List of Application Areas

[echarpent]

Initial request

I refer to the Application Areas Codes list in the WMDR.
INFCOM-2 recommended changes to WIGOS Manual in relation to the evolved Rolling Review of Requirements process per WMO's Earth System Approach. In doing so, it introduced the concept of Earth System Application Category (ESAC), which is effectively a grouping of Application Areas into 1. Space Weather, 2. Atmospheric, 3. Oceanic, 4. Hydrological & Terrestrial, 5. Cryospheric, and 6. Integrated Earth System Applications. It also expanded the list of Application Areas, which are now grouped into ESACs. See related INFCOM-2 INF 6.1(3) and its Annex 1.
Some further changes were then also proposed by SERCOM and its ET-MOR with regard to the Oceanic Applications ESAC. These will have to be considered (I will provide the table in a next message).

OSCAR Requirements web page of Application Categories and Areas:

• https://space.oscar.wmo.int/application-category
• https://space.oscar.wmo.int/applicationareas

Amendment details

updated 16 January 2025

1. retire all old application area codes
2. add new application area codes with numeric notations (1-n) and include application category in the path column
3. provide mapping of codes from old to new where possible

NEW codes

notation	path	name	description
1	Atmospheric Applications	2.1 Global Numerical Weather Prediction and Real-time Monitoring	Global Numerical Weather Prediction
2	Atmospheric Applications	2.2 High-Resolution Numerical Weather Prediction	High-resolution (HR) Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) focuses on observing systems required by high-resolution NWP models producing forecasts of meteorological events with a 1-5 km horizontal resolution, 6 hours to a few days ahead. Such forecasts are more detailed than those available from global models, due to more realistic descriptions of atmospheric phenomena such as clouds and precipitation. The added detail is made possible by a finer computational grid on a specific area, more detailed specification of terrain, more sophisticated prescription of physical processes mainly based on explicit rather than parameterised formulations, and, importantly, denser and more frequent observations (with respect to global NWP) to specify appropriately detailed initial conditions.
3	Atmospheric Applications	2.3 Nowcasting / Very Short-Range Forecasting	Nowcasting, as outlined by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), involves detailed forecasting of local weather, utilizing any method to predict conditions from the present to six hours ahead. It provides a comprehensive portrayal of the current weather, leveraging real-time observational data such as surface observations, satellite imagery, lightning, radar data, etc. Nowcasting by extrapolation excels in delivering high-resolution forecasts of weather phenomena for the immediate (2 hour) future. Advancements in data assimilation systems enable Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) to outperform nowcast extrapolation thereafter. The use of NWP with data assimilation forms the basis of Very Short Range Forecasting (VSRF) up to 12 hours. To ensure a seamless VSRF, crucial in high-impact weather situations, advanced centers blend both NWP and nowcasting. This integration plays a vital role in issuing timely warnings and aiding decision-makers across various sectors.
4	Atmospheric Applications	2.4 Sub-Seasonal to Longer Predictions	Sub-seasonal to longer predictions (SSLP) covers predictions in sub-seasonal to decadal time-ranges (roughly two weeks to 10 years), using numerical prediction models based on current and past observations and analyses.
5	Atmospheric Applications	2.5 Atmospheric Climate Monitoring	This AA covers the set of atmospheric observations defined by Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) as essential to detect, model and assess climate change and its impact; support adaptation to climate change; monitor the effectiveness of policies for mitigating climate change; and develop climate information services.
6	Atmospheric Applications	2.6 Atmospheric Composition Forecasting and Monitoring	Applications related to evaluating and analysing temporal and spatial changes in atmospheric composition, at regional and global scale. They aim to support treaty monitoring, climatologies, and re-analyses, assessing trends in composition and emissions/fluxes, and to better understand processes, principally in the troposphere and stratosphere. The applications rely on the use of data of controlled quality with less stringent time requirements compared to the near-real-time requirements. These data are also used to derive products that are published in the WMO ozone and greenhouse gas bulletins and the state of the atmosphere reports (for example, Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion reports).
7	Atmospheric Applications	2.7 Atmospheric Composition Information Services in Urban and Populated Areas	Applications that target limited areas (with horizontal resolution of a few km or smaller and stringent timeliness requirements to support services related to weather/climate/pollution, such as air quality forecasting.
8	Atmospheric Applications	2.8 Aeronautical Meteorology	Application of meteorological information to aviation taking into account relevant developments in science and technology and the study of aeronautical meteorological requirements in support of the safety, regularity, efficiency and environmental sustainability of aviation with users ranging from pilots, air traffic control and management to airline dispatch offices as well as airport authorities.
