1. WMO Information System (WIS)
Heinrich Knottenberg
Deutscher Wetterdienst
Kaiserleistraße 42
D Offenbach am Main

2. Contents Background Concept of WIS
Impact on and benefit for WMO programmes
Future actions
Summary
WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

3. Current WMO Information System
Includes:
(A) The World
Weather Watch
(WWW)
Source: Dr Geoff Love, President of CBS, 2001
WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

4. Current WMO Information System
With its vitally important systems:
A (i) The Global
Observing
System (GOS)
Source: Dr Geoff Love, President of CBS, 2001
WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

5. Current WMO Information System
A (ii) The Global
Data Processing
System (GDPS)
Source: Dr Geoff Love, President of CBS, 2001
WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

6. Current WMO Information System
A (iii)
The Global
Telecom-
munication
System
(GTS)
WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

7. Information types, formats and transmission systems
ASCII
SYNOP, TEMP, CREX,...
XML
...
Binary data formats
GRIB
BUFR
netCDF
Graphical formats
MPEG
GIF
Real time
meteorological
hydrological
marine
aeronautical
Non real time
climatological
chemical composition
agricultural
...
Dial-up links
Leased circuits
Managed data networks
Internet
Satellite
HF Radio, Telegraphy
Post ..
Dieter C. Schiessl, WMO, Feb 2004
WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

8. Current WMO Information System
And also includes:
(B) The multiplicity of Internet-based systems to meet WMO related requirements not met by the WWW
Source: Dr Geoff Love, President of CBS, 2001
WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

9. Types of WWW Centres NMC RSMC WMC RTH RTH on MTN
National Meteorological Centre, e.g., Brasila (Brazil)
RSMC
Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre, e.g., Beijing (China)
WMC
World Meteorological Centre, i.e. Melbourne, Moscow, Washington
RTH
Regional Telecommunication Hub, e.g., Vienna, Cairo, …
RTH on MTN
RTH on Main Telecommunication Network, e.g., New Delhi, Tokyo, Washington, …
Dieter C. Schiessl, WMO, Feb 2004
WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

10. World Data Centres (WDC)
WDC for Meteorology, Asheville
WDC for Meteorology, Obninsk
WDC for Meteorology, Beijing
WDC for Climate, Hamburg
WMO WDC for Ozone and Ultraviolet Radiation
WMO WDC for Greenhouse Gases
WMO WDC for Aerosols
WMO World Radiation Centre
WMO WDC for Aerosol Optical Depth
WMO WDC for Precipitation Chemistry
WMO Global Runoff Data Centre
...
Dieter C. Schiessl, WMO, Feb 2004
WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

11. TRENDS IN INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS
Increasing data volumes from remote sensing systems
Source: Dr Geoff Love, President of CBS, 2001
WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

12. TRENDS IN INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS
Increasing data volumes from numerical weather prediction systems
Source: Dr Geoff Love, President of CBS, 2001
WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

13. TRENDS IN INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS
The need to integrate different data sets (eg. Data from the GAW network with those from the GOS)
Source: Dr Geoff Love, President of CBS, 2001
WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

14. TRENDS IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES
Exponential growth of the Internet - including global penetration
Source: Internet Software Consortium ( , 2003
WMO Metadata Workshop
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15. TRENDS IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
The opportunity is to take these new technologies and build a logically separate Future WMO Information System (FWIS), using the Internet, which meets the requirements of all WMO programmes for the exchange of meteorological and related data.
Dieter C. Schiessl, WMO, Feb 2004
WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

16. WMO Congress XIV (2003)
“The multiplicity of systems of the different Programmes causes incompatibilities, inefficiencies, duplication of efforts and higher overall costs.”
Congress approved the concept of FWIS, which will provide a single coordinated global infrastructure for the collection and sharing of information in support of all WMO and related international programmes.
Dieter C. Schiessl, WMO, Feb 2004
WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

