Recommendations of working groups shall have no status within the Organization until they have been approved by the responsible constituent body. In the case of joint working groups the recommendations must be concurred with by the presidents of the constituent bodies concerned before being submitted to the designated constituent body.

In the case of a recommendation made by a working group between sessions of the responsible constituent body, either in a session of a working group or by correspondence, the president of the body may, as an exceptional measure, approve the recommendation on behalf of the constituent body when the matter is, in his opinion, urgent, and does not appear to imply new obligations for Members. He may then submit this recommendation for adoption by the Executive Council or to the President of the Organization for action in accordance with Regulation 9(5).

CONTENTS

1. ORGANIZATION OF THE MEETING

1.1 Opening remarks
1.2 Adoption of the agenda
1.3 Working arrangements

2. REVIEW OF PROJECTS AND TECHNOLOGIES APPLICABLE TO THE FUTURE WMO INFORMATION SYSTEM
3. REVIEW OF RELEVANT DECISIONS OF EC-LIV
4. REPORTS ON PILOT PROJECTS
5. REVIEW OF THE VISION OF THE FUTURE WMO INFORMATION SYSTEM
6. TRANSITION FROM THE CURRENT INFORMATION SYSTEM AND FURTHER DEVELOPMENT
7. CLOSURE OF THE MEETING

The fourth meeting of the Inter-programme Task Team on Future WMO Information Systems was held 23-27 September 2002 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The team reviewed current and emerging technologies that could have an impact on development of the Future WMO Information System (FWIS), including the proposed WMO Core Metadata Standard, Earth System GRID, the EUMETNET UNIDART project, satellite alternative dissemination methods, the Roshydromet CliWare project, the South African METGIS system, and the Unidata Internet Data Distribution (IDD) system. The team felt that all could contribute to FWIS.

The meeting considered reports on two pilot projects relevant to FWIS. The first was a preliminary trial of data distribution using IDD that was conducted by the Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD). The test demonstrated that the IDD was very easy to install and operate and appeared to provide all of the capabilities that were expected. Given the limited nature of the test, it was not possible to verify all features but a more comprehensive test will be conducted in the near future. The second pilot involved the effort to establish a virtual (distributed) Global Information System Centre (VGISC) in RA VI. Data collection would be done by the participating RTHs, Bracknell, Offenbach and Toulouse, and their data would be stored at the three members of the VGISC. EUMETSAT and ECMWF would provide their data to the VGISC.

Taking into consideration the views of Executive Council, the CBS Implementation/Coordination Team on the ISS and others, the team reviewed the FWIS vision that had been developed at previous meetings. It agreed that, while no significant changes to the concept itself were required, much work was needed to clarify and improve the document that describes it. Consequently the team devoted considerable time to this effort. It developed a revised vision that included an introduction to clearly define the concept and the reasons for its development as well as an executive summary. It also expanded and improved the text to clarify the relationship with existing centres and improve the figures to ensure they more clearly illustrate the essential features of the concept.

The team felt that the success of FWIS would depends upon CBS actively supporting pilot projects that test and evaluate transitional technologies needed for implementation of the FWIS vision.

The revised vision is provided in the report of the meeting and is available at http://www.wmo.ch/web/www/WDM/reports/FWIS-vision-2002.html

1.1 Opening remarks

1.1.1 The fourth meeting of the Inter-programme Task Team on Future WMO Information Systems (TT-FWIS) opened on Monday 23 September 2002 at the South African Weather Service (SAWS) in Johannesburg, South Africa. Prof. G-R. Hoffmann (Germany), chair of the team, opened the meeting and outlined the principal tasks facing the team. Mr D. Nadison Permanent Representative of South Africa to WMO welcomed the task team to South Africa and the SAWS. He noted that as a member of Executive Council he had participated in its discussions on FWIS. He pointed out that Council requested that CBS consider the challenges of implementing a new system from both the technical and policy-level perspectives. He noted that the upcoming CBS session in December and Congress in May were key milestones for the further refinement and development of FWIS.

