Meteorology, Meteorological, History

An IGO
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weather and
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HISTORY OF EUMETSAT, p61

HISTORY OF EUMETSAT, p58.

p60 (from page 58)

benefit of their investment in meteorological satellites. What was needed was a means of utilising the expertise of the National Meteorological Services whilst constructing a central organisational mechanism that would promote knowledge sharing.

Presumably because there is a traditional acceptance in meteorology and science of knowledge sharing, these observations and arguments struck a chord. Consensus soon emerged from the ensuing debate that a distributed network of specialised facilities should produce a range of products to meet specialised meteorological needs relying on the expertise of the National Meteorological Services, but controlled centrally.

The next step towards agreement was taken when Morgan suggested that cloud wind extraction and supporting tasks should continue to be undertaken centrally, but that all other products could be generated locally at National Meteorological Services. The PAC agreed that, with the advice of the Scientific and Technical Group, the Secretariat should identify specialised areas of meteorological research into new products. The objective was to optimise the use of satellite data across Europe, rather than to optimise the creation and distribution of a pre-defined list of products.

When the meeting ended, the delegates had a good basis for further discussion. During the twenty-first Council meeting in November 1992 all delegations had to compromise, but the spirit of cooperation is notable in the minutes. During a special evening session, the delegates evolved a "policy for EUMETSAT ground systems and the implementation of the Meteosat Transition Programme (MTP) ground system" that was unanimously adopted.

That policy covered the establishment of a facility located at EUMETSAT's headquarters and a distributed network of SAFs responsible for research, development and operational activities within future programmes not carried out centrally. The SAFs were to be located at National Meteorological Services or centres of excellence, and scientists from all Member States were to be allowed to participate in the EUMETSAT-funded facilities.

On the specific issue of the MTP, the Resolution said that the Mission Control Centre (MCC) would be located at EUMETSAT headquarters. So, too, would the MPEF for production of cloud track winds and other existing products. The decision on the location of the MARF was deferred, but eventually the Council decided that it too should be located at the headquarters.

The SAFs represent a change in thinking about the use of meteorological satellite data. For the first generation of Meteosats, meteorologists specified the products, such as cloud motion winds or cloud top temperatures, which they wanted from meteorological satellites. By contrast, the products resulting from the SAFs will be focused on specific areas of application.

In the early days of Meteosat the obvious aim was to deduce conventional meteorological products from satellite data. Unwittingly, however, it seems that making an a priori list of meteorological products may have imposed a straightjacket on the imaginative application of satellite data. One aim for the SAFs is that they will allow free thinking about how to exploit such data.

SEE ALSO| |

1. Meteorologists shed political shackles, a review of Declan Murphy's history of the first 25 years of EUMETSAT (2011), by Helen Gavaghan.

2. An interview in 2010 with Dr Tillman Mohr, a special advisor to the secretary general of the World Meteorological Organisation, in Science, People & Politics.

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Contents

Preface

Foreword

Introduction

Ch.1

Ch.2

Ch.3

Ch.4

Ch.5

Ch.6

Ch.7

Ch.8

The History of EUMETSAT is available in English and French from EUMETSAT©.
First printed 2001. ISBN 92-9110-040-4

Eumetsat meteorology meteorological artificial satellites
European Space Agency weather climate policy politics history