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IGOSS
IGOSS is an important data acquisition and management systems that will form, with other existing systems, the "Marine Meteorological and Oceanographic Operational Services" Module of the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS). The Integrated Global Ocean Services System (IGOSS) is the international SYSTEM for the collection and exchange of ocean data (such as temperature and salinity) and the preparation and dissemination of oceanic products and services. IGOSS is coordinated jointly by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and consists of national facilities and services provided by participating member countries who share data for mutual benefit. The IGOSS system consists of three components: the IGOSS Observing System (IOS), the IGOSS Data Processing and Services System (IDPSS) and the IGOSS Telecommunications Arrangements (ITA). In the IOS, naval ships, research vessels, and merchant ships in the Ships-of-Opportunity Programme (SOOP) along with fixed and floating buoys transmit oceanographic data such as subsurface temperature and salinity in near-real time. The IDPSS consists of several types of national, specialized and world data centres for processing and dissemination data and data products. The backbone of the ITA is the Global Telecommunication System (GTS) of the WMO. BATHY and TESAC data reports are transmitted over the GTS with headers that correspond to the nation which made the observation and placed the data on the GTS. The principal of free and open data exchange for all member states is accomplished through the GTS. Through IGOSS, observations, analyses and predictions of important ocean features are available to users on an operational basis, normally within 30 days or less. Ocean observations of temperature, salinity, sea level, and currents have a wide range of applications to commercial fishing, hydrobiology, marine exloration, disaster prevention, marine pollution and ocean modeling. IGOSS-derived data are used for both operational and research applications. The data are quality controlled at sea, by member states who acquired the data and at data centres where they are archived. Data monitoring is performed on a routine basis by the IGOSS Operations Co-ordinator and a series of Data Monitoring and Statistical Reports are available by FTP and via e-mail on the internet. The most notable success of processing and quality controlling global sets of temperature and salinity data is the Global Temperature Salinity Profile Programme (GTSPP) There are also groups such as the Group of Experts on Communications and Products(GE/C&P) and the Task Team on Quality Control of Automated Systems (TT/QCAS) that are comprised of experts from member states that evaluate existing and new technologies for acquiring more and improved oceanographic data, review WMO codes and code tables for transmitting the data, and provide guidance on equipment problems and corrections. IGOSS products are disseminated promptly through the GTS and by radio, radio facsimile, and various electronic and hard copy mail systems. The IGOSS Products Bulletin, established in 1991, compiles and publishes IGOSS global and regional products as a valuable service to the scientific community and international programmes. For more information, link to "http://ioc.unesco.org/igossweb/igoshome.htm"