1.1.2 Mr G. Schulze, Chief Operations Officer of SAWS wished the team members a memorable and enjoyable stay in South Africa and a successful meeting.

1.2 Adoption of the agenda

1.2.1 The meeting adopted the agenda as reproduced in the beginning of this report.

2.1 During its review of current and emerging technologies that could have an impact on development of the Future WMO Information System (FWIS) the team considered the recommendations of the ET on Integrated Data Management (ET-IDM). The ET-IDM had finalized its proposal for a "WMO Core Metadata" profile within the context of the ISO Standard for Geographic Metadata (ISO 19115). This core provides a general definition for directory searches and exchange that should be applicable to a wide variety of WMO datasets. It does not specify how these metadata should be archived or presented to users and does not specify any particular implementation.

2.2 The TT-FWIS, noting that a catalogue was a key component of FWIS, agreed that the metadata standard recommended by the ET-IDM was a significant step forward. Although the standard was somewhat complex the team felt that it provided an optimum balance between completeness and complexity and should be used for development of pilot catalogue systems relevant to FWIS.

2.3 The team welcomed the participation of Mr A. Kellie, Director, Scientific Computing Division of the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). He made an informative presentation on the Earth System GRID activities and the team noted that there were many areas where FWIS and the Earth System GRID could benefit from collaboration, particularly in the areas of metadata, data discovery and catalogues.

2.4 Prof. Hoffmann briefed the meeting on the progress of the EUMETNET UNIDART Project. He noted that UNIDART would likely be the first project that would implement the WMO Core Metadata standard for its catalogue and would thus constitute an important pilot for FWIS.

2.5 The experts considered the report of the recent meeting on the Improved Main Telecommunications Network (IMTN). There was considerable discussion on the progress made to date and on the direction to be taken.

2.6 Mr Roesli briefed the task team on the results of the OPAG IOS Expert Team on Satellite System Utilization and Products (ET-SSUP). He noted that, considering the planned extensions of the operational meteorological satellite programmes and the recent inclusion of the environmental R&D satellites into the WMO satellite information concept, ET-SSUP expected a considerable increase in complexity and data volume when accessing satellite data and products by WMO Members. Whereas direct dissemination from operational satellites is the dominant means at present, in the future, access should be possible through a composite service comprised of both direct broadcast (DB) from satellite systems and alternative dissemination methods (ADM). ADM would be the baseline while direct broadcast reception would serve as back up as well as for those WMO Members unable to take advantage of ADM.

2.7 In this context DB means that a transponder aboard the meteorological spacecraft itself performs data broadcasting to the user whereas the ADM concept means that after downlink to a primary ground station (or Command and Data Acquisition station) the data distribution to the user community at large is performed through services available from telecommunication operators, which are not dedicated to meteorological data. ADM is understood to be essentially "near real time data distribution via commercial satellite telecommunication services".

2.8 Considerable effort has already gone into the development of the concept of ADM. Though still under investigation, it has reached a certain level of maturity. With the use of cost-efficient technology ADM would make more data available to a larger user community. ADM could also alleviate the difficulty of the reception/acquisition task by making data available via a telecommunication standard, and in a format adapted to the needs and constraints of the user community within the footprint, rather than requiring the user community to adapt to the specific format of each individual satellite system. This was particularly relevant for the access to multiple satellite systems with different data formats. In order to address the integration of ADM of satellite data and products into a wider vision of WMO information exchange, preliminary indications on temporal requirements and expected data volumes have been compiled.

2.9 Regarding NMHSs requirements for cost-optimized access to all necessary satellite data/products and based on the notion of three different types of satellites (geostationary, polar and R&D satellites), the present satellite information access concept will be extended by adding ADM to the direct broadcast (DB - retained as a back-up service).

2.10 Mr Besprozvannykh made a presentation on the CliWare project operated and being further developed by Roshydromet of the Russian Federation. The system is very technologically advanced and makes extensive use of international standard protocols, XML and ANSI SQL, and open source software and development tools. The project plans to add support for the proposed WMO Core Metadata standard. The task team was very impressed with the project and felt that once the support for the WMO Core Metadata had been added the project could be considered as a pilot to evaluate the catalogue and request/reply capabilities envisioned for FWIS.

