Global Weather Experiment

Global Weather Experiment
Name	Global Weather Experiment
Date	1978–1979
Location	Worldwide
Organizers	World Meteorological Organization, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, European Space Agency
Participants	Multiple national meteorological services, research institutions, universities

Global Weather Experiment

The Global Weather Experiment was an international field and data-coordination initiative conducted in 1978–1979 that brought together operational services and research centers to improve atmospheric observation, numerical weather prediction, and data sharing. The program linked national agencies, satellite programs, and university laboratories to test concepts developed by earlier efforts in meteorology and geophysics and to inform subsequent projects in climate science and Earth observation.

Background and objectives

The experiment grew from discussions at World Meteorological Organization assemblies and consultations involving National Aeronautics and Space Administration, European Space Agency, United Nations bodies, and national services such as United States Weather Bureau and Met Office; it responded to advances by teams at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University, and National Center for Atmospheric Research. Objectives included improving initial conditions for models developed at European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, assessing the role of observations from NOAA satellites, coordinating upper-air and surface networks run by agencies like Environment Canada and Bureau of Meteorology (Australia), and validating concepts from theoretical work by scientists associated with Imperial College London, University of Tokyo, and Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Planning and organization

Planning involved intergovernmental coordination among World Meteorological Organization panels, meetings at venues such as Geneva and Paris, and contributions from research groups at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, and Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory. Governance integrated operational centers including National Weather Service, Météo-France, Deutscher Wetterdienst, and regional agencies from India Meteorological Department and Japan Meteorological Agency. Funding and logistics drew on grants and in-kind support from institutions like National Science Foundation, European Commission, Russian Academy of Sciences, and national ministries, while task groups coordinated aircraft campaigns, radiosonde releases, and satellite validation through collaborations with WMO Commission for Basic Systems and panels convened by Committee on Earth Observation Satellites-adjacent bodies.

Observational methods and instruments

Field operations combined conventional networks—surface synoptic observations from Global Telecommunication System-linked stations, radiosonde soundings from services such as Deutscher Wetterdienst and Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (Argentina)—with aircraft measurements from fleets operated by NASA and military research platforms from Royal Air Force and United States Air Force. Satellite remote sensing from platforms including NOAA-6, Meteosat-2, and instruments developed by European Space Research Organisation provided radiances used alongside data from buoys maintained by programs like Global Drifter Program and observing systems such as TAO/TRITON and ARGOS. Ground-based remote sensors—Doppler radars operated by groups at National Severe Storms Laboratory and lidar systems from Institute of Atmospheric Physics (China)—supplemented conventional observing networks coordinated with university groups at Columbia University and University of Reading.

Data processing and dissemination

Data assimilation experiments used techniques developed at European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and National Meteorological Center and employed computer resources at centers such as Centre national de la recherche scientifique laboratories and supercomputing facilities at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. International telecommunication relied on standards from World Meteorological Organization and information exchange among systems including Global Telecommunication System and repositories affiliated with United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization initiatives. Results and analyses were disseminated through meetings at American Meteorological Society conferences, publications in journals tied to Royal Meteorological Society and European Geophysical Society, and data-sharing agreements with archives maintained by institutions like National Climatic Data Center and British Atmospheric Data Centre.

Scientific achievements and legacy

The experiment demonstrated improvements in forecast skill when assimilating additional observations into models from European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration systems, validating theoretical advances made by researchers at Princeton University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and University of Washington. Its legacy influenced the design of subsequent programs such as World Climate Research Programme, Global Ocean Observing System, and networks coordinated by Group on Earth Observations and helped catalyze satellite missions by European Space Agency, NASA, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Institutional impacts included strengthened roles for WMO, enhanced capacity at national services like India Meteorological Department and Météo-France, and the adoption of data-assimilation methods at centers including Met Office and ECMWF; it also informed operational protocols at National Weather Service and research agendas at Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory.

Criticisms and limitations

Critics pointed to uneven global participation, with sparser observational coverage over regions administered by agencies such as National Meteorological and Hydrological Service offices in parts of Africa and South America, and to logistical challenges faced by developing-country services including coordination with World Bank-funded programs. Technical limitations included computational constraints at the time at facilities like Los Alamos National Laboratory and the nascent state of satellite radiance assimilation pioneered by teams at NOAA and NASA, leading some researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory to question representativeness and the ability to generalize results. Debates at forums hosted by American Geophysical Union and International Geographical Union highlighted issues of data access, equity among institutions such as Russian Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the need for sustained investment in observational systems coordinated by World Meteorological Organization.

Category:Meteorology