9	Atmospheric Applications	2.9 Agricultural Meteorology	Applications of meteorology to agriculture (agrometeorology).
10	Cryospheric Applications	5.1 Terrestrial Cryosphere Forecasting and Monitoring	Terrestrial Cryosphere Forecasting and Monitoring
11	Cryospheric Applications	5.2 Sea-Ice Forecasting and Monitoring	Sea-Ice Forecasting and Monitoring
12	Cryospheric Applications	5.3 Cryospheric Climate Monitoring	Cryospheric Climate Monitoring
13	Hydrological and Terrestrial Applications	4.1 Hydrological Forecasting and Real-time Monitoring	Application covering the forecasting and the real-time monitoring in the field of terrestrial hydrology.
14	Hydrological and Terrestrial Applications	4.2 Hydrological and Terrestrial Climate Monitoring	This AA covers the set of hydrological and other terrestrial observations defined by Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) as essential to detect, model and assess climate change and its impact; support adaptation to climate change; monitor the effectiveness of policies for mitigating climate change; and develop climate information services.
15	Integrated Earth System Applications	6.1 Earth System Forecasting and Monitoring	Earth System Forecasting and Monitoring
16	Integrated Earth System Applications	6.2 Understanding Earth System Processes	Understanding Earth System Processes
17	Oceanic Applications	3.1 Ocean Forecasting and Real-Time Monitoring	This application covers the set of observations that provide essential information to support monitoring ocean state in near-real-time and ocean forecasting systems on global, basin, and regional scales. These observations are also vital for ocean modeling development and for the verification of numerical weather predictions from medium-range to seasonal forecasts.
18	Oceanic Applications	3.2 Coastal Forecasting	Coastal Forecasting encompasses the collection of observations that contribute to oceanographic forecasting systems spanning from the nearshore areas and estuarine entrances to the continental shelf and slope. These forecasting systems serve various purposes, such as issuing alerts for storm surges and coastal inundation, providing vital information for coastal and offshore industries, and supporting recreational activities in the coastal areas. Note: Coastal forecasts supporting maritime safety are included in AA3.6 Maritime Safety. Coastal flooding related to tsunamis are considered in AA 3.4.
19	Oceanic Applications	3.3 Oceanic Climate Monitoring and Services	Oceanic Climate Monitoring covers the set of observations defined by the Global Climate Observing System as essential to detect, model and assess climate change and its impact; support adaptation to climate change; monitor the effectiveness of policies for mitigating climate change; and develop climate information services
20	Oceanic Applications	3.4 Tsunami Monitoring and Detection	Tsunami Monitoring and Detection refers to the systematic processes to detect and forecast tsunamis, assess their potential threat to the coasts, marinas and harbours and issue timely tsunami advisory information to the stakeholders. Data related to tsunamis are acquired with both high frequency and high precision. The essential elements for early detection include the real-time transmission of seismic data, sea-level observations, and GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) measurements, which together provide a critical foundation for the effective monitoring and early warning against tsunami threats.
21	Oceanic Applications	3.5 Marine Environmental Emergency Response	Marine environmental emergency response (MEER) refers to the response of any immediate and imminent threat of harm to the marine environment. This response is highly time sensitive as marine pollutants drift and disperse in the surrounding fluid and, thus, increasing the extent of the potential environmental harm. The time sensitivity of the data required to monitor and predict the transport of pollutants is of the utmost importance to mitigate damage to the marine environment.
22	Oceanic Applications	3.6 Maritime Safety (ports to open ocean)	It covers the sets of observations to provide the services and warnings for the protection of life and property on all ships on all voyages at sea and in all [port] waters connected therewith.
23	Oceanic Applications	3.7 Ocean Biogeochemical Cycles	Ocean Biogeochemical Cycles
24	Space Weather Applications	1.1 Sun, Heliosphere and Solar Wind Forecasting and Monitoring	This AA aims to monitor and forecast the conditions of the Sun, the heliosphere and the solar wind which are relevant to space weather and space climate. This AA includes the monitoring and forecasting of solar disturbances propagating through the heliosphere and solar wind.
25	Space Weather Applications	1.2 Energetic Particle and Magnetosphere Forecasting and Monitoring	This AA is related to the monitoring and forecasting of energetic particles (in the interplanetary medium, in the magnetosphere, atmosphere, and at ground level), and of the magnetic field in the Earth’s magnetosphere.
26	Space Weather Applications	1.3 Ionosphere, Thermosphere and Geomagnetic Field Forecasting and Monitoring	This AA is related to the monitoring and forecasting of space weather parameters in the ionosphere and thermosphere and of geomagnetic field variations at the surface of the Earth.