2.11 Dr Robbins added that the task team evaluating the future Climate Data Base Management Systems (CDBMS) met in May 2002 and evaluated CliWare as well as CDBMSs developed by the Czech Republic, France, Zimbabwe, Jordan and Tunisia. It was noted that each CDBMS had been developed to meet the needs of different climate data centres and, thus, had different capabilities. Complete evaluations of each system are available on the WMO web site at http://www.wmo.ch/web/wcp/wcdmp/cdmsfuture/html/evaluation.html .

2.12 Mr Andrew van der Merwe made a presentation on the SAWS Meteorological Graphic Information System (METGIS). He explained that METGIS is a graphical display system for operational meteorological data that has been developed for Southern Africa over the last few years specifically to balance telecommunication capacity versus costs. The system has also been adapted for the Internet. The system works with a variety of protocols and optionally supports data compression.

2.13 The system consists of the following set of software, described below:

1. WOClient.exe – Weather Office Client Down Loader, which is responsible for downloading data from the relevant MSS.
2. EGRR.exe – Model Viewer, which is used to display and print GRIB and GRID NWP data. With little modification this software program can display data for any geographic position on the globe.
3. Bolug.exe – Upper Air Data Viewer, which is used to display and print upper air data and NWP data on pre-determined Pressure Levels.
4. Msynop.exe – Synoptic Plot, which is used to display and print synoptic data. There is a pre-determined set of maps available to choose from, as well as two specified maps where the user can set of the dimension of data.
5. Sat.exe – Satellite Viewer, which is used to display a set of satellite data from Meteosat. Loops and animation are also provided.
6. Radarviewer.exe – Radar Viewer, which is used to display composite radar images over Southern Africa. These images can be animated to track the movement of storms.
7. FaxDisp.exe – Fax Display, which is used to display and print International Significant Weather Charts as distributed by WAFC.
8. Intldlg.exe – International Winds, which is used to print International Aviation Winds from the WAFC NWP GRIB data.

2.14 The system currently only runs on Windows PCs, but it will be available for Linux in 2003. The minimum requirement of the PC used is an entry level PC (Celeron or Pentium II/III, 64-128 MB Ram and 10 GB Hard drive).

2.15 The task team requested that a description of METGIS be submitted to the WMO Secretariat for inclusion in the CBS Software Registry and that the software be made available to Members that request it, particularly in developing countries.

3.1 The task team considered the additional guidance on FWIS provided by Executive Council (EC) at its fifty-fourth session. The team noted that EC was pleased with the progress that had been made to date and that the Council agreed that a window of opportunity existed now to arrive at an agreed standard for the FWIS and that any delay in necessary coordination could result in multiple incompatible systems.

3.2 The TT-FWIS noted that EC, recognizing that the proposed system would likely require changes in operational and institutional arrangements, agreed that there were several technical and policy level issues that needed further consideration. EC had requested CBS to further refine the concept and to develop more detailed technical information on specific requirements for FWIS and how the proposed system would function and address these requirements. It had also asked CBS to specify how the existing WWW system and centres would evolve into the new structure, ensuring a smooth transition with no interruption in essential services.

3.3 The Council had also recalled the policy issues raised at its fifty-third session, namely:

• The possible impact of the introduction of a future WMO information system on Members’ responsibilities and resources;
• The extent to which the functions and responsibilities of existing infrastructure and centres should be used or revised.

3.4 EC requested that a study be undertaken to explore these and other policy-level implications of the FWIS, based on the outcome of CBS at its extraordinary session in 2002. The Council requested the EC Advisory Group on the Role and Operation of NMHSs to consider the results of the study, analyze the relevant policy issues and report its findings to fourteenth Congress.

