Global Atmospheric Composition Observations

Further long-term investments in high-quality, research-driven, fit-for-purpose observations of atmospheric composition are needed globally to meet urgent societal needs related to weather, climate, air quality, and other environmental issues. Challenges include maintaining current observing systems in the face of eroding budgets for long-term monitoring and filling the geographical gaps for key constituents needed for sound services and policies. The observing systems can be bolstered through science-for-services applications, by embracing interoperable observation systems and standardized metadata, and ensuring that the data are findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable. There is an urgent need to move from opportunities-driven one-component observations to more systematic, planned multifunctional infrastructure, where the observational data flow is coupled with Earth system models to serve both operational and research purposes. This approach fosters a community where user experience feeds back into the research components and where mature research results are translated into operational applications. This will lead to faster exploration and exploitation of atmospheric composition information and more impactful applications for science and society. We discuss here the urgent need to (i) achieve global coverage, (ii) harmonize infrastructure operations, (iii) establish focused policies, and (iv) strengthen coordination of atmospheric composition infrastructure.

Automated summary

Further investments are needed globally to support high-quality, research-driven observations of atmospheric composition in order to address urgent societal needs related to weather, climate, air quality, and the environment. Challenges include maintaining current observing systems with limited budgets and filling geographical gaps for key constituents. Strengthening the observing systems can be achieved through science-for-services applications, interoperable systems, standardized metadata, and ensuring data accessibility and reuse. It is crucial to transition from one-component observations to multifunctional infrastructure coupled with Earth system models to serve operational and research purposes, leading to faster exploration and application of atmospheric composition information.