Recommendations

The Recommendations document attempts to distill the findings from the gap analysis performed within GAIA-CLIM as described in the Gaps Assessment and Impacts Document (GAID) and associated online Catalogue of Gaps into a set of high-level actionable priority recommended activities. It is intended to be a high-level accessible document supported by the rich information on gaps collected throughout the project.

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Table: High-level recommendation titles and thematic clustering.

Education and training

Maintain and further develop a trained workforce competent in EO data characterisation and downstream applications to support Copernicus activities

Non-satellite data quality and availability

Improve the metrological characterisation of a suite of non-satellite measurement techniques: Striving for traceable, reference quality, fiducial measurement series

Augment and consolidate existing geographical coverage of fiducial reference quality observational networks to be more globally representative, including a range of surface types and climate zones

Improve time scheduling coherency of satellite and non-satellite measurements to minimise the need to account for co-location uncertainty effects

Instigate and sustain time-bounded access to a comprehensive set of harmonised fiducial reference data and metadata holdings under a common data model and open data policy that enables interoperability for applications

Observational network governance

Take steps to reassess, rationalise, and improve coordination of high quality observing networks

Conversion of non-satellite measures to Top Of Atmosphere radiance-equivalents and their use

Improve knowledge of fundamental spectroscopy and undertake associated innovations in radiative-transfer modelling

Improve quantification of the effects of surface properties to reduce uncertainties in satellite data assimilation and satellite to non-satellite data comparisons

Develop and provide tools that convert non-satellite fiducial reference quality measurements to Top-Of-Atmosphere radiance equivalents with associated rigorously quantified uncertainties

Understanding and quantifying irreducible co-location mismatch effects

Improve the basis for assigning co-locations and quantifying rigorously the associated uncertainties, including steps towards operational provision of co-location uncertainties

Provision of user tools that enable exploitation

Operationalise co-location match-ups, extraction and visualisation tools, such as the GAIA-CLIM Virtual Observatory, to facilitate user access to satellite to non-satellite match-ups
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