3.5 EC-LIV also discussed alternative telecommunications services In particular, it noted the matter of Alternative Dissemination Methods (ADM) for the distribution of satellite data and products from the operational meteorological satellites. The Council urged the CBS to review the ADM concept, as a matter of urgency, to include data and products from Research and Development satellites in order to provide WMO Members with guidance on how the valuable satellite information could be made available in an optimized distribution system. Candidates for ADM included Internet and commercial telecommunication satellites. The Council was pleased to learn that CBS had made significant progress in reviewing ADM with the expectation that the Commission would finalize a distribution concept at its next session.

3.6 The team kept these considerations in mind as it worked to refine its vision for FWIS.

4.1 The meeting considered a report on a preliminary trial of data distribution using Internet Data Distribution software (IDD) conducted by the Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD). It was originally planned at the TT-FWIS-3 to test IDD with satellite data sent by the UK Met Office. Due to non-technical problems there, it was not possible to set up the test so far. Therefore, DWD decided to conduct a limited test to see if the Internet could be used to transmit WMO data with IDD.

4.2 The test demonstrated that the IDD was very easy to install and operate and appeared to provide all of the capabilities that were expected. A daily feed of nearly 200 MB was received. However, given the limited nature of the test, it was not possible to check if all data that was sent was really received, since it was not known precisely what was actually sent. Furthermore, many of the functions of the IDD (such as automatic monitoring of system performance) were not tested.

4.3 The TT-FWIS noted that it is planned in the near future to carry out the IDD test as originally planned and to gain some operational experience with 'real' data. It looked forward to being informed of the results of this test.

4.4 Prof. Hoffmann informed the team on the effort to establish a virtual (distributed) GISC in RA VI. He described the roles for participants of the Virtual GISC (VGISC) and presented some ideas on data acquisition and products, data distribution, and data distribution policy. Data collection would be done by the National Centres (NC’s) and their data be stored at the three members of the VGISC. The DCPCs (EUMETSAT and ECMWF) would provide their data to the VGISC by feeding them into the communications ring. Where the data will be stored physically will be decided at a later stage.

4.5 The future work plan for the VGISC has been assigned to four Working Groups:

• Working Group on Policy
• Working Group on Data
• Working Group on Communications
• Working Group on Data Acquisition / Dissemination

4.6 The team was impressed with the scope of the activity that had been proposed and looked forward to further reports on this project.

5.1 The task team considered the report of the recent meeting of the Implementation/Coordination Team on the ISS (ICT-ISS), paying particular attention to its conclusions and recommendations concerning FWIS. The team noted that the ICT-ISS had underlined that one essential characteristic of the FWIS was that the concept was developed with a view to meeting the data exchange and data management requirements of all programmes of WMO, in addition to the requirements of the WWW system, taking due account of the different levels of service required (real-time, near real-time, non real-time, etc.). The team noted that the ICT-ISS had recommended that the respective requirements in the concept of the FWIS should be developed and clarified to reflect the respective specific needs and constraints of each Programme.

5.2 The task team also noted that the ICT-ISS felt that the FWIS concept was not currently providing a clear description of the integration of the current functions of the WWW system, and how they could be integrated into the FWIS concept. The ICT-ISS had suggested that the current functions and responsibilities of the WWW system components should be matched to the functions and responsibilities of the FWIS components, taking into account that they were expanded to meet other programmes' requirements and stressed the importance of developing a study clarifying the evolution from the current WWW information systems into the FWIS.

5.3 Taking into consideration these views, as well as views expressed by Executive Council and others, the team reviewed the FWIS vision that had been developed at previous meetings. It agreed that, while no significant changes to the concept itself were required, much work was needed to clarify and improve the document that describes it. Consequently the team devoted considerable time to this effort. It recognized that the document need to be amended to:

• Include an introduction to clearly define the concept and the reasons for its development
• Expand and improve the text to clarify the relationship with existing centres
• Include a new diagram illustrating the relationship of FWIS to existing WMO Programmes
• Improve existing diagrams to ensure they clearly illustrate the concept and are less subject to misinterpretation
• Develop an executive summary

5.4 With these considerations in mind the team developed the revised "Vision for the Future WMO Information System" as given in the annex to this paragraph.

