Appendix B
WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION DATA CENTERS
Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW)
This program is summarized in GAW Report 99/WMO Technical Document
636, Status of the WMO Global Atmosphere Watch Programme as
at 31 December 1993. The major components of GAW are the
network of observing stations (about 400 in December 1993), the
related chemical laboratories, the WMO World Data Centers, the
Data Quality Assurance/Science Activity Centers and the Instrument
Calibration Centers.
The functions of the WMO World Data Centers under the GAW Programme
are to collect and archive data on the background chemical composition
and related physical characteristics of the atmosphere from all
parts of the globe, to manage the resulting data base, to distribute
the collected data and the products and information derived from
them, to provide services to the users, in collaboration with
the stations and laboratories submitting the data, other GAW and
nonGAW Centers and the WMO Secretariat.
WMO World Data Centers are established and operated on behalf
of the organization by the member countries concerned. Those currently
in operation or in preparation are described in the following
pages:
WMO World Data Center for Ozone and Ultraviolet Radiation
(WOUDC) (Downsview, Canada)
WMO World Data Center for Greenhouse Gases (WDCGG) (Tokyo, Japan)
WMO World Data Center for Aerosols (WDCA) (Ispra, Italy)
WMO World Radiation Center (WRDC) (St Petersburg, Russia)
WMO World Data Center for Aerosol Optical Depth (Asheville, U.S.A.)
WMO World Data Center for Precipitation Chemistry (Asheville,
U.S.A.)
WMO Global Runoff Data Center (Koblenz, Germany) (not GAW)
Note from Editor: Prospective users should
contact the Centers for information on user services. WMO data
Centers are not part of the ICSU World Data Center System and
are not bound by the "WDC Principles and Responsibilities"
listed in Chapter 2 of this Guide. WMO puts no restrictions on
the exchange of data for research and educational purposes. For
commercial purposes, users should ascertain from the Centers the
terms on which data are supplied.
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