WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION
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COMMISSION FOR BASIC SYSTEMS
COMMISSION FOR AERONAUTICAL METEOROLOGY
ICTSW-1/Doc. 7
(14.III. 2011)
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ITEM: 7
INTER-PROGRAMME COORDINATION TEAM ON SPACE WEATHER
FIRST SESSION
BOULDER, CO, USA, 29 APRIL 2011
Original: ENGLISH
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
Statement on Space Weather for WMO Congress
(Submitted by T. Onsager )
Summary and Purpose of Document
In advance of the deliberations of the WMO Congress on Space Weather, a
side-event will be organized in Geneva on 17 May 2011 with the aim to raise
the attention of Congress delegations on the importance of Space Weather and
to prepare a statement to be communicated to the Congress.
The following pages contain a draft version of this statement, together with a
background note, that is planned to submit to the side-event.
I
ACTION PROPOSED
The Inter-Programme Coordination Team members are invited to:
 Review the proposed statement;
 Seek the support of their respective delegations for the forthcoming deliberations at the WMO
Congress on Space Weather matters.
ICTSW-1/Doc. 7, p. 2
Draft Statement of the Cg-XVI Side Event on Space Weather:
Global Preparedness for Space Weather Hazards
The participants acknowledged:
• The increasing risks of space weather due to our increasing reliance on advanced
technologies;
• The diversity of impacted sectors, including: navigation, communication, electric power,
satellites, and aviation;
• The actions being taken today by industries and governments to prepare for and respond to
space weather storms;
• The progress already achieved in establishing ground-based and space-based observing
networks;
• The progress already achieved in establishing a framework of prediction and service centers;
• The need for coordinated near-term and far-term actions in order to plan and implement
capabilities that will meet regional and global space weather requirements in a sustained,
comprehensive, robust, efficient and integrated fashion;
• The essential capacity of WMO Members to contribute to and benefit from a globally
coordinated system of observations and services, relying on their national R&D and
operational assets as well as on international partnerships.
The participants therefore recommended:
• To develop and implement near-term and far-term action plans that will enable Members to
determine needs and requirements and to benefit from existing services;
• That WMO Members will contribute where possible to enhance regional and global
capabilities;
• To strengthen the statements included in paragraph 3.7.11 of Document 3.7 for the WMO
Space Programme along the following lines:
- “3.7.11.1
The Council noted that a coordinated effort by all Members is needed to
address the observing and service requirements to protect against the global hazards of
Space Weather. It invited the WMO Space Programme, in coordination with the Interprogramme Coordination Team on Space Weather and with the support of the relevant
Technical Commissions, to develop near-term and far-term actions plans and work with
the WMO Regional Associations to implement a coordinated strategy for Space Weather.”
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ICTSW-1/Doc. 7, p. 3
Background to the Cg-XVI Side Event Statement
WMO Space Programme
Global Preparedness for Space Weather Hazards
1.
Vulnerability to space weather is increasing as we become more reliant on advanced
technology. Airline navigation and communication; drilling, mining, and agriculture; electric power grid
reliability – these critical activities can be impacted by space weather anywhere on the globe. Our
economic, security, and environmental stewardship interests now extend well above the atmosphere
into space. We increasingly rely on satellite-based navigation and timing systems for transportation,
commodities, and financial services. Satellite communication is now the foundation of our global flow of
information, supporting disaster preparedness, emergency response, and broad economic growth. Our
electric power grids are becoming more heavily loaded and interconnected, which increases their
vulnerability to space weather. Although the direct effects of space weather are typically felt at the
industry level and may not be obvious to the average citizen, we are all impacted.
2.
Actions are being taken today by industries and governments around the globe.
