Global Energy and Water Exchanges Project

Global Energy and Water Exchanges Project
Name	Global Energy and Water Exchanges Project
Abbreviation	GEWEX
Established	1990
Parent organization	World Climate Research Programme
Headquarters	Unknown
Website	None

Global Energy and Water Exchanges Project The Global Energy and Water Exchanges Project is a major international research initiative within the World Climate Research Programme founded to study the Earth's energy and water cycles. It connects observational networks, modeling centers, and policy institutions to improve understanding of climate change impacts on hydrology, radiative fluxes, and land–atmosphere interactions. The project has informed assessments by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, influenced programs at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and collaborated with agencies such as the European Space Agency and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Overview

The project integrates expertise from climate science communities including researchers associated with Max Planck Society, National Center for Atmospheric Research, CSIRO, Met Office Hadley Centre, and Institut Pierre-Simon Laplace. It operates across observational networks such as Global Precipitation Measurement and Argo (oceanography), and aligns with satellite missions like TOPEX/Poseidon, Landsat, MODIS, and GRACE. Partners include academic institutions like Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Oxford, Peking University, University of Tokyo, and Indian Institute of Technology. The project interacts with international programs such as GEOSS, Group on Earth Observations, World Meteorological Organization, and United Nations Environment Programme.

Objectives and Scope

Core objectives include quantifying water and energy fluxes across continental and oceanic domains for use by stakeholders such as World Health Organization and Food and Agriculture Organization. The scope spans regional projects in basins monitored by agencies like US Geological Survey, China Meteorological Administration, Brazilian National Institute for Space Research, and South African Weather Service. It supports climate assessments by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change authors, informs modeling centers including European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, and contributes to programs such as Climate Research Programme and International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme.

Methodology and Data Sources

Methodology combines in situ measurements from networks like Global Climate Observing System, FluxNet, International Soil Moisture Network, and Hydrometeorological Observatories with remote sensing from NOAA-20, Sentinel satellites, SMAP, and Aqua (satellite). It uses reanalysis datasets produced by ECMWF Reanalysis and NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis, and couples model output from general circulation models developed at institutions including Princeton University, Columbia University, University of California, Berkeley, and University of British Columbia. Data assimilation leverages tools from European Space Research Organisation partners and software frameworks originating at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, and Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Governance and Participating Institutions

Governance involves scientific steering groups with representatives from World Climate Research Programme, International Science Council, and funding bodies like National Science Foundation, European Research Council, and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. Participating institutions include Smithsonian Institution, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Russian Academy of Sciences, Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, and national meteorological services such as Met Office, Météo-France, and Deutscher Wetterdienst.

Major Findings and Impact

Major findings relate to trends reported in assessments by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, linking altered precipitation intensity to atmospheric circulation changes described in studies from Journal of Climate authors at University of Colorado Boulder and University of Reading. The project has helped quantify evapotranspiration estimates used by United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change analyses and influenced drought monitoring tools adopted by World Bank programs and United Nations Development Programme. Its results underpin reports produced by International Panel on Climate Change contributing authors and have been cited in interdisciplinary work at Royal Society meetings and conferences hosted by American Geophysical Union and European Geosciences Union.

Applications and Implementations

Applications include operational forecasting enhancements at European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, water resource planning by US Army Corps of Engineers, and agricultural advisories used by Food and Agriculture Organization projects. Implementations span decision-support systems developed with partners such as World Resources Institute, International Water Management Institute, Conservation International, and The Nature Conservancy. Technology transfer has involved collaborations with industry partners like IBM for data analytics, Google for cloud computing, and Esri for geospatial visualization.

Challenges and Future Directions

Challenges include integrating heterogeneous datasets across platforms maintained by National Aeronautics and Space Administration, European Space Agency, China National Space Administration, and Indian Space Research Organisation while coordinating standards with bodies such as Committee on Earth Observation Satellites and Open Geospatial Consortium. Future directions emphasize enhanced coupling among models developed at Princeton University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and University of California, Los Angeles; expanded regional partnerships with African Union research networks and Association of Southeast Asian Nations initiatives; and policy translation for multilateral frameworks like Paris Agreement and Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

Category:Climate research projects