Objectives
The Global Temperature-Salinity Profile Program (GTSPP) is a cooperative international project. It seeks to develop and maintain a global ocean Temperature-Salinity resource with data that are both up-to-date and of the highest quality possible. Making global measurements of ocean temperature and salinity (T-S) quickly and easily accessible to users is the primary goal of the GTSPP. Both real-time data transmitted over the Global Telecommunications System (GTS), and delayed-mode data received by the U.S. NOAA National Center for Environmental Information (NCEI) are acquired and incorporated into a continuously managed database. Countries contributing to the project are Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, and the United States. Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) leads the project, and has the operational responsibility to gather and process the real-time data. DFO accumulates real-time data from several sources via the GTS. They check the data for several types of errors, and remove duplicate copies of the same observation before passing the data on to NCEI. The quality control procedures used in GTSPP were developed by DFO, who also coordinated the publication of those procedures through the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC). NCEI performs four functions for the GTSPP:
- Maintains the global database of temperature and salinity data and provides online access to the data.
- Adds realtime data supplied by DFO to the database.
- Processes delayed mode copies of data by performing the same data quality tests as DFO, then adds data to the database.
- Prepares monthly data sets and transfers them by network to participants in the U.S., Australia and France, as well as to requestors.
In addition to DFO and NCEI, three science centers participate in the project by independently evaluating the delayed-mode data sets for the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans. Australia's Commonwealth Scientific, Industrial and Research Organization (CSIRO), the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), and NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic & Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) perform this function as Data Assembly Centers for the World Ocean Circulation Program, which GTSPP supports.
Establishment
The GTSPP was initiated jointly by IODE and IGOSS in 1990 as a pilot project (through Recommendation IODE-XIII.4 - see more) and transformed in 1996 into a permanent operational programme under the co-sponsorship of IODE and IGOSS (IODE Recommendation IODE-XV.4 (see below). In 2001 JCOMM-I defined GTSPP as a programme jointly sponsored by JCOMM and IODE.
The IODE Committee, at is 22nd Session (2013) revised the Terms of Reference and composition of the Steering Group (see under Governance) through Recommendation IODE-XXII.11 (see below).
Governance
The GTSPP is managed by a Steering Group. Initially this was composed of representatives listed under "GTSPP contributors" below. Between 1996 and 2008 the Steering Group met only on an ad hoc basis. In 2010 it had an "annual meeting".
As mentioned above the composition of the Steering Group was revised through Recommendation IODE-XXII.11. At that time the IODE Steering Group for the GTSPP Project was established.
More information on the Steering Group can be found HERE.
You can see the membership HERE. The current Chair of the SG is Mr Christopher R. Paver (USA). Before that data Robert Keeley (Canada), Charles Sun (USA) and Peter Chu (USA) were Chairs. More information on the Group and its meetings can be found here.
Data
The GTSPP web site provides access to real-time and best copy data products, and the GTSPP Web Interface (GWI) application that allows users to subset the GTSPP data of their interest.
Recommendation IODE-XXII.11
REVISED TERMS OF REFERENCE AND COMPOSITION OF THE STEERING GROUP FOR THE GLOBAL TEMPERATURE AND SALINITY PROFILE PROGRAMME (GTSPP)
The IOC Committee on International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange,
Acknowledging the importance to support global observation projects,
Recalling the establishment of the GTSPP Program through Recommendation IODE-XV.4 (1996) and its annex 1 to address Temperature and Salinity profile data management at global level,
Noting with satisfaction the work of GTSPP in establishing a long term temperature and salinity profile data structure,
Noting the close relationship with the World Ocean Database (WOD),
Recommends the following revised Terms of Reference and General membership of GTSPP
The Steering Group shall conduct the program for the collection and management of temperature and salinity profiledata sets to support IODE (International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange) and JCOMM (Joint Technical Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology) requirements with the following Terms of Reference and general membership.
Terms of Reference
- Provide scientific and technical guidance for the program in the implementation and enhancement of the GTSPP including:
i.Near real time data (observations within 30 days) acquisition;
ii.Non real time data (observations older than 30 days or data never circulated on the Global Telecommunication System) acquisition;
iii.Communications infrastructures;
iv.Quality control and analysis procedures;
v.Continuously managed database;
vi.Ocean data and meta data standards; and
vii.Data and information products.
- In conjunction with user groups and data collectors, design and implement data flow monitoring systems to ensure that the data are collected, processed and distributed according to agreed schedules and responsibilities.
- Collaborate with international projects and global scientific programs such as GCOS (Global Climate Observing System) and GOOS (Global Ocean Observing System) to assemble process and disseminate data managed by GTSPP.
- Actively promote the GTSPP and provide information to the users of GTSPP services, such as the planners of international science programs.
