ERA-CLIM

European Re-Analysis of global CLIMate observations

 Partecipanti

Mappa

 Word cloud

Esplora la "nuvola delle parole (Word Cloud) per avere un'idea di massima del progetto.

 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'ERA-CLIM will develop observational datasets suitable for global climate studies, with a focus on the past 100 years. These datasets will include atmospheric, oceanic, and terrestrial observations from a variety of sources, high-resolution global reanalysis products of the observations, and associated data quality information needed for climate applications. The project will use existing climate data records and make a substantial contribution to filling known gaps in these records. Proposed data recovery efforts will focus on upper-air observations made in the first half of the 20th century, as well as near-surface observations of wind and humidity, in all regions of the globe.

A specific goal for the project is to improve the quality and consistency of climate observations through reanalysis. Together with other in-situ and remote-sensing datasets available from existing data archives, the observations collected for ERA-CLIM will be included in a newly developed Observation Feedback Archive. Quality feedback information for this archive, including data departures and bias estimates, will be generated during several new pilot reanalyses, as well as from existing reanalysis datasets. The pilot reanalyses and the Observation Feedback Archive will be made available to users world-wide as a unique resource for climate research and observational studies of the Earth system.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

Well before global climate shifts were a concern, international researchers were collecting data about Earth's systems. Located around the world, and often available only in analogue format, the climate change-related potential of these data had yet to be exploited.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

Copious 20th-century records exist of atmospheric, oceanic, and terrestrial conditions during the past hundred years. Such information has, predictably, proven useful to modern climate researchers and meteorologists. However, these data sets were often incomplete, variable enough to limit comparison, and primarily derived from old-fashioned methods and instruments. These data's utility was further constrained because most records were available only on paper.

In 2011, a consortium of nine EU-funded institutions undertook the 'European re-analysis of global climate observations' http://www.era-clim.eu (ERACLIM)) project in order to unlock the potential of these historic data. ERACLIM's primary objective was to recover, digitise, and standardise climate-related data recorded during the past century.

In addition to locating and digitising remarkable quantities of observations, ERACLIM researchers standardized the resulting datasets, then analysed various metrics. By successfully comparing the data, researchers were able to fill in gaps in climate records which have persisted for much of the past century.

Finding and digitising a multi-faceted data set spanning 100 years of global climate observations is a noteworthy scientific feat in itself.

The project also accomplished the parallel objective of making these datasets and related analysis products open-source. Available online to anyone interested, the ERACLIM datasets offer unprecedented detail and precision, both for historic research and for modelling the future.

Judging by citation statistics, reanalysed data such as those offered by ERACLIM are of great interest to geoscientists. Project work is likely to be used by researchers, practitioners and government entities focused on atmospheric science, oceanography, climate science, and applied fields including energy, health, and environmental science.

Building on the ERACLIM data, the consortium has already secured funding for ERACLIM2. This second phase aims to transform the already-valuable datasets into a readily accessible product/service system. Further funding will enable ERACLIM partners to transform their efforts from research into a reliable service.