6.1 The implementation and operation of FWIS requires the participation of many Programmes and centres. Since all WMO Programmes stand to benefit, each must actively participate and contribute its own expertise and resources. The support of many members of the WMO community, including regional associations and technical commissions will be required.

6.2 The team devoted significant effort in examining how the transition from the current information systems to FWIS could be undertaken, including how existing WWW systems and centres could evolve. It noted that the smooth transition to FWIS with no interruption in essential services is a fundamental requirement for the successful implementation and operation of FWIS. A number of alternative approaches for this transition were considered:

1. Global implementation on a given cut-over date with a period of parallel operations

2. Phased implementation through introduction of FWIS on a regional basis (use of dual, or interface systems on the boundaries between the new and old)

3. Gradual introduction of new capabilities and evolution of existing systems.

The advantages and disadvantages of the various approaches depend upon the needs and capabilities of Members, the nature of the changes and the hardware and software to be used.

6.3 Option (a.), world-wide implementation on a cut-over date, is not considered to be feasible. Option (b.) would suffer from some of the same problems as option (a.) albeit on a smaller scale. While careful consideration and design of the interfaces between the existing and new systems might make such an approach possible, the team felt that this would not be the preferred strategy.

6.4 Option (c.) would be most likely to ensure a continuity of existing services and the most practical to implement. While such an evolutionary transition is, in fact, occurring today it is being pursued in an uncoordinated fashion. Requirements that are not addressed by existing systems are being met through implementation of new systems in an ad hoc manner. However, there is still a window of opportunity to influence these developments and guide them towards common coordinated solutions.

6.5 Consequently, the team recommended that the further development and implementation of FWIS be pursued through a gradual introduction and evaluation of enabling technologies through pilots and prototypes. Successful prototypes could then be expanded to serve additional communities and/or distributed to other Members and centres for wider implementation. In this way, the enhanced functions provided by FWIS would be gradually introduced and expanded.

6.6 The TT-FWIS stressed the importance of the general acceptance and implementation of the proposed Core WMO Metadata Standard. The team noted that the ICT-ISS had recognized that several further actions were required before WMO could adopt the metadata standard for operational use. Key among these was to apply the draft standard to data held by several Programmes, so that practical problems with using the standard could be identified. This would allow the problems to be corrected before the standard is finalised.

6.7 The team agreed that future development of FWIS catalogues is vital. While CliWare and UNIDART will test implementation of the proposed metadata standard, TT-FWIS recognized that commonality of discovery-level metadata needs to be tested more widely.

6.8 The team felt that the success of FWIS would depends upon CBS actively supporting pilot projects that test and evaluate transitional technologies needed for implementation of the FWIS vision. The following pilot projects are proposed to ensure that the proposed technologies provide the services required.

• Evaluation of Automatic File Distribution (AFD) and IDD capabilities and deficiencies in providing alternative solutions to GTS message switching capabilities, considering assurance of reliability and timely delivery of WMO products.
• Evaluation of network data security provided by Virtual Private Networks (VPN) and Internet Protocol Security (IPSec) systems.
• Evaluation of existing and planned request/reply systems, such as UNIDART and CliWare to provide delivery of data and products that are not provided by the current GTS.
• Evaluation of a distributed GISC, i.e. the VGISC project in RA VI.

Evaluations of additional technologies that show potential for FWIS, such as METGIS, peer to peer file sharing systems and Web Services, should also be conducted.

6.9 Centres considering participation in FWIS may be concerned that this would entail additional costs and replacement of equipment. However, FWIS will be built upon existing systems and these systems can continue to carry out their current tasks without modification. Additional equipment will likely be required if centres choose to provide the enhanced services offered by FWIS but, overall, cost savings will probably be realized since FWIS will not require maintenance of equipment once it becomes obsolete.

6.10 One RTH on the MTN, RTH Beijing, examined the functions to be performed by a GISC in comparison with its existing capabilities. As can be seen from the table below no major difficulties were foreseen. Most of the GISC functions could be easily accommodated within the existing infrastructure. The functions that are not currently supported could be provided without an excessive development effort.

7.1 The meeting closed on Friday 27 September 2002.