W2O - World Ocean Observatory

http://www.thew2o.net/

The World Ocean Observatory is dedicated to information, education and public discourse about the ocean defined as an integrated global social system. W2O believes that informed citizens worldwide can unite to sustain the ocean through mitigation and change of human behavior on land and sea. Their intent is to communicate the full spectrum of ocean issues — climate, fresh water, food, energy, trade, transportation, public health, finance, governance, recreation and culture — as a realization of the belief that the sea connects all things.

WARPS - Winter Arctic Polynya Study

http://www.awi.de/en/research/research_divisions/climate_science/polar_meteorology/campaigns/completed/warps_2003/

The Winter Arctic Polynya Study was carried out during the Polarstern cruise in spring 2003 in the Storfjord and northern Fram Strait region.  Measurements in the atmospheric boundary layer over leads were performed from a mast mounted at Polarstern and with the helicopter borne turbulence probe HELIPOD. The ship based measurements aimed to quantify the effect of leads and polynyas on the surface layer fluxes above the mainly closed sea ice cover.  The primary aim of the Helipod flights was to measure the lead influence in the entire atmospheric boundary layer.

WCDMP - World Climate Data and Monitoring Programme

http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/wcp/wcdmp/index_en.php

The World Climate Data and Monitoring Programme (WCDMP), a sub-program of the World Climate Programme (WCP), provides an international coordination of the World Meteorological Organization Climate System Monitoring. Priorities of WCDMP include the provision of guidance to the WMO members in the area of climate data and climate assessment and monitoring; and the publication and dissemination of WMO authoritative reports on the status of the global climate. WCDMP offers in parallel a platform for an international collaboration for fostering high quality climate data sets and their exchange and undertaking capacity building and training with particular emphasis on Data Rescue, Climate Data Management Systems, and the use of approved scientific methods and tools for the analysis of climate trends and extremes.

WC²N - Western Canadian Cryospheric Network

http://wc2n.unbc.ca/

The Western Canadian Cryospheric Network is a consortium of six Canadian universities, two American universities and government and private scientists who are examining the links between climatic change and glacier fluctuations in western Canada. Glaciers provide windows into past and present behavior of the climate in the North Pacific region since they are well distributed in western Canada and are sensitive to changes in precipitation and temperature.

WCMC - World Conservation Monitoring Centre

http://www.unep-wcmc.org/

The World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) was set up by the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Wide Fund for Nature as a research and information centre for the conservation and sustainable use of biological resources. WCMC is active in both polar regions. Current projects include compilation of a directory of Arctic Protected Areas.

WCP - World Climate Programme

http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/wcp/index_en.html

The World Climate Programme (WCP) is an authoritative international scientific programme whose goals are to improve understanding of the climate system and to apply that understanding for the benefit of societies coping with climate variability and change.  The World Climate Programme acts as an integrating and catalytic agent to initiate and coordinate activities in the areas of climate data collection, climate research, applications and training, and to mobilize needed national and international resources.

WCRP - World Climate Research Programme

http://www.wcrp-climate.org/

The World Climate Research Programme, sponsored by the International Council for Science, the World Meteorological Organization and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, is uniquely positioned to draw on the totality of climate-related systems, facilities and intellectual capabilities of more than 185 countries. Integrating new observations, research facilities and scientific breakthroughs is essential to progress in the inherently global task of advancing understanding of the processes that determine our climate.  WCRP organizes meetings, workshops and conferences to coordinate and facilitate climate research. The research itself is done by individual scientists working in national and regional institutes, laboratories and universities.

WDC - World Data Center

http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/wdc/wdcmain.shtml

The International Council of Scientific Unions established the World Data Center system to serve the International Geophysical Year (IGY), and developed data management plans for each IGY scientific discipline. Multiple centers were established to guard against catastrophic loss of data, and for the convenience of data providers and users.  WDCs conduct international data exchanges in accordance with the principles set forth by the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU) through the ICSU Panel on World Data Centers.

WDC for Glaciology, Boulder - World Data Center for Glaciology, Boulder

http://nsidc.org/wdc/

The World Data Center (WDC) for Glaciology, Boulder is maintained at the National Snow and Ice Data Center, and is affiliated with the NOAA National Geophysical Data Center. Data sets cover the subject areas of glaciers, avalanches, snow cover, polar ice masses, ice cores, sea ice, and fresh water ice. In addition, the WDC includes extensive library holdings.

WDC for Glaciology and Geocryology, Lanzhou

http://wdcdgg.westgis.ac.cn/index.htm

WDC for Glaciology and Geocryology, Lanzhou, is the main part of the World Data Centre. The aims are the collection, preservation, management and  analysis of the Chinese Cryosphere Database, which includes the Polar and high Asia regions. This data center can also promote the sharing of cryosphere data. It contributes to research on global change, the protection of cold and arid regions, the exploitation of natural resources, and the work to foresee and reduce disasters.

