The theme for this year's workshop is "The Role of Ocean Observations for Improving Indonesian Climate Services-The Principles, Modelling and Real-time Products" to include:
- Enhancing the ability of BMKG to acquire and use ocean data for social and economic applications,
- Improving the skill of BMKG forecasts using global model data, NOAA Climate Forecasting (CFS2) products, and coupled ocean-atmosphere model output,
- Increasing understanding of climate information services for the tropical maritime continent region,
- Becoming more proficient in communicating the information and providing outreach to the end-users.
Options will be advanced for administering NOAA’s two U.S. Graduate Ocean-Climate Fellowships scheduled to begin in September 2016. Immediately following the Bandung Workshop two BMKG Scientists will travel to NOAA's Center for Weather and Climate Prediction (NCWCP) for four months of Model training.
In exchange for NOAA's capacity development, training and education, Indonesia provides gratis ship support for the annual servicing of NOAA's eastern Indian Ocean moorings of the "Research Moored Array for African-Asian-Australian Monsoon Analysis and Prediction" (RAMA). Such "resource-sharing" Partnerships between developing and developed Nations are consistent with the objectives of the IOC/WMO Joint Technology Commissions for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology (JCOMM) PANGEA concept.