Implementing the New JCOMM Marine Climate Data System

In 1963, by WMO Resolution 35, Congress-IV, the international exchange of delayed-mode marine climatological data was put in place through establishment of the Marine Climatological Summaries Scheme (MCSS). The system was focusing on delayed mode Voluntary Observing Ship (VOS) data. Efforts to modernize the MCSS have been initiated by the Joint WMO-IOC Technical Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology (JCOMM).

JCOMM tasked its Expert Team on Marine Climatology (ETMC) to develop a new Marine Climate Data System (MCDS) for the exchange and long-term preservation of marine climate data from various sources. The MCDS Strategy and implementation plan were then proposed and endorsed in 2012 by JCOMM. The new system will provide a JCOMM-wide unified approach to data management and higher quality climate observations. This system is now in the implementation phase and encompasses a data flow structure with defined roles and tasks to be applied to all data types across JCOMM. The MCDS will also support the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) and will provide data held to higher quality control standards. In this presentation we will introduce the new overall structure, the plans for its implementation, and the benefits for stakeholders.