WDCGC - World Data Centre for Glaciology, Cambridge

http://www.wdcgc.spri.cam.ac.uk/

World Data Centre for Glaciology, Cambridge is funded by the Royal Society and is located in the Library of the Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI). The Centre supports the work of SPRI's Glaciology and Climate Change Research Group.

WDCG-DEG - World Data Center for Glaciology, Directory of European Glaciology

http://www.wdcgc.spri.cam.ac.uk/directory/

This Directory lists research institutions derived from web searches and the glaciology literature, and is published by the International Glaciological Society.

WDC - Ice Core Gateway – World Data Center Ice Core Gateway

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/icgate.html

The World Data Center Ice Core Gateway provides a single portal to the ice core data archives of the NOAA Paleoclimatology Program, World Data Center for Paleoclimatology, National Snow and Ice Data Center, and World Data Center for Glaciology.

WDC-MARE - World Data Center for Marine Environmental Sciences

http://www.wdc-mare.org/

WDC-MARE was founded in 2001 as a member of the World Data Center (WDC). Their purpose was to ensure that observational data from the International Geophysical Year programme would be readily available to scientists from all countries. As one of more than 50 WDCs around the world, WDC-MARE provides a focus on data and information from marine environmental research and facilitates the international collection and exchange of all forms of marine data.

WDC – Meteorology - World Data Center for Meteorology, Ashville

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/wdc/index.php

The World Data Center for Meteorology, Ashville is one component of a global network of discipline-specific subcenters that facilitate international exchange of scientific data. It acquires, catalogues, and archives meteorological data and makes them available to requesters in the international scientific community.

WDC – Paleo - World Data Center for Paleoclimatology

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/data.html

The National Climatic Data Center's Paleoclimatology Branch is the world's largest archive of climate and paleoclimate data. The Paleoclimatology Branch operates the World Data Center for Paleoclimatology, an Applied Research Center for Paleoclimatology, and partners with national and international science initiatives around the world to expand the use of paleoclimatic data.

WDCR - World Data Centers in Russia and Ukraine

http://www.wdcb.ru/

WDCs in Russia are a component part of the World Data Center system organized and maintained by the International Council for Science. The centers provide a unimpeded access to data to scientific organizations and scientists. The World Data Center of Geoinformatics and Sustainable Development (WDC-Ukraine) was created as a branch of the World Data Center of Solar and Terrestrial Physics of the Geophysical Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and it is responsible for Geoinformatics and Sustainable Development.

WGASF - Working Group on Air-Sea Fluxes

http://www.noc.soton.ac.uk/ooc/WGASF/

The Working Group on Air-Sea Fluxes was jointly sponsored by the World Climate Research Programme and the Scientific Committee on Ocean Research.

WGCM - Working Group on Coupled Modeling

http://www.clivar.org/organization/wgcm/reference.php

A working group under the umbrella of the Climate Variability and Predictability World Climate Research Programme (CLIVAR).  The main objectives of this working group are to:

• Review and foster the development of coupled climate models, including organisation of model intercomparisons and utilisation of available instrumental records and paleo-climatic data for model validation and diagnosis of shortcomings;
• Promote co-ordinated experimentation with coupled models aiming to understand natural climate variability on decadal to centennial time scales and its predictability;
• Predict the response of the climate system to changes in natural and anthropogenic forcing; and to
• Promote the development of appropriate data assimilation procedures for coupled models and consider questions related to initialization.

WGMS - World Glacier Monitoring Service

www.geo.unizh.ch/wgms

The World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS) collects and publishes standardised data on glacier fluctuations. WGMS maintains an inventory of perennial surface ice masses. They are a permanent service of the Federation of Astronomical and Data Analysis Services.

WGNE - Working Group on Numerical Experimentation

http://www.wmo.int/pages/about/sec/rescrosscut/resdept_wgne.html

The Working Group on Numerical Experimentation (WGNE) has the responsibility of fostering the development of atmospheric circulation models for use in weather, climate, water and environmental prediction on all time scales, and diagnosing and resolving shortcomings. WGNE promotes co-ordinated numerical experimentation for validating model results, observed atmospheric properties, exploring the natural and forced variability and predictability of the atmosphere, and studies aimed at refining numerical techniques and the formulation of atmospheric physics processes. WGNE also monitors the advances in data assimilation and analysis methods.

WHOI - Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

http://www.whoi.edu/

WHOI is the largest private non-profit oceanographic institution in the world. It was incorporated on January 6, 1930. WHOI is dedicated to research and education to advance understanding of the ocean and its interaction with the Earth system, and to communicating this understanding for the benefit of society.