17. Inter-Programme Task Team on FWIS
Created in 1998 by CBS-Ext(98), Karlsruhe (Germany)
Melbourne (Australia), 1-5 Nov. 1999
Monterey, CA (USA), 28 Aug. - 1 Sep.2000
Langen (Germany), Jun. 2001
Johannesburg (South Africa), Sep. 2002
Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Oct. 2003
Geneva (Switzerland), Sep. 2004
Result: Concept, pilot projects
Dieter C. Schiessl, WMO, Feb 2004
WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

18. Cross-programme requirements for FWIS
Widely available and electronic (on-line) metadata and data catalogues of all relevant data required by the WMO Programmes
Harmonisation of data formats, transmission standards, archiving and distribution mechanisms to better support inter-disciplinary use of data and products.
Standard practices for the collection, electronic archival and exchange of metadata, both high-level and detailed, especially for stations and instruments.
Dieter C. Schiessl, WMO, Feb 2004
WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

19. Technical requirements
Routine collection and automated dissemination of all observed data and products (”push”) according to requirements.
Ad-hoc requests for data and products (”pull”)
FWIS should be reliable, cost-effective, modular, scalable, and flexible to support:
Different user groups
Various data policies, such as WMO Res. 40 and 25
Data as well as network security
Integration of diverse datasets
Dieter C. Schiessl, WMO, Feb 2004
WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

20. Virtual structure of FWIS
National Centres (NC)
Global Information System Centres (GISC)
Data Collection and Production Centres (DCPC)
Data communication network
The names of these virtual centres describe their functionality, not the actual organisational entities. There may be organisations, such as NMHSs, which combine all three virtual centres within one facility.
Dieter C. Schiessl, WMO, Feb 2004
WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

21. National Centre (NC) Collect national observations
“Push” data intended for global dissemination to the associated GISC
“Push” data intended for regional or specialised distribution to the associated DCPC
Collect, generate and disseminate products for national use.
Participate in monitoring the performance of the system
Authorize their national users to access FWIS, as appropriate
Dieter C. Schiessl, WMO, Feb 2004
WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

22. Global Information System Centre (GISC)
Receive observations intended for global exchange from NCs and DCPCs within their area of responsibility
Exchange information intended for global exchange with other GISCs
Disseminate, within its area of responsibility, the data and products agreed by WMO for global exchange
Hold the data and products agreed for global exchange for at least 24 hours and make it available via WMO request/reply (”Pull”) mechanisms
Maintain, in accordance to the WMO standards, a catalogue of all data and products for global exchange and provide access to this catalogue
Dieter C. Schiessl, WMO, Feb 2004
WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

23. Data Collection and Production Centre (DCPC)
Receive information intended for dissemination to NCs within its area of responsibility (i.e. regional collection)
Collect programme-specific data and products
Produce regional or specialized data and products
“Push” information intended for global exchange to their associated GISC
Disseminate information intended for regional exchange
Support access to their products via request/reply (”Pull”) mechanism
Maintain data and product catalogues in a WMO-agreed standard format and facilitate access to this catalogue
Dieter C. Schiessl, WMO, Feb 2004
WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

24. Data communication network
The data communication network should:
be based on an agreed technology available to the participating centres
be capable of handling the data volumes
include satellite communication channels, terrestrial links and managed data network services
handle the agreed transmission protocols
Dieter C. Schiessl, WMO, Feb 2004
WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

25. Information collection data flow
Dieter C. Schiessl, WMO, Feb 2004
WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

26. Information distribution
Dieter C. Schiessl, WMO, Feb 2004
WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

27. New features Common to all WMO programmes
Supporting real and non-real time data sets
Supporting “pull” and “push” mechanisms for all data
Supporting various communication protocols for data transmission
Using different types of communication links as available and appropriate, including GTS, satellites and Internet
Using off-the-shelf hardware and software systems
Dieter C. Schiessl, WMO, Feb 2004
WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

28. FWIS design concepts , NC WMO Metadata Workshop 27.September.2005
Dieter C. Schiessl, WMO, Feb 2004
WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

