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it  also  enables  updated  data  and  products  to  be  accessed  via  database  links.  Many  information
systems  that  have  been  developed  during  the  past  decades  have  become  accessible  on  the
WWW,  an  example  being  INFOCLIMA  of  WMO.  Use  of  the  WWW  is  also  taken  into
account  in  planning  the  data  and  information  management  for  GCOS,  GOOS,  and  GTOS
(G30S).  A  joint  body  was  established  to  formulate  a  Data  and  Information  Management  Plan
for  G30S  -  the  Joint  Data  and  Information  Management  Panel  (JDIMP).  The  climate
information  system  KLIS  of  the  German  Weather  Service  DWD  is  a  WWW-based  system
integrated  on  an  international  level  into  GCOS  and  regionally  into  the  EUMETNET
programme  ECSN.  On  a  national  level,  it  provides  information  on  climate-relevant  activities,
data  and  products,  which  are  mostly  limited  to  the  area  of  DWD.
Products  and  services
Global  Collecting  Centre  (GCC)
DWD  maintains  one  of  two  Global  Collecting  Centres  (GCC)  within  the  framework  of  WMO.
The  countries  whose  vessels  are  taking  part  in  the  voluntary  weather  observation  service  at  sea
transmit  their  measurement  data  to  the  GCCs.  After  checking  of  the  data  and  compilation  of
complete  data  sets,  the  data  are  transmitted  on  a  quarterly  basis  to  eight  so-called  Responsible
Members  operating  subcentres,  each  of  whom  is  responsible  for  a  particular  area  of  the  world
oceans.  They  apply  agreed  standards  and  formats.
Marine  meteorological  data  archives
DWD  maintains  comprehensive  data  archives  for  marine  meteorological  data  containing,  i.a.,
worldwide  shipboard  observations,  data  from  buoys  and  platforms,  and  increasingly  also
metadata.  Apart  from  providing  information  and  data,  DWD  also  provides  advice  to  users.
Global  Precipitation  Climatology  Centre  (GPCC)
The  Global  Precipitation  Climatology  Centre  operated  by  DWD,  also  known  under  its  German
name  Weltzentrum  fur  Niederschlagsklimatologie  (WZN)  constitutes  a  central  element  of  the
Global  Precipitation  Climatology  Project  GPCP  within  the  Global  Energy  and  Water  Cycle
Experiment  GEWEX.  It  is  the  purpose  of  WZN  to  perform  worldwide  analyses  of  monthly
precipitation,  based  on  regularly  performed  evaluations  of  observation  data.  The  basis,  first  of
all,  is  conventional  measurement  data  which  are  processed,  checked,  and  analyzed.  The
satellite  data  are  processed  by  the  U.S.  partners  (NOAA  and  NASA)  and,  in  co-operation  with
GPCC,  linked  to  form  a  raster  data  set  covering  the  land  and  oceans.  The  GPCC  data  which
have  been  available  from  January  1986  also  include  the  estimated  error  for  each  individual
areal  precipitation  analyzed.  The  raster  data  are  disseminated  via  Internet  and  are  thus  openly
accessible  to  the  international  climate  research  community.  In  future,  GPCC  will  assume  the
permanent  function  of  a  Specialized  Global  Data  Centre  for  Precipitation  within  the
framework  of  the  Global  Climate  Observing  System  (GCOS)  and  will  perform  the  functions  of
the  GCOS  Surface  Network  Monitoring  Centre  for  Precipitation.
Climate  Information  System  KLIS
The  Climate  Information  System  KLIS  of  the  German  Weather  Service  facilitates  the  search
for  climate-relevant  information  from  the  area  of  DWD.  Being  linked  to  the  DWD’s  relational
database,  which  is  under  construction,  it  provides  access  to  all  GOOS  programmes