1. Activity Report as a GSN Monitoring Centre – JMA
Hirotaka SATO
Climate Prediction Division (CPD)
Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA)
GCOS Network Meeting, Cambridge, UK, 7-9 September 2016

2. Outline GSN Monitoring Centres GSN difference lists
Best practice – concerning the difference lists
Identifying a problem
Solutions
Lessons learnt
GCOS Network Meeting, Cambridge, UK, 7-9 September 2016

3. GSN Monitoring Centres
Based on the monitoring results of GSNMCs, CBSLCs aim to improve the quantity and quality of GSN-CLIMAT over the GTS by contacting with the FP in each NMHS.
Monthly monitoring results
Annual Reports
CBS Lead Centres for GCOS
GSN Monitoring Centre
(DWD and JMA)
Contact with NMHSs
-Diagnose problems -Technical advice
CLIMAT messages
Focal Point
GTS
NMHS
GCOS Network Meeting, Cambridge, UK, 7-9 September 2016
GTS: Global Telecommunication System

4. An Example of Monitoring Products
Reception at DWD
Reception of CLIMAT reports at DWD (top) and JMA (bottom) for June 2016.
There is little difference between them,
Sweden
Philippines
Reception at JMA
but they are not completely identical.
Green: Received
Red: Not Received
GCOS Network Meeting, Cambridge, UK, 7-9 September 2016

5. GSN Difference Lists DWD and JMA exchange received CLIMAT every month.
GSNMCs share monthly “GSN difference lists” with the Secretariat and the Lead Centres.
The lists provide information on stations;
received at only DWD,
received at only JMA,
not received at both DWD and JMA.
GCOS Network Meeting, Cambridge, UK, 7-9 September 2016

6. ? ? Why Best Practice Identifying a Problem
In April 2015, GSNMC JMA found the situation that GSNMC JMA had not received CLIMAT messages from Sweden for months but GSNMC DWD had received them. ?
Why ?
GSNMC JMA investigated the problem with the help of their IT staff and figured out that was because BUFR CLIMAT messages from Sweden had contained format errors.
There were unnecessary many “zero” characters after the end section.
GCOS Network Meeting, Cambridge, UK, 7-9 September 2016

7. Best Practice Solution
JMA told the situation to DWD and asked them to contact the person in charge with the CLIMAT transmission in Sweden.
Sweden returned to sending ASCII CLIMAT messages from those for April 2015.
JMA became able to receive Swedish CLIMAT report again.
I’m happy to get Swedish CLIMATs again!
GCOS Network Meeting, Cambridge, UK, 7-9 September 2016

8. Best Practice The Problem Again…… Another Solution
After six months Sweden returned to sending BUFR CLIMAT reports from those for October 2015.
The problem arose again.
Another Solution
The IT staff in JMA investigated the situation of global exchange of Swedish BUFR CLIMATs in cooperation with other RTHs of GTS.
They suspected that Sweden had made their BUFR CLIMATs incorrectly.
Now Sweden is correcting it.
RTH: Regional Telecommunication Hub
GTS: Global Telecommunication System
GCOS Network Meeting, Cambridge, UK, 7-9 September 2016

9. Lessons Learnt GSN difference lists are helpful.
The lists has helped us to find problems.
It is difficult to identify and resolve errors in BUFR format. Cooperation with IT staff is essential.
This problem was due to incorrect BUFR encoding. It can be said that it is difficult to identify and resolve format errors in BUFR format compared with those in ASCII format.
Now the problem is being resolved thanks to IT staff and their international cooperation.
GCOS Network Meeting, Cambridge, UK, 7-9 September 2016

10. Thank you!
This is JMA’s Mascot Character ‘Hare-run’, not a new Pokémon.
‘Hare’ means sunny weather in Japanese,
‘Hare-ru’ means ‘it becomes sunny’.
‘Run-run’ means happiness feeling.