29. Other relevant activities
EUMETNET UNIDART project
development of a meteorological Web portal which will provide uniform access to meteorological data and products through the Internet using Grid services
CliWare
Russian information system that allows authorized users to access hydro-meteorological data and products over the Internet
Earth System Grid
US project that enables management, discovery, distributed access, processing, & analysis of distributed terascale climate research data
NCAR Community Data Portal
DMAC of IOOS
US project to acquire and use ocean-related data
NERC DataGrid
UK e-Science project for accessing environmental information
RA-VI VGISC project
WIS VPN Pilot Project in RAs II and V
Dieter R.Sanek, 2005
WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

30. Impact on and benefits for WMO
FWIS concerns only telecommunication and data management functions of the WMO and does not affect the data processing components of any WMO Programme.
Provision of data and products on the basis of request/reply services would likely be the most significant addition.
Programmes would benefit from the services offered by FWIS for the implementation of their data exchange tasks.
For individual users, either a person or an institution, FWIS would provide a single entry point for any data request, be it on a routine basis by dissemination of certain user defined information sets or on an ad-hoc basis for a special data set.
By making use of off the shelf technologies of a lower cost, FWIS would allow least developed Members, for the first time, to actively participate in the WMO Programmes, specifically the WWW.
Dieter C. Schiessl, WMO, Feb 2004
WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

31. How could FWIS be constructed?
A GISC is a new development (metadata directories, etc.)
The NC and DCPC basically already exist and add interfaces for new services
A pilot project for GISC development is the RA-VI VGISC project
Development of more GISC’s projects, e.g. RA-II project
Workshop in conjunction with CBS-Ext(06)
Trials of inter-GISC communication after 2006
Phased implementation of FWIS from 2008 onwards
Dieter C. Schiessl, WMO, Feb 2004
WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

32. RA-VI VGISC Project
In 2001, RA-VI decided to create a project for the development of a prototype GISC.
The NMSs of France, Germany and the UK have volunteered to jointly design and implement a virtual GISC (VGISC) shared by their Services and to include the ECMWF and EUMETSAT as DCPCs into the concept, funded partially as EU project SIMDAT.
A proof-of-concept system was demonstrated during CBS XIII.
Dieter C. Schiessl, WMO, Feb 2004
WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

33. VGISC Project Overview
Steering Group
(Geerd Hoffmann, DWD)
2001
VGISC-Definition and -Prototype
2005 (beginning)
VGISC-SIMDAT
2006 (mid)
2008 (end)
VGISC-Operations
WMO Metadata Workshop
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34. VGISC Working Groups Data Policy (Francois Duvernet, Meteo France)
Data Management (Steve Foreman, UK Met)
Data Acquisition and Dissemination (H. Knottenberg, DWD)
Communication (Hans Janßen, DWD)
WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

35. “Pull” request handling
WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

36. “Push” distribution
WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

37. CBS 2005 GISC Prototype DWD: Portal DWD: Push/Pull System
DWD: Access to climate time-series data (UNIDART-Project)
UK Met Office: XML Metadata / - Data Prototype (Description only)
ECMWF: Model Analyses
EUMETSAT: Access to EUMETCast Dissemination
NCAR: Model Analyses

38. VGISC Installation at the CBS XIII in Saint Petersburg Client Client
Internet
Hotel wireless LAN
Interactive
Client
Client
VGISC
LAN
Dissemination
DVB
Broadcast
EUMETCast
Receiver
MSG
Server
Ninjo
Server
Ninjo
Client
Provided by EUMETSAT (Exhibition Hall)

39. WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

40. General SIMDAT Data Grids for Process and Product Development
using Numerical Simulation and Knowledge Discovery
funded by the European Commission
WMO Metadata Workshop
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41. SIMDAT Application and Technology
Application Activities
Four sectors of international economic importance:
Automotive
Pharmaceutical
Aerospace
Meteorology
Technology Activities
Seven Grid-technology development areas:
Grid infrastructure
Distributed Data Access
VO Administration
Workflows
Ontologies
Analysis Services
Knowledge Services
WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

42. SIMDAT Conceptual View
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27.September.2005

43. VGISC-SIMDAT Working Groups
Project Manager: Matteo dell’ Aqua, ECWMF
Virtual Organisations (Lothar Wolf, EUMETSAT)
Ontology (Jeremy Tandy, UK Met Office)
Distributed Data (Jacques Roumilhac, Meteo France)
Grid Infrastructure (Hans Janßen, DWD)
WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

