Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA)

WCC home

Introduction

World Calibration Centre (WCC) for Methane in Asia and the South-West Pacific and the Regional Dobson Calibration Centre (RDCC) for Asia for the parameter of total ozone have been established in the framework of the Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) programme of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). They are operated by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) in Tokyo, Japan as designated in the Strategy for the Implementation of the Global Atmosphere Watch Programme (2001-2007) (GAW Report No. 142).

World Calibration Centres (WCCs), established in a total of 12 locations to provide services for each measurement parameter and region, are requested to maintain calibration standards and provide instrument calibration and training to stations with the assistance of Regional Calibration Centres as necessary. The two Calibration Centres operated by JMA cover the parameters of methane and total ozone for the areas of WMO Regions II/V (Asia and the South-West Pacific) and Region II (Asia) respectively.

The activities of the Calibration Centres include the calibration of methane standard gases against the standards maintained by JMA on request from GAW operators in the region, as well as the organization of methane reference gas intercomparison experiments and regional intercomparison of Dobson spectrophotometers for the measurement of total ozone.

It is hoped that such activities will contribute to ensuring the traceability of measurements to the Reference Standard designated for each parameter and facilitate the scientific assessment of atmospheric environmental issues based on GAW data that is accurately linked to a common calibration scale. This web site also provides information on CO2 calibration scales based on deposited intercomparison results, as recommended in the Eleventh WMO/IAEA Meeting of Experts on Carbon Dioxide Concentration and Related Tracer Measurement Techniques in Tokyo, Japan, from 25 to 28 September 2001.

Observational data under the GAW programme are provided by GAW World Data Centres (WDCs). These include JMA's World Data Centre for Greenhouse Gases (WDCGG) for carbon dioxide, methane and other tropospheric gases, and World Ozone and Ultraviolet Radiation Data Centre (WOUDC) of the Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC) in Toronto, Canada for total ozone and other related parameters. Training and seminars at stations in the region are organized as activities of the Quality Assurance/Science Activity Centre (QA/SAC) for Asia and the South-West Pacific, which is also established within JMA.