Water: Targets

The 10-Year Implementation Plan sets out the following two-, six- and ten-year targets for guiding the water-related work on GEOSS:

2-Year Target

• Facilitate, with countries, WMO and UNESCO, improvements in existing in situ observation systems through coordination and optimization of existing in situ networks at global, regional and national level.
• Produce a plan for a network of sophisticated, integrated in situ observation sites, to support process studies and algorithm and model development.
• Facilitate international data sharing and exchange agreements for water data with countries, WMO, and UNESCO, and monitor and routinely report compliance with the policy.
• Produce an implementation plan for a broad global water cycle data integration system that combines in situ and satellite and numerical model outputs and disseminates usable information for decision-making.
• Facilitate, with space agencies and research communities, more accurate, frequent (3-hourly), global, high spatial resolution, and microphysically detailed measurements of precipitation through a global constellation of satellites carrying passive microwave radiometers in complementary orbits.
• Advocate that IGOS-P should take the lead in development of integrated precipitation and soil moisture products and new products including indicators.
• Facilitate, with space agencies and research communities, studies to evaluate the contribution of space-based observations to the determination of surface water quality and mapping of critical aquatic habitats.
• Produce an evaluation of the resolution and accuracy requirements for applying satellite altimetry to the measurement of streamflow and surface water storage.
• Facilitate establishment of an international coordination function for in situ water cycle observation and data integration and dissemination.
• Produce a framework for developing ensemble-based hydrological predictions and improve the ability of users to exploit the information.
• Advocate and globalize ongoing activities that promote the use of Earth observation for both monitoring the state of, and improving implementation of, water resources management in developing countries, particularly in concert with the activities pursued by the CEOS WSSD Follow-up Programme.
• Organise workshops and special studies for documenting the cultural barriers to technology transfer and procedures in order to identify and avoid these obstacles.
• Advocate eliminating barriers to the free and open exchange of data and software to enable full access by water managers in developing countries.

6-Year Target

• Produce an experiment using the global network of sophistically and temporally integrated in situ observation sites for water cycle observations.
• Produce integrated water cycle data sets (including predictions) on a continental scale, such as the Asian monsoon region or any large river watershed.
• Produce an evaluation of the data and product requirements for use in applications to water-related health issues with a view to developing a specialized observing system in support of health.
• Produce a plan for monitoring drinking water quality, along with efforts to extend water and sanitation services, especially in developing countries.
• Facilitate, with space agencies and research communities, the development of effective sensors and missions for precipitation (GPM), surface and subsurface water stores – including snow water equivalence, water stored in natural and manmade reservoirs, and groundwater.
• Facilitate, with numerical weather prediction agencies, space agencies and international research programmes, the reanalysis of products for use in determining trends in water cycle variables.
• Produce a plan for capacity building to support water management, including hardware and software for receiving and processing satellite and appropriate in situ data, and training modules for the developing countries.

10-Year Target

• Produce a characterization of the long-term water cycle budget based on a hierarchy of spatial and temporal scales.
• Facilitate, with countries and research communities, operationalization of the global network of sophisticated and temporally integrated in situ observation sites.
• Produce operational, fully integrated data systems by evaluating and improving prototype systems.
• Facilitate provision of data and information, including quantity and quality for both surface and groundwater, to a prototype water cycle expert decision support system.
• Facilitate improved simulation and prediction capabilities for precipitation, water cycling and water cycle acceleration in weather and climate models.
• Produce a system for monitoring changes in the water cycle, including clouds and precipitation, by using the integrated data system.
• Produce integrated information for documentation and understanding of the relationship between known climate indices, particularly ENSO, AO, PDO and MJO, and flood and drought frequency and precipitation type and intensity.
• Produce appropriate indicators of “watershed health” routinely from satellite data, surface and subsurface data, and data assimilation capabilities.
• Facilitate development of plans for more effective transfer into operations of technologies that have been proven in the research environment.
• Facilitate the development of a plan for building the technological capacity of developing countries based on both operational and experimental satellites, and advanced data assimilation capabilities.