The
International Civil Aviation Organization is drafting requirements to protect against communication
outages, navigation errors, and radiation risks. Electric power distribution is adjusted during space
storms to avoid grid disruption. Conditions impacting satellite-based navigation systems are monitored,
and back-up measures are taken during high-impact events. Governmental emergency management
agencies are developing procedures to manage the unique risks of space weather, including impacts
that could simultaneous disrupt critical infrastructures in multiple countries and in widely separated
regions on the globe.
3. A framework of ground-based and space-based observations is already in place and could
easily be extended. A collection of operational and research observing assets are available and
utilized today to monitor disturbances and to warn of oncoming storms. However, the space
environment is vastly undersampled. Significant gaps in our observing capabilities limit our ability to
provide a comprehensive characterization of the important physical parameters and limit the accuracy
of our predictive models. Fortunately, extensive ground-based and space-based assets are available
today that have not yet been integrated into the existing observing network. These include a growing
number of GPS sites, ground measurements of Earth’s magnetic field, and satellite measurements of
space radiation. By utilizing the WMO architecture to include these measurements in the Global
Observing System, improvements could be made to a broad range of services that would enhance our
preparedness and response to space storms.
4. A framework of service centers also exists and could easily be extended. The International
Space Environment Service (ISES) is a network of space weather warning centers within the
ICTSW-1/Doc. 7, p. 4
International Council of Scientific Unions with its origin dating back to 1928. Several of these warning
centers currently reside within their national meteorology organizations. Recognizing the experience of
the WMO and the important synergies among terrestrial and space weather observations and services,
ISES contacted the WMO in 2007 to explore possibilities for collaboration. EC-LX agreed to the
principle of WMO’s involvement to support the international coordination in space weather, and in April
2009, CBS-XIV agreed to the Terms of Reference of an Inter-programme Coordination Team on Space
Weather (ICTSW) in consultation with CAeM. The ICTSW was formed in May, 2010. Through the
experience of ISES and the actions of the ICTSW, WMO Members can become familiar with space
weather impacts in their region, obtain training on service production and delivery, and establish their
own local capabilities integrated within the global network.
5. A near-term action plan should be developed, considering the following goals:
- Prioritize the hazards within each WMO Region;
- Determine the current level of services available within each Region;
- Prioritize the near-term service needs to mitigate impacts anticipated in the upcoming solar
maximum time period;
- Identify observational assets within each Region that can be added to the Global Observing
System;
- Identify NMHSs within each Region that can participate in the collection of data and the
production and dissemination of services;
- Provide training for the Regional coordination of advisories, bulletins, and forecast products in
accordance with WMO practices.
6. A long-term action plan should be developed, considering the following goals:
- Develop a service-center concept for operational space weather prediction and services using the
concepts of Regional Specialized Meteorological Centers, Volcanic Ash Advisory Centers, and
World Area Forecast Centers as possible models;
- Establish a high-level coordination of satellite-based and ground-based observing assets to insure
that high-priority gaps are addressed in a cost-effective manner through shared capabilities;
- Coordinate the space weather observing requirements with the weather and climate monitoring
architectures;
- Elevate space weather within the Consultative Meetings to reach non-meteorology service
providers and space agencies;
- Foster the development of operational, data-assimilative, predictive models of the coupled
atmosphere-space system, benefiting from the advanced weather and climate prediction
capabilities;
- Examine resources in the WMO budget to support space weather activities within the Space
Programme.
ICTSW-1/Doc. 7, p. 5
7. Space Weather is a global challenge requiring coordinated global preparedness. The threats
of space weather are certain to increase, both in the near term as solar maximum approaches and in
the far term as our dependence on technologies impacted by space weather continues to expand. A
network of observing systems and service centers exists today that provides a framework on which we
can efficiently expand our capabilities to safeguard our modern infrastructure, contributing also to the
advancement of WIS and WIGOS. Services available today can help all Members, and all Members
have the opportunity to contribute to the growth and quality of future capabilities. Space is too vast and
complex for a limited number of nations to monitor and predict. Working together, we can achieve
global preparedness for space weather hazards.
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