Speaker
Description
When I speak of Metrology to people, they often think I’m talking about Meteorology …until they get very confused. That’s because Metrology – the science of measurement – despite playing a fundamental role in our everyday lives, is mostly working behind the scenes. Metrology is best known in industrial contexts, where interoperability and matching parts is paramount to doing business. Metrology is based on two main concepts to ensure measurement comparability and reliability: traceability and uncertainty.
Historically, Atmospheric Science, Oceanography and Ecology, to name only a few, have not spent much time thinking about Metrology. After all, much has been achieved without it! Nowadays, however, climate models are growing more detailed, and climate action requires reliable monitoring. With carbon emissions and capture becoming transactional (think carbon credits), measurement standards with known uncertainty and traceability to the International System of Units are increasingly important.
In 2023, the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released a report entitled Metrology for Climate Action, kickstarting a joint effort to improve the traceability and uncertainty of all climate systems measurements. These improvements will support the physical science basis of climate science through increasing model accuracy, facilitating collaboration around the world through better measurement comparability, stability, and continuity, even across different measurement methods. They will also strengthen climate action by increasing confidence in carbon credit valuations, improving policy monitoring, and reducing greenwashing.
But applying metrology principles to complex climate system measurements is no easy task. It requires for the metrology experts and climate experts to discuss to better understand each other, thinking outside of the box, and a lot of creativity. In this presentation, some of these complex questions and creative solutions will be explored, while highlighting the value of bringing metrology and meteorology together.
| Keyword-1 | Metrology |
|---|---|
| Keyword-2 | Climate |
| Keyword-3 | Traceability |