Mapping for applications if needed

old	notation	name
globalNumericalWeatherPrediction		Global Numerical Weather Prediction and Real-time Monitoring
highResolutionNumericalWeatherPrediction		High-Resolution Numerical Weather Prediction
nowcasting		Nowcasting / Very Short-Range Forecasting
seasonalForecasting		Sub-Seasonal to Longer Predictions
climateApplications		Atmospheric Climate Monitoring
climateMonitoring		Atmospheric Climate Monitoring
atmosphericCompositionForecasting		Atmospheric Composition Forecasting and Monitoring
atmosphericCompositionMonitoring		Atmospheric Composition Forecasting and Monitoring
integratedUrbanServices		Atmospheric Composition Information Services in Urban and Populated Areas
aeronauticalMeteorology		Aeronautical Meteorology
agriculturalMeteorology		Agricultural Meteorology
climateScience		Understanding Earth System Processes

no mapping available

cryosphere
energy
health
hydrology
oceanApplications
spaceWeather
terrestrialEcology
transport

Comments

Requestor(s)

Etienne Charpentier (WMO)

Stakeholder(s)

• WIGOS Program (?)

Publication(s)

Manual on Codes (WMO-No. 306), Volume I.3 and WMO Codes Registry

• 2-01.csv
• Application areas

Expected impact of change

HIGH, the OSCAR/Surface editor will need to be updated and there is not a direct mapping between old and new

Collaborators

References

Validation

[echarpent]

As discussed in my previous message, the current list of ESACs and AAs is available here: Evolved RRR Process 2022 - Lit of ESACs and AAs - post INFCOM-2-v1.0.docx

[JREyre]

@amilan17 @echarpent
As requested, here are a few comments on this proposal (wearing my TT-WIGOSMD hat!)

• General. Application Areas should be homogenous (as defined at the head of the table - which is fine) and therefore preferably non-overlapping. With this in mind:
• Climate monitoring. There are now 5 AAs covering this: 2.5, 3.3, 4.2, 5.1, 5.3. (There used to be one.) So how will overlap and gaps be avoided? Will the review mechanism be within GCOS or with JET-EOSDE. I am particularly concerned about 5.1 and .2, where overlap appears to be built into the AA names.
• 1.1, Space weather. This is also the name of the parent ESAC. Could the AA name be adjusted. Also 1.2 appears to be a sub-component of 1.1.
• 6.1, Earth System Forecasting and Monitoring. On the face of it, this appears to overlap several other AAs. Has the scope of 6.1 been defined to ensure that it does not?
• I think it is the intention that this list should replace the current list, i.e. all entries not on the new list would removed (or deprecated?). Are there are problems, from a WIGOS MD perspective, in removing existing entries?

