About the event

Workshop Program

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Workshop Overview

Participation

The workshop is open to experts and stakeholders active in the fields of climate science, observations, modelling, GHG mitigation and measurement and measurement science willing to contribute to the development of recommendations on key technical challenge areas for metrology in these fields.

Workshop Aims

The aims of the workshop are to:

• Present progress and identify requirements for further development of advanced measurements, standards, reference data, comparisons, calibration supporting the physical science basis for and adaptation to climate change, and
• Identify stakeholders’ metrology needs, assess current metrological techniques, analyses, and modeling capabilities, and identify gaps in quantifying greenhouse gas emissions and uptake for effective actions on mitigating climate change and its impacts.

The output of the workshop will be a set of recommendations on key technical challenge areas for metrology over the next decade.

This workshop follows on from two previous events, one in 2010 on Measurement Challenges for Global Observation Systems for Climate Change Monitoring and the second in 2015 on Global to Urban Scale Carbon Measurements.

Themes for the Workshop

The workshop will focus on where metrology and metrological and allied approaches can provide input and benefits to the observation of, and societal responses to, climate change. It will also identify and provide recommendations on opportunities for new or expanded metrology activities to facilitate globally recognised greenhouse gas emission quantification data and support development and harmonization of methods improving sensitivity and accuracy of a coordinated system of greenhouse gas emission data supporting inventory reports.

The workshop is organized along two major themes, covering multiple topics within each. A description of each theme and the list of topics to be covered within themes is given below.

Theme 1: Metrology in support of the physical science basis of climate change and climate observations

The theme will cover metrology in support of scientific understanding of the physical science basis of our planet’s past, present and future climate. It includes the metrology associated with measurements and monitoring of the climate system from both in situ and remote measurement techniques (including ground-based, airborne and satellite remote sensing) together with metrological techniques to propagate uncertainties from the measurements through to products derived through modelling and to reanalyses and other Earth system models.

The theme will encompass activities that focus on understanding the climate system and consequentially this will include multi-decadal observations to observe climate trends usually for global scale phenomena and with increasing interest in regional information.

The topics covered within the theme are listed in the table below.

Theme 1: Metrology in support of the physical science basis of climate change and climate observations
Topic	Items that could be covered within the topic include
1. Atmospheric chemistry and physics	Background and large-scale trend observations of stratospheric and tropospheric greenhouse gases, including ground and space-based total column observations and atmospheric composition products Metrological characterisation of spectral parameters for chemical compounds (absorption cross-section, spectral line, solar spectral irradiance) Surface and upper-air observations of temperature, pressure and humidity / water vapour, from reference networks and operational networks. Reanalyses and the assimilation of atmospheric data and the utility of measurement and modelling uncertainties in reanalyses Traceability of measurements in developing economies and for low-cost sensor networks. Paleoclimatological studies of atmospheric composition and historical and pre-historical temperature records
2. Oceans and hydrology	Ocean physics: measured in situ (e.g., temperature, surface and subsurface ocean currents) and remotely (e.g., sea surface temperature, sea level, colour, and sea state) Ocean chemistry: pH, dissolved inorganic carbon, total alkalinity, partial pressure of carbon dioxide, salinity, nutrients, oxygen, and isotopes Ocean and/or hydrological modelling and reanalysis Hydrology: water quantity variables measured in inland waters (remote/space and in situ) such as flow, water elevations, channel bathymetry, flooded extent and other similar water quantity variables Hydrology: water quality/chemistry variables in inland waters such as temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity, nutrients, etc.
3. Earth Energy Balance	SI-traceable measurements of incoming (solar) and outgoing (Earth) radiation Earth albedo estimates and variability Cloud cover and cloud radiative forcing estimates Energy balance estimates and uncertainties Global and regional ocean temperature, circulation, and sea-level measurements Ice-mass measurements and loss rates Heat-flux and evaporation measurements and models Models, measurements, and requirements to improve Earth energy budget and imbalance estimates
4. Biosphere monitoring	Forest biomass and properties (FAPAR, LAI, above ground biomass, soil carbon) Fire monitoring and observation Land surface temperature and albedo Land cover classification Ocean colour and phytoplankton
5. Cryosphere Monitoring	In situ and satellite of the marine cryosphere (area, thickness, snow cover, motion, temperature, albedo, age) In situ and satellite observations of polar ice sheets and glaciers, high mountains and the third pole (extent, thickness, mass balance, motion, temperature, albedo) In situ and satellite observations of snow cover (area, thickness, precipitation, albedo, duration) Observations of permafrost (area, thickness, temperature, active layer depth)

Theme 2: Metrology as an integral component of operational systems to estimate greenhouse gas emissions based on accurate measurements and analyses.

The theme will cover metrology in support of the monitoring and mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions and natural sinks. It includes the targeting, quantifying and tracking trends of emissions across local, regional, continental and global scales and the measurements that can improve national and subnational emission information and inventories.

The theme will encompass activities that focus on measurement data and tools for mitigating anthropogenic forcing and attributing emissions across a range of geographic scales (e.g. sub-urban scales to national scales) and measurements required to monitor land-use, land-use change and forest (LULUCF) fluxes and urban fluxes.

The topics covered within the theme are listed in the table below.

Theme 2: Metrology as an integral component of operational systems to estimate greenhouse gas emissions based on accurate measurements and analyses
Topic	Items that could be covered within the topic include
1. Accuracy requirements for atmospheric composition measurements across economic sectors, and temporal and spatial scales	Stakeholder requirements for accurate observations, input data and modelling tools The fundamental basis for accurate atmospheric composition observations of the greenhouse gases and co-emitted gases standards and transfer of scales and the uncertainties therein reports of recent related meetings, e.g., GGMT Uncertainty propagation in Input data and modelling tools Impact on results and on their certification
2. State of play in integrated approaches for advanced GHG emission estimates and the way forward to operational services	Integrated emissions modelling and atmospheric observations at national, sub-national and industrial scales (e.g., inverse model analyses) Assessment of current capabilities and uncertainties, identification of gaps Analysis benefits & costs Application to National Inventory Reporting Applications to Land Use, Land Use Change, and Forestry (LULUCF) Applications for Urban GHG Monitoring Observations to improve accuracy of emission factors and activity data Uncertainty propagation in methods for individual mitigation sectors Effects on uncertainty of differing temporal and spatial scales – atmospheric and emissions modelling methods Paths toward elements for certification of results
3. Novel GHG concentration and flux methods and sensors	Surface, airborne, and space-based air composition methods Advances in and quality control of direct flux observations and linkages to larger spatial scales
4. Strengthening the linkage of remote sensing GHG concentration measurements to emission fluxes	Use of surface and airborne data in validating space-based path integrated concentrations Atmospheric quantification of GHG emissions methods from urban to global scales Challenges in using satellite path integrated GHG concentrations for emission and uptake flux determinations Opportunities of using data from low Earth and geosynchronous orbit instruments for emission flux determinations.