– contributed by Walt Meier
The WCRP Data Advisory Council (WDAC) had its second session on 4-5 March 2013 in Darmstadt Germany. Representatives from CliC, CEOS, CLIVAR, CGMS, GEWEX, AOPC, WGNS, and SOLAS attended, as well as other invited guests. One focus of the meeting was on data inventories – systematic collections of information on data products. Several inventories have been developed or are planned and WDAC can help coordinate, identify gaps, and work towards filling those gaps. Another focus was on data for model intercomparison projects (MIPs). Representatives from the Obs4MIPs, Reanal4MIPS, and PCMDI (the IPCC model analysis database) attended and presented each project for discussion. Obs4MIPs and Reanal4MIPs aims to facilitate the use of well-validated and well-documented observations and reanalysis fields for evaluation, validation, or input for climate models. Standardized documentation and formats will be used to ease use with model variables. The WDAC showed strong support for these efforts and will look for ways to facilitate them, including helping to plan future workshops.