{"id":17180,"date":"2022-01-18T13:16:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-18T18:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ogc.org\/?p=5384"},"modified":"2025-11-15T13:12:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-15T13:12:10","slug":"7-key-takeaways-from-the-ogc-climate-change-special-session","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fm-connect1.fortmindz.in\/wp-ogc\/blog-article\/7-key-takeaways-from-the-ogc-climate-change-special-session\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Key Takeaways from the OGC Climate Change Special Session"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Article contributed by Steve Liang, SensorUp<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you can\u2019t measure it, you can\u2019t manage it.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The quote is originally from management consultant Peter Drucker and later used by Al Gore to describe the challenge with climate change. It accurately encapsulates the theme of the Climate Change Special Session at the OGC (Open Geospatial Consortium<\/a>) Climate Member Meeting for 2022. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

SensorUp<\/a>\u2019s CTO Dr. Steve Liang was on the panel of data experts from NOAA<\/a>, United Nations\u2019 IPCC<\/a>, NRCan<\/a> and ECMWF<\/a>, each of whom spoke about the current state, the challenges and the opportunities of measuring climate change data. Here, we\u2019re highlighting seven key takeaways from the session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. We still have a lot of knowledge gaps when it comes to global climate data <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Angelica Gutierrez, Lead Scientist for NOAA<\/a> (The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) talked about the struggles with obtaining accurate and timely data. \u201cWell developed countries have access to sophisticated software, specialized equipment and skills, computing power and other essential elements to address climate change,\u201d said Gutierrez. \u201cDeveloping countries are at a disadvantage.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a known problem, and one that OGC members are already working to address. That\u2019s another theme that emerged a number of times during the session \u2014 we are becoming more aware of our blind spots and working on solutions to mitigate them. \u201cThe 2021 OGC Disaster Pilot<\/a> (that drew the largest response to an OGC pilot, historically) is addressing many of the challenges, gaps and barriers that I previously identified,\u201d said Gutierrez.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. The current priority is getting good data to decision-makers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2022, OGC is launching another pilot, the Climate Change Services Initiative, which will run from 2022 through 2026. The pilot will connect several global agencies and focus on sharing priority information. \u201cWe are rolling out the first focus area this year,\u201d said Nils Hempelmann<\/a>, an OGC Project Manager and the moderator of the climate session. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSetting up the appropriate infrastructures to deliver information on demand to the decision makers, that\u2019s what we are going to focus on in the beginning,\u201d said Hempelmann of the new pilot. \u201cAnd then afterwards, depending on what\u2019s coming up and where the urgent pain points are, we are defining the next focus areas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. We want to be able to more accurately measure and understand specific climate events <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent years, several severe weather disaster events have wreaked havoc in different parts of the world. Two sets of presenters addressed this issue, using examples of weather events like atmospheric rivers and \u201cMedicanes\u201d (hurricanes originating in the Mediterranean) that we need to do a better job of measuring. \u201cRecently in British Columbia, throughout the month of November, they received three storm events, each one was larger than their monthly precipitation rate,\u201d said Cameron Wilson from Natural Resources Canada<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wilson\u2019s co-presenter, Simon Riopel goes onto explain the challenge of measuring and predicting an event like an atmospheric river. The challenge is in getting an accurate measure of vectors of force, which have both a magnitude and a direction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the current initiatives that can be useful in learning how to solve this is the\u00a0Arctic SDI (Spatial Data Infrastructure)<\/a>\u00a0that creates a \u201cdigital arctic\u201d with a combination of sensor data and satellite imagery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fugitive methane emissions can be detected, and should be repaired\/prevented. SensorUp Founder\/CTO Dr. Steve Liang has shared how an Integrated Methane Sensor Web can reduce the emissions of one of the worst contributors to climate change.https:\/\/t.co\/ZwQkBywcrd<\/a>#methane<\/a> #sensor<\/a><\/p>— SensorUp (@sensorup) March 3, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote>