The WDAC 2 report summarizes the discussions and outcomes of the second session of the WCRP Data Advisory Council (WDAC) held the 4-5 March 2013, in Darmstadt, Germany. The meeting made progress on a number of core topics at the heart of WDAC’s mandate, namely Essential Climate Variable (ECV) inventories, data archives, data set quality assessments, data assimilation and reanalysis. Walter Meier briefed the Council on CliC and related polar science activities including: workshops, working groups, polar initiatives, the revived Ice Sheet Mass Balance and Sea Level initiative (ISMASS), observational data assessments and coordination of observations with models including among others obs4MIPs, CORDEX, establishment of a “Sea Ice and Climate Modeling Forum” and a “Permafrost Modeling Forum” and creation of the new targeted activities: (1) Antarctic ice-shelf and ocean coupled modeling, (2) Understanding linkages between cryosphere elements,(3) Coordination of cryosphere observations for model evaluation and initialization, and (4) Arctic freshwater synthesis. CliC will play a role in coordinating these activities to maximize outcomes and will provide input and feedback – in close cooperation with WDAC.
