Global Atmosphere Watch

Global Atmosphere Watch
Global Atmosphere Watch Program · CC BY 4.0 · source
Name	Global Atmosphere Watch
Abbreviation	GAW
Formation	1968
Leader title	Coordinating Body
Parent organization	World Meteorological Organization

Contents

Overview

The programme operates atmospheric monitoring networks that include surface stations, ship cruises, aircraft campaigns, and satellite validation sites coordinated among agencies such as European Space Agency, National Centre for Atmospheric Research, Environment and Climate Change Canada, CSIRO, and research institutes like Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory. It measures greenhouse gases, aerosols, ozone, reactive gases and solar radiation to support assessments by bodies like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Environment Programme, and treaties such as the Montreal Protocol and Paris Agreement.

GAW traces origins to early atmospheric chemistry programmes and observatories including the Mauna Loa Observatory, the Global Ozone Observing System, and initiatives by the International Geophysical Year and the World Meteorological Organization in the 1960s and 1970s, paralleling work by scientists like Charles David Keeling and institutions such as Scripps Institution of Oceanography and NOAA. Expansion occurred during collaborations with laboratories including the Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium Davos, the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, and the Finnish Meteorological Institute, and through integration with satellite missions from NASA, ESA, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Key milestones include establishment of baseline networks, development of quality assurance protocols with the International Organization for Standardization, and contribution to assessments by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the World Meteorological Congress, and the United Nations Environment Programme.

GAW’s objectives align with international scientific and policy processes led by bodies like the World Meteorological Organization, the United Nations Environment Programme, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and the World Health Organization: to provide reliable observations for treaties and assessments such as the Montreal Protocol and the Paris Agreement, and to support national agencies including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Australian Bureau of Meteorology, and Japan Meteorological Agency. The scope encompasses measurement of greenhouse gases, reactive trace gases, stratospheric and tropospheric ozone, aerosols, and solar radiation to inform research at centres such as the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, and Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.

Networks coordinated under the programme include global greenhouse gas networks that cooperate with NOAA ESRL, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and the World Data Centre for Greenhouse Gases, aerosol networks linked to the Aerosol Robotic Network and the European Aerosol Research Lidar Network, ozone-sonde networks with contributions from NASA, EUMETSAT, and national services like Météo-France, and radiation networks involving Basel Observatory and Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium Davos. Instruments range from in situ gas chromatography analyzers used by NOAA, multi-wavelength sun photometers used by AERONET, lidar systems used by EARLINET, to satellite instruments on missions such as Aura (satellite), Sentinel-5P, and OCO-2 that are used for validation and calibration at GAW stations.

GAW supports data management systems interoperable with repositories like the World Data Centre for Climate, Global Climate Observing System, Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, and the World Data System, providing datasets used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the United Nations Environment Programme, the Global Environment Facility, and academia including Imperial College London and ETH Zurich. Products include long-term time series of CO2 from networks contributing to Keeling Curve analyses, aerosol optical depth records feeding AERONET and CAMNet, ozone profile archives supporting Montreal Protocol evaluations, and datasets for model evaluation used by centres like ECMWF, Hadley Centre, and the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology.

Governance involves the World Meteorological Organization in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme, national meteorological and hydrological services such as the Met Office and Deutscher Wetterdienst, research organizations including NOAA, CSIRO, and CNRS, and funding/support from bodies like the European Commission, World Bank, and Global Environment Facility. Scientific oversight is provided by expert panels drawing experts from institutions such as Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, National Center for Atmospheric Research, and the Max Planck Society.

GAW has enabled critical scientific findings and policy-relevant products underpinning reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the World Health Organization, informed implementation of the Montreal Protocol and supported negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and Stockholm Convention through datasets used by agencies like NASA, ESA, ECMWF, and national research centres such as NIWA and Institut Pierre-Simon Laplace. Its networks have produced foundational records used in landmark studies by scientists associated with Scripps Institution of Oceanography, NOAA ESRL, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and contributed to international capacity building with programmes involving UNEP, WMO, World Bank, and regional bodies such as ASEAN and African Union.