[amilan17]

@echarpent Do you have a mapping of the old to new application areas?

[amilan17]

initial mapping exercise:
applicationAreaMapping.xlsx

[amilan17]

https://github.com/wmo-im/tt-wigosmd/wiki/2023.02.16-TT-WIGOSMD notes:

discussion: Superseding current codes by mapping is difficult, because there one to many, many to one, many to many mappings. It may be more efficient to replace the entire list with a new one. Kruno will collaborate with us on this.

[joergklausen]

@amilan17 : Please set up meeting with Etienne, Kruno, Tom Kralidis (because of WIS topic hierarchy) and myself to discuss this and agree a way forward. Suggestions: 28 March or 30 March. Thanks.

[amilan17]

The list of approved application areas is now online: https://space.oscar.wmo.int/applicationareas

[JREyre]

@amilan17 @joergklausen
I've checked the revised list against my comments above (12 Dec 2022).
The revision has responded to all my comments, except 6.1. This appears to overlap substantially (completely?) with several of the other AAs, and so it would need a very careful definition/description to explain how it does not overlap. What is the AA 6.1 such that it has different observation requirements from those that it appears to overlap with, and which group is responsible for 6.1?
Anna: When you say "approved", by whom? (Not yet by TT-WIGOSMD?) How can they be approved when many do not yet have descriptions?

[kpremec]

The list of ESACs and AAs is a part of the Manual on WIGOS, recently approved by EC. INFCOM-MG is supposed to approve ESAC/AAs owners, together with the proposed PoCs, at their meeting in 2 weeks. Then the owners/PoCs should work on the population of AAs (description, variables, requirements, etc).
Manual on WIGOS says:
"Application area 6.1 deals with the integrated Earth System, including all domain interfaces between components of the integrated Earth System."
But also:
"The list of Application Areas is intended to include all WMO uses of observations, it needs to be checked periodically for completeness and updated accordingly",

[JREyre]

@kpremec @joergklausen @amilan17
Kruno, Thanks for the explanation of the approval status. I will discuss with you off-line my continuing concerns about 6.1.

[amilan17]

https://github.com/wmo-im/tt-wigosmd/wiki/2023-03-17-TT-WIGOSMD notes:
Anna and John will come up with a proposal and Anna will set up a meeting as proposed by Joerg above.

[amilan17]

Please set up meeting with Etienne, Kruno, Tom Kralidis (because of WIS topic hierarchy) and myself to discuss this and agree a way forward. Suggestions: 28 March or 30 March. Thanks.

@joergklausen I will look at setting up a meeting next week, because this week is very busy.

[amilan17]

