CPACC: Report 1

Technical Workshop Component 1:
Design and Establishment of Sea Level/Climate Monitoring Network
Caribbean Meteorological Institute, May 21-23, 1997, Barbados

The Unit of Sustainable Development and Environment of the OAS, under its CPACC project, sponsored a three days technical workshop to support the implementation of one of the project's components: the design and establishment of sea level/climate monitoring network. The workshop was held at the Caribbean Meteorological Institute (CMI) in St. James, Barbados on May 21-23, 1997. Twenty persons attended the workshop representing national meteorological and land survey agencies of all eleven CPACC countries (Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Bahamas, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, and Trinidad and Tobago), and regional and international organizations (see list of participants below).

The purpose of the workshop was to discuss the technical and logistic requirements for the selection of the sites where the sea level/climate monitoring systems will be installed. Technical presentations were made by staff of the CMI, the Institute of Marine Affairs of Trinidad and Tobago, the US National Atmospheric and Oceanic Agency, the Florida Institute of Technology and the OAS.

The workshop was considered a success. Participants, from meteorological and land/surveys agencies, had an opportunity to interact, making a very interesting mixture of professional training and experience. The first day of the workshop participants were introduced to an overview of CPACC, Component 1 and the regional institutions participating in the implementation of this component. On the following day, the discussions turned more technical: tidal and meteorological sensor gauges were described, as well as the requirements for their installation and the logistics for the reconnaissance trips, the Global Position System (GPS) and the accessibility of data generated by the systems. Finally, on the third day, the participants were taken to the site were the monitoring system in Barbados will be installed, and then returned to CMI, for the closure of the workshop (see agenda below).

One of the most important decisions made by CPACC staff and participants was the distribution of the 18 monitoring systems around the region. Prior to making this decision, the participants were presented with the criteria and scientific background underlying the distribution. Among the issues included in the criteria were: location of the island in relationship to plate tectonics; existing monitoring systems; inter-island ocean currents; and, spatial/regional distribution. It was decided that the network will be distributed as follows: Antigua (1) and Barbuda (1); Bahamas (3); Belize (1); Barbados (1); Dominica (1); Grenada (1); Jamaica (2); Guyana (2); St. Kitts (1); Saint. Lucia (1); Trinidad & Tobago (3); and spare (2). The placement of a gauge in Barbuda is still not final. The decision will be taken after the reconnaissance trip. If Barbuda does not require a gauge it will be moved to Belize.

Messrs. Chapin, Martin and Leslie, members of the NOAA-CMI reconnaissance team, had ample opportunities to discuss the up-coming reconnaissance trips with each of the participants. This will make these trips much more effective given that the participants now know and understand the requirements and logistics of these trips (see below for proposed dates of reconnaissance trips).

Discussions were also held with the representatives of Jamaica and Barbados about the installation of two continuous GPS receivers in their countries.

The participants were asked to fill an evaluation form at the end of the workshop. There are two main conclusions that resulted from the evaluation. The first one is that the workshop fulfilled its training objective. All participants suggested that their knowledge on topics presented "improved" during the workshop. Most felt that they now were prepared to return to their countries and make a short presentation to their superiors and colleagues about those issues. The second conclusion came out of the open ended questions. Most of the participants suggested that one of the strongest points of the workshop was the cross-agency representation, from meteorological agencies to land and surveys, that provided for richer discussions. This also reinforced the awareness among participants that, upon return to their countries, they will have to actively pursue communication and coordination with other agencies involved in project activities.

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