The partnership with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO ) for JCOMM officially started in 1999, when the Technical Commission was established. Prior to 1999, marine meteorological and oceanographic observations, data management and service provision programmes were international coordinated through the WMO Commission for Marine Meteorology (CMM) on one hand and through the joint WMO-IOC Committee for the Integrated Global Ocean Services System (IGOSS) on the other hand. While enhancing safety at sea remained the primary objective of marine forecast and warning programmes, requirements for data and services steadily expanded in volume and breadth during the preceding decades. Other applications, such as coastal area management, optimization of commercial fishing activities, ship routing, offshore resource exploration and development, pollution prevention and clean- up and, most recently, climate modeling and prediction, became increasingly important. Moreover, many of these applications required observational data sets and predicted products for both the oceans and the overlying atmosphere.
Responding to these interdisciplinary requirements necessitated the development of ever closer working relationships between oceanographers and marine meteorologists. This was reflected at the global level by growing collaboration between IOC and WMO in organizing and coordinating ocean data acquisition, data management and provision of related services. As formally constituted, JCOMM is an intergovernmental body of experts that provides the mechanism for international coordination, regulation and management of oceanographic and marine meteorological observing, data management and services systems. The creation of this Joint Technical Commission results from a general recognition that worldwide improvement in coordination and efficiency may be achieved by combining the expertise and technological capabilities of WMO and IOC. One of the primary initial priorities for JCOMM is the development and implementation of operational oceanography, on the basis of designs and requirements expressed by the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) and the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS), including in particular an operational ocean observing system for climate.
JCOMM meets its mandate through:
- Further development of the observing networks under the guidance of the WMO-IOC-UNEP-ICSU Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), the WMO-IOC-UNEP-ICSU Global Climate Observing System (GCOS), the World Weather Watch (WWW) and other operational programmes, and cooperation with these bodies in seeking commitments for all components of an operational programme in the global oceans.
- Implementation of integrated end-to-end data management systems in collaboration with the Commission for Basic Systems (CBS), the Committee for International Data and Information Exchange (IODE), the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU), and other appropriate data management bodies, to meet the real-time operational needs of the present operational systems and the global observing systems.
- Delivery of products and services needed by international science and operational programmes, Members of WMO, and Member States of IOC. An important component of this will be the coordination of the safety-related marine meteorological and associated oceanographic services as an integral part of the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS).
- Provision of capacity building through education, training, technology transfer and implementation support to Member States.
- Establishment and enhancement of partnerships, liaison and collaboration with other global programs and international agencies both within and outside the UN system
IODE collaborates with JCOMM through the JCOMM Data Management Programme Area (DMPA) and its JCOMM/IODE Expert Team on Data Management Practices (ETDMP) . The DMPA is managed by the JCOMM Data Management Coordination Group. The IODE Co-Chair (one of the two Co-Chairs) is a member of the DMCG.
The 4th Session of JCOMM was held in Yeosu, Republic of Korea between 23-31 May 2012. More information on the outcome of the Session related to oceanographic data management can be found HERE.
JCOMM Data Management Coordination Group
Session reports :
Find out more on JCOMM's data management coordination group HERE
Find out more about the JCOMM data management programme area HERE
JCOMM/IODE Expert Team on Data Management Practices
Sessions : [CLICK HERE]
Membership: [CLICK HERE]
JCOMM Data Management Plan
The main goal of this DMPlan is to explain how data management can be conducted under the present structure to promote the long-term objectives of JCOMM. The plan presents a review of the various components of data management that must be considered as part of JCOMM. It makes a number of recommendations. Some of these are, in fact, underway either as formal projects in JCOMM, as an activity undertaken by one or more members, or as activities undertaken by other organizations with which JCOMM is linked. Most of the work requires coordination of activities across WMO-IOC Member / Member States participating in JCOMM. Developing this degree of cooperation will be a challenge. The national organizations of each Member / Member State have national priorities and objectives that must be met. Progress will be made by aligning these national requirements with activities at an international scale.
Download the Plan here
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Created on: Monday, 28 April 2008 14:24
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Last Updated on: Monday, 01 July 2013 12:20