Application Area Notation (current)	New Application Category	New Application Area
spaceWeather	1. Space Weather Applications	1.1 Sun, Heliosphere and Solar Wind Forecasting and Monitoring
spaceWeather	1. Space Weather Applications	1.2 Energetic Particle and Magnetosphere Forecasting and Monitoring
spaceWeather	1. Space Weather Applications	1.3 Ionosphere, Thermosphere and Geomagnetic Field Forecasting and Monitoring
globalNumericalWeatherPrediction	2. Atmospheric Applications	2.1 Global Numerical Weather Prediction and Real-time Monitoring
n/a?	2. Atmospheric Applications	2.10 Atmospheric Disaster Risk Reduction
highResolutionNumericalWeatherPrediction	2. Atmospheric Applications	2.2 High-Resolution Numerical Weather Prediction
nowcasting	2. Atmospheric Applications	2.3 Nowcasting / Very Short Range Forecasting
seasonalForecasting	2. Atmospheric Applications	2.4 Sub-Seasonal to Longer Predictions
climateMonitoring	2. Atmospheric Applications	2.5 Atmospheric Climate Forecasting and Monitoring
atmosphericCompositionForecasting	2. Atmospheric Applications	2.6 Atmospheric Composition Forecasting and Monitoring
atmosphericCompositionMonitoring	2. Atmospheric Applications	2.6 Atmospheric Composition Forecasting and Monitoring
integratedUrbanServices	2. Atmospheric Applications	2.7 Atmospheric Composition Information Services in Urban and Populated Areas
aeronauticalMeteorology	2. Atmospheric Applications	2.8 Aeronautical Meteorology
agriculturalMeteorology	2. Atmospheric Applications	2.9 Agricultural Meteorology
oceanApplications	3. Oceanic Applications	3.1 Ocean Mesoscale Forecasting & Real-Time Monitoring (incl. marine heatwaves)
oceanApplications	3. Oceanic Applications	3.1 Ocean Mesoscale Forecasting and Real-Time Monitoring
oceanApplications	3. Oceanic Applications	3.2 Coastal Forecasting
oceanApplications	3. Oceanic Applications	3.3 Oceanic Climate Monitoring and Services
oceanApplications	3. Oceanic Applications	3.4 Tsunami Monitoring and Detection
oceanApplications	3. Oceanic Applications	3.5 Marine Environmental Emergency Response
oceanApplications	3. Oceanic Applications	3.6 Maritime Safety (ports to open ocean)
hydrology	4. Hydrological and Terrestrial Applications	4.1 Hydrology Forecasting and Real-time Monitoring
hydrology	4. Hydrological and Terrestrial Applications	4.2 Hydrological and Terrestrial Climate Monitoring
terrestrialEcology	4. Hydrological and Terrestrial Applications	4.2 Hydrological and Terrestrial Climate Monitoring
hydrology	4. Hydrological and Terrestrial Applications	4.3 Hydrological and Terrestrial Disaster Risk Reduction
terrestrialEcology	4. Hydrological and Terrestrial Applications	4.3 Hydrological and Terrestrial Disaster Risk Reduction
cryosphere	5. Cryospheric Applications	5.1 Terrestrial Cryosphere Forecasting and Monitoring
cryosphere	5. Cryospheric Applications	5.2 Sea-Ice Forecasting and Monitoring
cryosphere	5. Cryospheric Applications	5.3 Cryospheric Climate Monitoring
cryosphere	5. Cryospheric Applications	5.4 Cryospheric Disaster Risk Reduction
climateApplications?	6. Integrated Earth System Applications	6.1 Earth System Forecasting and Monitoring
climateScience	6. Integrated Earth System Applications	6.2 Understanding Earth System Processes
energy	n/a	n/a
health	n/a	n/a
transport	n/a	n/a

[joergklausen]

@amilan17 Thanks for sharing this table. I understand our role here to make sure that we have an unambigous notation for each of the 'New Application Areas' (column 3). The (now) existing ambiguities therefore need to be removed and a few new notations are needed to supersede some of the existing ones (example; cryosphere). It seems, some of our existing notations also need to be combined.

I have the following comments wrt the mapping between columns 2 and 3:

globalNumericalWeatherPrediction	2. Atmospheric Applications	2.1 Global Numerical Weather Prediction and Real-time Monitoring

My personal perception is Global NWP goes beyond Atmospheric Applicaions, hence, I would propose to list this under "6. Integrated Earth System Applications"

cryosphere	5. Cryospheric Applications	5.2 Sea-Ice Forecasting and Monitoring

I would propose to list this under "3. Oceanic Applications"

Please confirm the status of columns 2 and 3 in this table (approved?, under discussion?) We can then begin to work on the notations.

[JREyre]

@joergklausen @amilan17 . Global NWP is an atmospheric application because the focus is on APPLICATION - the principle aim of global NWP is to forecast the weather. In order to do so, it needs to model and use observations from several areas of the Earth System (="Domains" in our language). But this is true of most Application Areas. So my criticism is the opposite - I have questioned the need for an Application Area called Earth System Forecasting and Monitoring, because I do not recognise this as an application - it is a method, and an increasingly common method, for many Application Areas. Other Application Areas should be understood from the same perspective - what is the APPLICATION? - it is only through understanding the APPLICATION that you can understand the requirements for observations - some Application Areas that use common Earth System models have different requirements for observations because their applications are different.

