International Earth Surface Working Group: IESWG
The International Earth Surface Working Group (IESWG) was established in 2006 and became a formal working group of the Coordination Group for Meteorological Satellites (CGMS) in 2023. The IESWG advances the use of Earth Observations (EO) to improve modeled land-atmosphere interactions with a particular focus on improving numerical weather prediction, real time monitoring, and reanalysis applications. Accurate observation and simulation of the land-atmosphere fluxes of energy and water is difficult due to the heterogeneity of the land surface and technology limitations on remotely sensing the sub-surface. The IESWG provides a unique opportunity for the community to gather and collaborate on addressing issues specific to simulating the land-atmosphere interface.
As a group, the IESWG seeks to facilitate and guide continuity of important measurements, identify significant gaps in and risks to the observational record, and promote communication across agencies around data assimilation, modeling, and observations relevant to the land surface. The observational focus includes surface temperature, albedo, soil moisture, snow water equivalent, water-body extent, and vegetation characteristics.
For our terms of reference see here.