- Provide GTSPP status reports and other requested material to the IODE committee and JCOMM ETDMP, to international programs in which GTSPP is a participant.
General Membership
- One representative from each of the core participating countries (initially Australia, Canada, France, Japan, and USA) as identified by theThe core participating countries are the IOC Member States and WMO Members actively engaged in data and information exchanges with the long term archive centre of GTSPP.
- Experts from one or more Member / Member States of other programs/projects that are of relevance to GTSPP may accompany these representatives.
- Representatives invited by the SG from Member States of the IODE and JCOMM and representatives of oceanographic projects those are important to GTSPP operations.
- The Chair will be selected by the Steering Group and will be reviewed by them every two sessions.
- Funding for participants and sessions of the SG will be provided by Members or Member States.
Recommendation IODE-XV.4
GLOBAL TEMPERATURE-SALINITY PILOT PROJECT
The IOC Committee on International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange,
Noting with appreciation the progress achieved in the development of the IGOSS-IODE Global Temperature-Salinity Pilot Project (GTSPP) since 1989,
Further noting the commitments by the Canadian Marine Environmental Data Service (MEDS) and the US Responsible National Oceanographic Data Centre for IGOSS to continue to operate the real-time and continuously managed database aspects of the programme,
Noting Recommendation 3 of the Seventh Session of the JC on IGOSS that GTSPP become a permanent project of IGOSS and IODE,
Recommends that the IGOSS-IODE Global Temperature-Salinity Pilot Project become a permanent operational programme under the co-sponsorship of IGOSS and IODE with the title the IGOSS-IODE Global Temperature-Salinity Programme;
Further recommends that GTSPP be kept as the short name for the programme because of its familiarity to many IODE and IGOSS clients and its presence in many published documents and electronic media;
Appreciates the renewed commitment of MEDS and the US RNODC for IGOSS to continue their support to the programme.
During the First Session of JCOMM (June 2001) it was decided to move responsibility over GTSPP to the Joint JCOMM/IODE Expert Team on Data Management Practices (ETDMP).
GTSPP Contributors
The most important contributors are the collectors of the original data. Without their efforts, this compilation of data and information would not have been possible.
Thanks are also due to agencies who have provided data feeds and ideas in the development and running of the system. These include the Japanese Oceanographic Data Centre, the Japanese Meteorological Agency, the Bundesamt für Seeschiffahrt, the Australian Oceanographic Data Centre, the Surface and Subsurface Data Centre in Brest, the U.S. Fleet Numerical Oceanographic Center. A major data contributor is the Ship of Opportunity Program ( SOOP).
Agencies that have been important contributors in the development of the GTSPP system are presented below. Each participating agency carries out a number of functions in handling the data for the GTSPP. With each of the partners listed below a short description of their main contribution to the programme is provided. You are encouraged to contact any of the people listed here for more information. If you wish to provide data to the archive, or to get data in either real-time or delayed mode, you can contact any of the data centres involved.
AOML |
Contribution: Provided scientific quality control for Atlantic Ocean data. |
IFREMER |
Contribution: Data centre handling archive responsibilities for the UOT. Contact Loic Petit de la Villeon: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. |
IPRC |
Contribution: Provides scientific quality control for Pacific Ocean data. |
JAFOOS |
Contribution: Provided scientific quality control of data from the Indian Ocean. |
MEDS |
Contribution: Data centre handling real-time data management for the UOT. Contact Bob Keeley: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. |
SCRIPPS |
Contribution: Provided scientific quality control for Pacific Ocean data. |
U.S. NODC |
Contribution: Processes high resolution data and operates the continuously managed database. Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. |
Data
The GTSPP web site provides access to real-time data sets or best copy data sets.
Deployed the GTSPP Web Interface (GWI) appliation which allows users to subset the GTSPP data of their interests. The GWI is available at http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/gtspp/gtsppform01.cgi
The First Revision of the GTSPP Real-Time Quality Control Manual has been published in December 2010 and is available online for download. A limited number of printed copies is also available (February 2011: send request to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
Documentation and other meeting reports
|
Global Temperature-Salinity Profile Programme (GTSPP) - Overview and Future (IOC Technical Series 49) - by J.R. Wilson 1998 |
|
|
|
GTSPP Real-Time Quality Control Manual (IOC Manuals and Guides 22) 1990 |
|
|
Other Documents available on the GTSPP web site HERE
Visit the GTSPP web site for more information, data and documentation:
Information collect from GTSPP website at NOAA [ http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/GTSPP/index.html ] dated 3-Feb-2005
- Details
-
Created on: Saturday, 16 December 2006 18:19
-
Last Updated on: Monday, 30 January 2023 13:31