[joergklausen]

@joergklausen @amilan17 . Global NWP is an atmospheric application because the focus is on APPLICATION - the principle aim of global NWP is to forecast the weather. In order to do so, it needs to model and use observations from several areas of the Earth System (="Domains" in our language). But this is true of most Application Areas. So my criticism is the opposite - I have questioned the need for an Application Area called Earth System Forecasting and Monitoring, because I do not recognise this as an application - it is a method, and an increasingly common method, for many Application Areas. Other Application Areas should be understood from the same perspective - what is the APPLICATION? - it is only through understanding the APPLICATION that you can understand the requirements for observations - some Application Areas that use common Earth System models have different requirements for observations because their applications are different.

Hi @JREyre Indeed, I can share this perspective on things. With that in mind, I step back from my earlier suggestion for GNWP. However, I can also see Earth System Forecasting and Monitoring as an application, an integration of the other more domain-focused applications, and where the focus is more on the interface, i.e., the energy and material fluxes.

[amilan17]

These code values are not used in OSCAR/Surface interface for filtering and searching and there isn't an input field for this code in the metadata forms. @fstuerzl Do you know if there are XML records with applicationarea element populated?

[JREyre]

@amilan17 I would not expect observing system owners to understand all the Application Areas in which their observations were used or might be used. Ideally they should, if they have gone through the WIGOS-recommended network design process, but in practice they won't. In fact you could argue that one of the main purposes of WIGOS is to make observations from all observing systems potentially available for all WMO applications. I don't see any value in the observation data themselves varying this information.

[rodicanitu]

@joergklausen -regarding the proposal to list Sea Ice Forecasting and Monitoring under Ocean, since the structure was approved by INFCOM2, it may be useful to not make changes outside a similar process. of course, other groupings are possible. The specific application as a "primary" use of observations, is focused on generating information for navigation in polar/subpolar waters.

[amilan17]

Perhaps we can generalize the definitions by referring to OSCAR/Requirements instead. For example,
the description for "Sun, Heliosphere and Solar Wind Forecasting and Monitoring" can be: "Defined in WMO OSCAR at https://space.oscar.wmo.int/applicationareas/view/1_1_sun_heliosphere_and_solar_wind_forecasting_and_monitoring".

[amilan17]

We were asked to defer this proposal until the relevant teams in SC-ON can review and consider the options for WIGOS implementation tools.

[amilan17]

feedback from ET-WTR for OSCAR/Surface:
Option 3: Keep old entries (deprecated) but also add/migrate to new ones

• definition of criteria for standard migration, consultation and migration needed; If this becomes a search criteria, old entries should be available as well in the search.

[amilan17]

• See https://ci.codes.wmo.int/wmdr-demo
• Example of a retired AA: https://ci.codes.wmo.int/wmdr-demo/ApplicationArea/energy
• Example of a superseded AA: https://ci.codes.wmo.int/wmdr-demo/ApplicationArea/_highResolutionNumericalWeatherPrediction

Test codes registry is unstable and these links need to be rebuilt.

[amilan17]

• Retire all previous AAs
• keep mapping offline for OSCAR/Surface
• use numeric notations
• add overview description in the FT document to include overview of code management and who has been consulted

[amilan17]

https://github.com/wmo-im/tt-wigosmd/wiki/Meeting.2025.01.16 notes:

• Anna introduced the revised proposal
• Joerg recommends removing all meaning from the notations;
• Change notations to be simple numeric values 1-n...
• create a table of categories, which can be used in the path for OSCAR/Surface
• @amilan17 - update proposal and branch
• @joergklausen @fstuerzl to review

[amilan17]

@joergklausen @fstuerzl The branch is ready for your review. Please that

1. The application categories are listed in the path column
2. its sorted alphabetically by application category
3. it is recommended by ET-EOSDE (@kpremec ) to keep the numeric values in the name for fidelity with how they are represented in OSCAR requirements

#438, remove deprecated AAs, and add new AAs with path to ACs by amilan17 · Pull Request #573 · wmo-im/wmds