WHOI – AG - Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution - Arctic Group

http://www.whoi.edu/science/PO/arcticgroup/projects/tworegimes.html

This is an interdisciplinary web site of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution scientists currently involved in Arctic studies. The Arctic Ocean is an important component of the global climate system. The processes occurring in the Arctic Ocean affect the rate of deep and bottom water formation in the convective regions of the high North Atlantic and influence ocean circulation across the globe. This fact is highlighted by global climate modeling studies that consistently show the Arctic to be one of the most sensitive regions to climate change. WHOI has adopted an interdisciplinary approach to studying the Arctic. The objective of this web site is to:

• Coordinate WHOI Arctic studies with other Arctic research centers in order to explore new directions of Arctic investigation (new methods of observations, new theories, numerical and statistical methods, etc.);
• Coordinate Arctic expeditions; and to
• Organize conferences, AGU sessions, workshops, and seminars related to Arctic topics.

WHYCOS - World Hydrological Cycle Observing System

http://www.whycos.org/cms/

The World Hydrological Cycle Observing System is a World Meteorological Organization programme that aims to improve the basic observation activities, strengthen international cooperation and promote the free exchange of data in the field of hydrology. The programme is implemented through various components at the regional and/or basin scale.

Wilderness Society

www.wilderness.org

The Wilderness Society is a non-profit membership organization devoted to preserving wilderness and wildlife, protecting America's prime forests, parks, rivers, deserts and shore lands, and fostering an American ethic.

Winter Cities Institute

http://www.wintercities.com/

The Winter Cities Institute was organized to carry on the work of the Livable Winter Cities Association (WCA). From 1982-2005, the WCA organized conferences and published books and the quarterly magazine “Winter Cities”.  Much of this historical work is still of relevance and is posted on their website, including articles and conference proceedings. It promoted livability and economic development in winter communities by inspiring a positive attitude towards winter and by providing the means for practical adaptations to maximize the opportunities and minimize the disadvantages of our challenging geoclimate environment. They carry out research, run conferences and workshops, and sponsor publications.

WMO - World Meteorological Organization

http://www.wmo.int/pages/index_en.html

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It is the UN's authoritative voice on the state and behaviour of the Earth's atmosphere, its interaction with the oceans, the climate it produces and the resulting distribution of water resources. WMO promotes cooperation in the establishment of networks for making meteorological, climatological, hydrological and geophysical observations, as well as the exchange, processing and standardization of related data, and assists technology transfer, training and research. It also fosters collaboration between the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services of its members and furthers the application of meteorology to public weather services, agriculture, aviation, shipping, the environment, water issues and the mitigation of the impacts of natural disasters.

WOCE - World Ocean Circulation Experiment

http://www.ewoce.org/

The World Ocean Circulation Experiment was the largest internationally coordinated oceanographic program ever conducted. It provides global ocean observations of unprecedented extent and quality for the decade from 1988 until 1998.

WSAG - Water Systems Analysis Group

http://www.wsag.unh.edu/

The fundamental goal of the Water Systems Analysis Group (WSAG) is to act as a formal, active research and advanced training unit within the Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space at the University of New Hampshire. The group is dedicated to analysis of the critical global change issue of water systems and their alteration by anthropogenic activities. Creation of the WSAG reflects a rapidly emerging scientific field which pursues integrative studies of hydrology, biogeochemistry, and human-water interactions that is necessary to analyze the full dimension of anthropogenic change at local, regional, and global scales.

WSL - Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research

http://www.wsl.ch/index_EN?sid=13113724174183884700979214851

The Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research belongs to the domain of the ETH (Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology). Its scientists conduct research on snow, the atmosphere, natural hazards, permafrost and mountain ecological systems, and develop innovative products that translate their knowledge into practical applications. They seek to engage in top-level research while contributing to the resolution of urgent societal issues, for example in the fields of natural hazard warning systems and the analysis of climate and environmental change.

WWF Canada - World Wildlife Fund Canada

http://www.wwf.ca/

World Wildlife Fund Canada (WWF-Canada) was founded in 1967 by Senator Alan MacNaughton, and has become one of the country's leading conservation organizations, enjoying the active support of more than 150,000 Canadians. It has operated environmental programmes in the Arctic for 25 years, and currently operates offices in both Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, as well as helping fund protected areas work in the Yukon.

WWF International Arctic Programme

http://www.panda.org/arctic

Coordinates activities and projects of WWF national organizations in the circumpolar Arctic. They seek to promote consistent conservation strategies, increase public awareness, and to foster a pan-Arctic viewpoint.

WWU Münster - Westfalische Wilhelms Universitat Munster, Institut fur Geophysik

http://www.uni-muenster.de/Physik.GP/

WWU Munster carries out: basic research on the physical properties of snow and ice (including sea ice); field investigations, involving primarily the application of electro-magnetic reflection methods (radar) to derive the thickness and internal structure of glaciers and ice caps; and modelling of ice dynamics with an emphasis on shelf-ice processes. Maintains the Archiv fur Polarforschung of the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Polarforschung.

WWW - World Weather Watch

http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/www/index_en.html

To predict the weather, modern meteorology depends upon near instantaneous exchange of weather information across the entire globe. Established in 1963, the World Weather Watch combines observing systems, telecommunication facilities, and data-processing and forecasting centres, operated by members, to make available the meteorological and related environmental information needed to provide efficient services in all countries.

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