GTN-P Workshop 10-11 Nov 2011 in Potsdam, Germany

Download full report for this workshop (Note: You must be logged in to access the report.)

 

The International Permafrost Association (IPA) and the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) organized a workshop in November 2011 to encourage, facilitate and promote the first steps in the realization of the GTN-P Strategy and Implementation Plan submitted to GCOS and GTOS focusing on:

  • 1. The definition of user requirements definition for an observing network on permafrost based on a broader stakeholder involvement.
  • 2. the standardization of permafrost measurement methods at the international level

 

The workshop brought together representative of all participating countries and scientific fields (field scientists, modelers, remote sensing specialists, etc.) to elaborate a set of requirements and to get these communities to agree on a consolidated set of standards and products to be provided by GTN-P. During the workshop, also the more technical requirements were discussed, e.g. data archival and storage, data dissemination and visualization, search tools, online vs. offline data delivery, confidentiality and data citation, compatibility with existing ISO and PIC standards.

One result of the workshop was the formation of an interim GTN-P Executive Committee (EC), chaired by Vladimir Romanovsky (University of Alaska Fairbanks, US, UAF) that developed a Strategy and Implementation Plan for GTN-P and worked towards the operationalization of the network. During the Tenth International Conference for Permafrost (TICOP, Salekhard, RU, June 2012) an “official” GTN-P EC was elected replacing the interim EC.

The first day was dedicated to presentations and reports from the participating countries (by ad-hoc national correspondents appointed by the IPA national representatives) and selected international projects (e.g. INTERACT, DUE Permafrost, AMAP) engaged in permafrost observing. The second day was devoted to discussion and the definition of data user requirements through the organization of eight break-out sessions.

Break-out sessions were

  • Permafrost temperature, product definition: (a) location of boreholes, (b) preferable depths, (c) sensors (precision, accuracy and type), (d) technical details (e.g. installation), (e) reporting, and (f) mountain permafrost.
  • Permafrost temperature, format definition: (a) identification of users, (b) time resolution, (c) spatial resolution, (d) file format, (e) credits for data suppliers (citation), and (f) data sensitivity.
  • Active layer thickness, product definition. (a) measurement methods (b) active layer in mountain permafrost, (c) requirements by modelers, and (d) ECVs.
  • Active layer thickness, format definition: (a) who is the end user? (b) What are the applications, (c) comparability, (d) file structure/ format, and (e) metadata:
  • Reporting strategy: Timing and products: (a) Products (e.g. Annual Report, other reports, maps, web graphics, etc.). (b) Public outreach (c) Quality control (d) data upload, and (e) sovereignty of GTN-P.
  • Reporting Strategy, feed in international networks: (a) GTN-P and other international reporting systems (b) interaction between GCOS/ GTOS, WMO, Global Cryosphere Watch (GCW) and GTN-P (c) operationalization of the network (d) definition of reference sites with GCW
  • Implementation, management structure: (a) the IPA and the GTN-P EC (b) role of national contacts and nomination process.
  • Implementation, feeding data to a central database: (a) First definition of database needs (durable, manageable, user-friendly, adapted to changing technologies), using international data standards for the database and connecting it to other key databases (e.g. NORPERM, PERMOS, CALM, etc. (b) agreement on need to setup data upload with Excel files to an online interface and (c) agreement on the database language (English).

During this workshop, the interim EC and the attendees agreed on using the resources planned to develop the PAGE21 DMS to support the continuation of the GTN-P data management. The PAGE21 DMS was seen as an opportunity to create a standardized database to collect all TSP and CALM data and facilitate data dissemination. As a result, this workshop addressed issues directly related to the database management.

The outcomes of this GTN-P workshop formed the basis of the elaboration of the “GTN-P Strategy and Implementation Plan” (February 2012) which provided the development framework for the PAGE21 DMS. 

Strategy and Implementation Plan