The Coordination Group for Meteorological Satellites (CGMS) is an international organization created in 1972 to coordinate the satellite systems that support global operational

meteorology Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not ...

Description

CGMS came into being on 19 September 1972, when representatives of the

European Space Research Organisation The European Space Research Organisation (ESRO) was an international organisation founded by 10 European nations with the intention of jointly pursuing scientific research in space. It was founded in 1964. As an organisation ESRO was based on a ...

(since 1975

the European Space Agency , owners = , headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France , coordinates = , spaceport = Guiana Space Centre , seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png , seal_size = 130px , image = Views in the Main Control Room (1205 ...

), Japan, the United States of America, and observers from the

World Meteorological Organisation The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for promoting international cooperation on atmospheric science, climatology, hydrology and geophysics. The WMO originated from the Internatio ...

(WMO) and the Joint Planning Staff for the

Global Atmospheric Research Programme The Global Atmospheric Research Program was a fifteen-year international research programme led by the World Meteorological Organization and the International Council of Scientific Unions. It began in 1967 and organised several important field exper ...

, met in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

to discuss questions of compatibility among

geostationary A geostationary orbit, also referred to as a geosynchronous equatorial orbit''Geostationary orbit'' and ''Geosynchronous (equatorial) orbit'' are used somewhat interchangeably in sources. (GEO), is a circular geosynchronous orbit in altitude ...

meteorological satellites A weather satellite or meteorological satellite is a type of Earth observation satellite that is primarily used to monitor the weather and climate of the Earth. Satellites can be polar orbiting (covering the entire Earth asynchronously), or geo ...

. Since the formation the mandate of CGMS has been extended to include

Low Earth Orbit A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an orbit around Earth with a period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial objects in outer space are in LEO, with an altitude never mor ...

meteorological satellites and to cover other areas of operational space-based environmental monitoring as well as

space weather Space weather is a branch of space physics and aeronomy, or heliophysics, concerned with the time varying conditions within the Solar System, including the solar wind, emphasizing the space surrounding the Earth, including conditions in the ma ...

observations from satellites. The objectives of CGMS are formally laid down in its charter As of 2021 CGMS has as members 14 national and intergovernmental

space agencies This is a list of government agencies engaged in activities related to outer space and space exploration. As of 2022, 77 different government space agencies are in existence, 16 of which have launch capabilities. Six government space agencies ...

, as well as the

and the

Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC/UNESCO) was established by resolution 2.31 adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO. It first met in Paris at Unesco Headquarters from 19 to 27 October 1961. Initially, 40 States becam ...

CGMS activities

CGMS coordinates the operational satellite systems of its members in an end-to-end fashion as required to facilitate and develop shared access to and use of satellite data and products in various application area, including operational meteorology. The activities cover: * Operational Continuity and Contingency Planning * Coordination of Satellite Systems, Frequencies and Operations * Coordination of Data Access and End User Support * Enhancement of the quality of satellite-derived data and Products * Monitoring of Climate including Greenhouse Gases * Space Weather Monitoring * Outreach and training activities The medium term targets of CGMS are reflected in the CGMS High-Level Priority Plan. The HLPP is a rolling 5-year plan, revised annually by the CGMS plenary session.

References

External links

* {{official website, https://www.cgms-info.org/ Weather satellites International scientific organizations