About MODAAT

Table of contents:

Background:

For this test case, we are focusing on Arctic air temperatures across Canada and the circumpolar North. This study, in addition to advancing CCADI objectives, is also allowing us to make a unique Canadian contribution to two largescale international initiatives: the ‘Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate’ (MOSAiC), which is a year-round set of observations of multiple aspects of the Arctic Ocean, sea ice and atmosphere, and the related project on Arctic terrestrial environments ‘Terrestrial Multidisciplinary distributed Observatories for the Study of Arctic Connections’ (T-MOSAiC). These connected projects are both organised under the auspices of the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), in which Canada is a member nation. This work is also relevant to the objectives of the Sustained Arctic Observing Network (SAON).

Specifically, our CCADI focus is on air temperature because these data are of wide interest to northern indigenous communities, land management authorities and policy makers, as well as to all researchers working on terrestrial subjects in the Arctic. Additionally, the data are of intense interest to modellers in the MOSAiC group working on climate projections for the Arctic because at high latitudes, where the effects of the rotation of the Earth are most extreme, air temperature is the primary constraint on atmospheric models.

Our aim in this CCADI test case is to mobilise Arctic air temperature data from automated weather stations (AWS). There are numerous stations from many countries (and especially Canada) in the circumpolar North that are not part of the World Meteorological Organisation (WM) network, but have unpublished or not widely available datasets.

  • AWS stations are not deployed following a common standard – yet provide invaluable information about the state of the northern climate where WMO stations are sparse.
  • AWS stations typically have several sensors.
  • Deployment conditions varies widely between stations (logging interval, time since deployment).
  • Air temperature is very common among stations as a core measurement parameter. Considering that time since deployment of the stations is highly variable (years to decades), and considering the challenge of reaching a critical mass of participants, the proposed goal is to make a ‘snapshot in time’ for the air temperature records for all prospective participant stations. This snapshot in time will be 2019-01-01 to 2020-12-31, meaning two full years, specifically targeting the MOSAiC / T-MOSAiC observation period.
  • Landscape images will also be requested, providing a valuable baseline for future analyses at this time of accelerated change.

Goals

The main goal is to:

  1. mobilise Arctic air temperature data from circumpolar automated weather stations (AWS) operators
  2. make a ‘snapshot in time’ for the air temperature records for all prospective participant stations: the time interval is 2019-01-01 to 2020-12-31.
  3. Landscape image from around the station will accompany records from each station.
  4. Make the submitted data searchable and available through a visualisation portal.

Product or System Specific Objectives

  • The snapshot interval is 2017-01-01 to 2020-12-31.
  • Dec 2019 – March 2020: A first pilot study will be undertaken with a small number of CEN stations.
  • Specific instruction for submitters will be integrated in the pilot submission portal and improved as needed.
  • Feb 2020: Prospective participants will be invited to submit their air temperature time series, with the first call at the INTERACT Station Managers Meeting.
  • ata available at the time of submission, even if not covering the whole temporal interval of the snapshot, will constitute an early version of the product, which will be updated as data get available.
  • An online catalogue of AWS stations in the circumpolar North, with access to other parameters via links to databases, and a step to interoperability.
  • A unique snapshot of temperature and landscape information for the International MOSAiC /T-MOSAiC period
  • A valuable online resource for modelling and ongoing analysis
  • Visibility for northern stations (including many that are currently invisible to WMO)
  • Opportunities for synthesis descriptions (e.g. ESSD), analysis papers and visualization products (e.g. via AINA).