44. SIMDAT VGISC structure
Logo
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45. SIMDAT Demonstrator To be presented to EU-Commission in November 2005:
VGISC-Nodes at the contributing sites
DWD: Access to climate time-series data
UK Met Office: XML Metadata / - Data Prototype
Meteo France: Model Output
ECMWF: Model Analyses
ECMWF: Observational Data (One Sample Day)

46. WIS VPN Pilot Project in RAs II and V
„CBS XIII was also very pleased to note the success of the first phase of the Virtual Private Network project in Regions II and V, and that the pilot project would be significantly expanded with additional components, including prototype applications, and more participating NMHSs in the years "
Participants
Macao, China
Oman
Republic of Korea
Malaysia
New Zealand
Saudi Arabia
Vietnam
Australia
Brunei
China
Hong Kong, China
India
Iran
Japan
WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

47. WIS VPN Pilot Project in RAs II and V
Japan
(Simulating DCPC)
Vietnam
(Simulating NC)
India
Brunei
Korea
New Zealand
Malaysia
Saudi Arabia
Beijing
Australia
(Simulating GISC)
Internet
Permanent or routine VPN link
Hong Kong, China
(Pattern A) Test for branch links among a GISC, DCPCs and NCs on routine basis
WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

48. WIS VPN Pilot Project in RAs II and V
WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

49. Inter-Commission Coordination Group on FWIS (ICG-FWIS)
Created in 2004 by EC-LVI through Resolution 2.
Terms of reference:
To coordinate the refinement and consolidation of the FWIS based on the approved concept and then the implementation planning phases;
To assess in detail the data exchange and data management requirements of WMO Programmes, at present and for the foreseeable future, which should be met by the FWIS;
To advise the technical commissions on the development in data-communications and management functions to be required in the FWIS as regards their respective programmes;
To guide the orderly evolution of existing WMO information systems towards FWIS;
To address the major issues that had been identified.
WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

50. Inter-Commission Coordination Group on FWIS
ICG-FWIS (First meeting in Geneva, January 2005) recommended coordination mechanisms for the FWIS development and future activities:
Support of the proposed CBS Inter-Programme Expert Team on Metadata Implementation, Expert Team on FWIS GISCs and DCPCs and Expert Team on FWIS/GTS Communication Techniques and Structure.
Strongly supported the establishment of TCs’ Expert Teams that are relevant to FWIS (data-management, metadata, XML, data-exchange) and their mutual cooperation and coordination for fostering consistent and rapid FWIS development
Metadata aspects are crucial for the FWIS development and should be quickly consolidated, full endorsement of the WMO Core Profile of the ISO Metadata Standard.
Recommendation for organizing a inter-programme workshop on metadata, jointly with CBS/IPET-Metadata, by September 2005 and a workshop on GISC development, jointly with CBS/ET-GISC&DCPC (1 Q 2006)
Importance of the development of new Programme’s pilot projects to promote an early introduction of FWIS elements
Recommendation to rename FWIS as WIS (WMO Information System)
WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

51. Summary
The WIS would be used for the collection and sharing of information for all WMO and related international programmes.
The WIS vision provides a common roadmap to guide the orderly evolution of the information system functions performed by current WMO Programmes into an integrated system that meets efficiently all of the requirements of Members for the relevant international environmental information.
The support and involvement of regional associations and technical commissions is needed, as early as possible, in all phases of the WIS development in order to ensure a full and shared ownership of the project, and its effective implementation.
There should be a workshop on WIS in conjunction with CBS-Ext(06)
The implementation of WIS needs to be done in a phased approach in order to support the IPY (International Polar Year 2007/2008) and THORPEX.
Dieter C. Schiessl, WMO, Feb 2004
WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005

52. The Metadata are the “Core”
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27.September.2005

53. Thank you for your attention !
WMO Metadata Workshop
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54. WMO Metadata Workshop
27.September.2005