Coastal GTOS:
Priorities, Status and
Potential Directions
Robert R. Christian
East Carolina University
December 2009
Outline
• Context for CGTOS
• Priorities
• Accomplishments, status, connections and
potential directions
Coastal Observing Systems
The UN Coast
GCOS
C-GOOS (COOP)
C-GTOS
Atmosphere
Coral Reef
programs
IGOS Coastal Theme
Other activities
GTOS
Land and
freshwater
GEO Coastal Zone
Community of Practice
GOOS
Oceans and
coastal seas
Primary Goal of Coastal GTOS
To detect, assess and predict global and
large-scale regional change associated with
land-based, wetland and
freshwater (and when
appropriate transitional
waters) ecosystems
along coasts.
Strategic design and phase 1 implementation plan
http://www.fao.org/gtos/pubs.html
Two stages of implementation
• Mature system to interface with CGOOS
– Four key issues of concern
– >70 variables
– Including socio-economic variables
• Five immediate, priority products to
– Initiate system
– Establish improved capability
– Provide proofs of concept
– Advertise the program
Mature System
(to interface with CGOOS)
Issues of Concern
 Population dimensions, land
use/land cover and critical
habitat alteration (B, C, D);
 Sediment delivery (D);
 Water cycle/water quality (B, C);
 Effects of sea level change,
storms and flooding (C).
Proposed Initial Products of C-GTOS
•
•
•
•
•
Enhancement of TEMS
Distribution and rate of change of population,
urbanization and land use in the coastal
environment (B, C, D)
Vulnerability of ecosystem services in deltaic
systems (B, C, D)
Management of conservation and cultural
sites in the coastal zone (B)
Distribution of sites appropriate for analyses of
delivery systems (D)
Coastal variables & Sites added
The list of coastal variables result of
efforts by the Coastal GTOS scientific
panel, through the development of the
C-GTOS Plan, identifying variables that
best describe monitoring activities taking
place at TEMS sites dealing with coastal
issues. Variables are grouped according
to the four priority coastal issues
addressed by C-GTOS:
Sediment loss and delivery
Water cycle/water quality
Effects of sea level change, storms and
flooding
Population dimensions, land cover/land
use and critical habitat alteration
Deltas Priority Product
World Deltas Network
Initial Products of C-GTOS through GLCN
1
2
1) digital elevation data to perform geophysical
analysis of the delta
2) use of land cover and in situ data to determine
ecosystem extent and function
3) analysis of threats and
vulnerability of ecosystem
services.
3
Potential link to Delta Research And Global
Observation Network (DRAGON)
• The DRAGON partnership is
creating an international community of
practice to share data on the great
deltas and rivers of the world and to
develop comparative models and
visualization tools in order to facilitate
ecological forecasting regarding
climate change and development that
ultimately helps in guiding decision
making.
Conservation of Cultural and Conservation Sites
(Sentinel Systems in Observing Systems)
• Selected and limited number of systems to assess
response to global and large-scale regional change
and promote programme.
Christian, R. R., and S. Mazzilli. 2007. Defining the coast and sentinel ecosystems for
coastal observations of global change. Hydrobiologia 577: 55-70. (see Hydrobiologia 583:385
for erratum on order of authorship from original. It should read Mazzilli and Christian)
Potential networks of sites
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
ILTER
MAB
MedWet
TNC
Ramsar
World heritage
Etc.
Initial Product of CGTOS
Table 3. Number of global program sites located within various coastal area delineations. Percentage of total number
of program sites is indicated in parenthesis (%).
TEMS
Ramsar
UNESCO MAB
Within 5km of the coast
291 (13%)
592 (43%)
98 (22%)
169 (19%)
Within 10km of the coast
374 (17%)
670 (48%)
121 (27%)
210 (23%)
Within 50km of the coast
678 (31%)
861 (62%)
177 (40%)
333 (37%)
Within 100km of the coast
931 (43%)
907 (66%)
197 (44%)
388 (43%)
Less than 100m in elevation
500 (23%)
803 (58%)
113 (25%)
246 (27%)
Within 100km of the coast and less than
100m elevation
462 (21%)
770 (56%)
106 (24%)
231 (26%)
21681
(100%)
1384
(100%)
448 (100%)
901 (100%)
Coastal area delineation
Total number of program sites
UNESCO WH
Wetland Inventory and Partnerships
(Ramsar and MedWet)
Of the 250 sites 69% are within 100 km of the coastline and 36% are within 5 km of the coastline.
C-GTOS Delivery System
Network in Mediterranean & Black Sea Region
Link to LOICZ
Information collected on 127 sites
IGOS Coastal Theme
The IGOS-P Coastal
Zone Theme Report:
The Theme Report
provides the basis for
the work of the GEO
Coastal Zone
Community of
Practice.
GEO Coastal Zone Community of Practice
• The GEO Coastal Zone Community of Practice (CZCP)
• The CZCP brings together scientific and non-scientific experts
in an effort to support coastal zone management through
utilization of Earth observations and derived products. The
CZCP focuses both on research and practical applications
related to coastal zone management.
• The CZCP interacts directly with the User Interface Committee
(UIC) of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO).
• A main activity of the CZCP is the organization of a series of
regional workshops addressing the decision support through
Earth observations for integrated coastal zone management.
GEOSS Support for Decision-Making in the
Coastal Zone:
Managing and Mitigating the Impacts of Human
Activities and Natural Hazards in the Coastal
Zone
A series of (regional) GEO Workshops organized by
the GEO Coastal Zone Community of Practice
• June 2008 - Mediterranean Region (Greece)
• February 2010 – Africa (Benin)
• 2010– Northern Africa (Egypt)
• Sep/Oct 2010 – Americas (Puerto Rico)
Overview of potential future
• Important role in liaising with other coastal
programmes in promoting regional OS
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
GOOS
LOICZ
GEO CZCP
Ramsar and partners
DRAGON
Coastal lagoon networks
US IOOS
• Develop deltaic change products
• Contribute to coastal vulnerability products and
white papers
General recommendations for observing system
sustainability:
• Sustainable systems need cultivation. Positive feedback mechanisms are
required.
• Governments are unlikely to provide sustained support without connection to
human wellbeing. Observing systems must provide clearly articulated value
to society beyond “preserving nature.”
• Local monitoring programs in isolation have a significant probability of being
non-sustainable. Redundancy among monitoring programs (resilience)
should not be discouraged.
• Information management plays a central role and must target a timely
delivery of products to address environmental problems appropriately.
• Sustainable observing systems in the developing world are the largest
challenge to global coverage.
Adapted from: Christian, R. R., P. M. DiGiacomo, T. C. Malone, and L. Talaue-McManus. 2006. Opportunities and challenges of
establishing coastal observing systems. Estuaries and Coasts 29: 871-875.