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BAMOS
Sep 2019
benefit is derived from enhanced public and private
investment in observations and data collection.
The fluid earth sciences of meteorology, hydrology and
oceanography are central to three of the fundamental
responsibilities of national governments: collection and
preservation of official national records, understanding
the natural environment of their countries, and protection
of their citizens from threats to the safety of life and
property. This makes the arrangements for the conduct
of atmospheric, hydrological and oceanic research and
service provision a matter for national governments
as well as for the meteorological, hydrological and
oceanographic communities of their countries. As the
main non‑governmental forum for meteorology and
oceanography in Australia, the Australian Meteorological
and Oceanographic Society (AMOS) strongly endorses
the long‑standing commitment of successive Australian
Governments to the fulfilment of their important national
responsibilities in these fields.
The global interconnectedness of the atmosphere and
ocean also makes meteorology and oceanography (and,
to a lesser extent, hydrology) inherently international
fields of endeavour dependent on global cooperation
in the collection of observational data from around the
world. As a large and sparsely populated island nation
in the southern hemisphere, Australia benefits greatly
from this international cooperation that provides us with
access to global data from instrumentation on land, on
and in the ocean, in the air, and in space.
The statement notes that the past distinctions between the roles
of public and private agents in the collection and processing of
data, and in the generation of services, are becoming blurred
and calls for innovations which build on, rather than replace,
the long‑standing model of international cooperation which
has provided enormous benefits to all countries and virtually all
sectors of national economies.
The statement stresses that with growing national and
international concern about climate change, it is especially
important that Australia maintains and enhances its national
climate observing networks and data archives. Also that
observations for climate monitoring need to be of the highest
quality and consistency as they provide the baseline to which
more numerous, but often less accurate, observations (such as
those from lower quality, amateur and big‑data sources) can be
anchored.
Meteorological and oceanographic data is also an important
focus of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems
(GEOSS) being developed by the intergovernmental Group
on Earth Observations (GEO)—building on the foundation of
existing systems sponsored and coordinated by the WMO, the
IOC and the ISC. The statement also explains that Australia
has provided, and should continue to provide, effective SH
leadership in these efforts.
The AMOS position statement presents nine specific actions:
1. Sustained and stable funding of Australia's basic national
meteorological, oceanographic and related terrestrial
observing networks and associated infrastructure;
2. All publicly funded Australian observational data, metadata
and data analyses to be readily discoverable and universally
available, both nationally and internationally, for no more
than the incremental costs of their reproduction and
delivery;
3. Continuing Australian commitment to international
coordination on issues of observational standards and data
quality, consistency and reliability;
4. Widespread adoption of 'best practice' for attribution and
citation of data used in meteorological and oceanographic
research;
5. Strong government support for Australian participation
in the WMO, IOC, ISC and other institutions and programs
that facilitate international cooperation in meteorological,
oceanographic and related data acquisition and sharing;
6. Development and implementation of internationally
consistent policies and agreements to ensure maximum
possible access to additional data (including historical
satellite data and privately acquired 'big data') for public
purposes, recognising the ownership rights of the private
data providers;
7. Continuing commitment to establishment of a strong
and effective partnership between the public, private and
academic sectors in Australia;
8. Effective cooperation across the public, private and
academic sectors in the development and implementation
of new data (including 'big‑data') sources for both public
and private purposes; and
9. Active Australian participation in the ongoing international
dialogue on data and related issues among practicing
meteorologists, oceanographers, hydrologists, economists,
information scientists and other experts through the
professional channels provided by the International Forum
of Meteorological Societies (IFMS) and related mechanisms.
Conclusion
The AMOS Conference in Fremantle in February 2020 will be
holding one or more sessions where some of the above matters
will be discussed and/or be relevant. AMOS members with an
interest in these matters are encouraged to contribute to and
participate in these further discussions.