satellites view the world oceans in days to weeks, and can repeat such measurements for many years.Among the Essential Climate Variables (ECVs), those that can be measured from space are sea surface temperature, height, vector winds, colour, sea state and sea ice.In addition, there are emerging ECVs: ocean mass and sea surface salinity.Our Recommendations can be summarized as follows: measurement.Improve the time-averaged geoid using GOCE, aided by GRACE, CHAMP, and historical laser-tracked geodetic satellites.The previous decade saw these ECVs be used primarily on their own.We fully expect interdisciplinary use of two or more ECVs to become the norm in the next decade.

This paper reviews the current state of observation, parameterization and evaluation of surface air-sea energy and gas fluxes, and sea ice, for the purposes of monitoring and predicting the state of the global ocean.The last 10 years have been marked by the development of more accurate parameterizations of turbulent fluxes, in particular COARE-3 (Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Response Experiment).A seamless approach to surface flux observing systems is also being developed ranging from highly accurate observations on buoys and research ship campaigns to the longstanding Voluntary Observing Ship (VOS) scheme.In addition to flux products based on in situ data, satellite measurements and numerical weather prediction, several hybrid products have been developed which combine data from these different sources.Satellite monitoring of sea ice has been extended to more accurate and higher resolution estimation of ice extent and quantification of ice thickness.Global air-sea CO 2 flux products are now based on significantly better-sampled datasets reducing the uncertainty in the ocean carbon budget.Despite these advances, considerable gaps remain in our understanding of air-sea fluxes, for example, at both high and low wind speeds, for gas and aerosol exchange and in marginal ice zones.Furthermore, there are serious concerns about the recent decline in the number of VOS observations.Closure of global and regional energy balances still cannot be achieved without adjustments to the flux fields and/or the underlying surface meteorological variables.The impact of sampling on interannual variability of fluxes makes estimates of climate tendencies in air-sea exchanges highly uncertain.In order to meet these challenges we formulate a future vision of a surface flux observing system, which provides a synergy of in situ measurements (buoys, research vessels and merchant ships), remote sensing and models.

The vision of the CryoClim initiative is to develop new operational services for long-term systematic climate monitoring of the cryosphere. The project develops services for sea ice and snow products of global coverage and glacier products covering Norway (mainland and Svalbard). The envisioned system will be provided as a web service based on state-of-the-art principles for spatial data. The system and services is designed to be integrated with the international system of systems for global monitoring (GEOSS) – the part of the system aimed for climate monitoring. At this stage the project has developed the first (incomplete) version of the web service, completed the sub-service for sea ice, developed the passive microwave component of the snow sub-service, made the first full glacier product coverage for mainland Norway based on optical data and validate SAR-based algorithms for glacier monitoring in Svalbard. The upcoming two project phases will complete the sub-services, produce the full time series of cryospheric products and establish fully operational production to regularly update the product sets. The web service will be completed with an operational backend system and a web service with a portal and machine-readable interfaces.

The first version of the EUMETSAT OSI SAF sea ice concentration re-processing dataset, delivered March 2010, covers the 1978-2007 period. It takes advantage of the full record of space-borne passive microwave instruments, using first SMMR data from 1978 to 1987 and SSM/I data until 2007. As part of its operational services, the OSI SAF delivers daily ice concentration maps, but with a differently tuned algorithm that is not designed for ensuring temporal consitency and continuity with the 1978-2007 time series. In this report, we describe research conducted to correct the time series of operational products (from 2008 onwards) so that they can temporarily be used to continue the re-processed dataset. It allows for continuously updating climate indicators and trends of monthly Arctic sea ice extent, until a second version of the OSI SAF sea ice concentration re-processing dataset is made available that covers this period.

Data assembly and processing centers are essential elements of the operational oceanography infrastructure. They provide data and products needed by modeling and data assimilation systems; they also provide products directly usable for applications. This paper discusses the role and functions of the data centers for operational oceanography. It describes some of the main data assembly centers (Argo and in situ data, altimetry, sea surface temperature) developed during the Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment. An overview of other data centers (wind and fluxes, ocean color, sea ice) is also given. Much progress has been achieved over the past 10 years to validate, intercalibrate, and merge altimeter data from multiple satellites. Accuracy and timeliness of products have been improved, and new products have been developed. The same is true for sea surface temperature data through the Global High-Resolution Sea Surface Temperature Pilot Project. A breakthrough in processing, quality control, and assembly for in situ data has also been achieved through the development of the real-time and delayed-mode Argo data system. In situ and remote-sensing data are now systematically and jointly used to calibrate, validate, and monitor over the long term the quality and consistency of the global ocean observing system. Main results are illustrated. There is also a review of the development and use of products that merge in situ and remote-sensing data. Future issues and main prospects are discussed in the conclusion.

QuikScat winds are validated against observations from Weather Station M, platforms and buoys on the Norwegian shelf and against synoptic stations on Hopen and Bjornoya. The QuikScat winds compare very well to offshore observations with correlations of 0.89-0.93. Significantly poorer correlation with the two land based stations can be explained by topographic effects, distance between the compared locations and possible ice contaminations during some periods. The high quality of scatterometer winds and the spatial coverage makes these data very well suited for validation of e.g. surface wind from atmosphere models.

The paper gives an overview of the sea ice product portfolio and their status in the OSI SAF. The ice edge, concentration and type products are shortly described. Emphasize are put on the distribution of the products and evaluation of their quality. Test products that also are daily available, ice type from QuikScat and ice concentration from AMSR, are briefly presented. Further the paper present three ongoing development activities on sea ice in the OSI SAF: use of ASCAT for ice edge and ice type, new ice drift products and reprocessing of sea ice products.