CEOP Annual Enhanced Observing Period Starts

Toward more accurate determination of the water cycle in association with climate variability and change as well as baseline data on the impacts of this variability on water resources, the Coordinated Enhanced Observing Period (CEOP) was launched on July 1,2001. The preliminary data period, EOP-1, was implemented from July to September in 2001. The first annual enhanced observing period, EOP-3, is going to start on October 1,2002. CEOP is seeking to achieve a database of common measurements from both in situ and satellite remote sensing, model output, and four-dimensional data analyses (4DDA; including global and regional reanalyses) for a specified period. In this context a number of carefully selected reference stations are linked closely with the existing network of observing sites involved in the GEWEX Continental Scale Experiments, which are distributed across the world. The initial step of CEOP is to develop a pilot global hydro-climatological dataset with global consistency under the climate variability that can be used to help validate satellite hydrology products and evaluate, develop and eventually predict water and energy cycle processes in global and regional models. Based on the dataset, we will address the studies on the inter-comparison and inter-connectivity of the monsoon systems and regional water and energy budget, and a path to down-scaling from the global climate to local water resources, as the second step.