[IGSMAIL-5093]: Advisory Board for IERS Conventions updates

[Jim Ray (NGS 301-713-2850 x112)]

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IGS Electronic Mail      04 Feb 06:42:45 PST 2005      Message Number 5093
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Author: Jim Ray

Dear Colleagues,

At its 39th meeting in September, the IERS Directing Board agreed to set up
an Advisory Board to assist the Conventions Center with the process of
updating the IERS Conventions.  This group does not replace the existing
Editorial Panel of scientists that prepares new chapters, algorithms,
software, etc.  Instead, the Advisory Board will consider the needs of IERS
users and how they might be best served in future Conventions updates by
reviewing pending revisions and proposing new directions.

Members of the Advisory Board are representatives of each Technique Center
and IERS Product Center, the IERS Analysis Coordinator, and other interested
persons proposed by the Technique or Product Centers; I have been named to
chair the Board:

ICRS -- Anne-Marie Gontier, Dave Boboltz
ITRS -- Claude Boucher, Zuheir Altamimi
EOP  -- Christian Bizouard, Daniel Gambis
RS/P -- Bill Wooden
GGFC -- Hans-Peter Plag, Richard Ray
IDS  -- Frank Lemoine
IGS  -- (to be named)
ILRS -- John Ries
IVS  -- David Gordon, Oleg Titov
Conv -- Gerard Petit, Dennis McCarthy
AC   -- Markus Rothacher, ex officio
chair - Jim Ray

My thanks to these colleagues for kindly volunteering to serve on this
board.

In my own view, some likely initial interests of the Advisory Board are:

* eliminate ambiguities in which effects to include in the conventional
  displacements of station positions and provide suitable models for all
  recognized effects;
* provide a model for the oceanic pole tide deformation;
* provide a model for diurnal and semidiurnal atmospheric pressure loading;
* clarify treatment of geocenter motions and provide a model for the diurnal
  and semidiurnal effects of ocean tides;
* develop an updated model for diurnal and semidiurnal EOP variations;
* specify protocols for handling technique-specific effects;
* enforce SINEX documentation of models applied in data analyses;
* ensure full availability of software routines.

It is particularly important to resolve how best to treat atmospheric pressure
loading (part of 1st item) in order to avoid difficulties in the rigorous
multi-technique combination efforts now underway.  Unfortunately, it may not
be possible to resolve some the important ambiguities and discrepancies in
time to affect ITRF2004.

If you have any concerns about the IERS Conventions, please feel free to
contact a board member above or myself.  At the IERS Conventions discussion
forum <http://tai.bipm.org/iers/forum/> you will find a number of topics
raised that need to be addressed.  Please add any others that concern you.

Any comments, advice, or suggestions are greatly appreciated.
--Jim