The activity of H-SAF on CDOP-2 have been carried out to provide products and services in support of Operational Meteorology, Hydrology, Oceanography/Climate and Risk Management following and improving the scientific framework of 10 years (2005-2015) as approved by the 55th Council Meeting in 2004. The vision for CDOP-3 maintains the footprints of previous phases but, at the same time, assumes the matured experience and carefully looks at new requirements of current users and potential new users. The provision of the products and services from satellite data developed within CDOP-3 is of direct benefit to land hydrological community and to the oceanography and climate monitoring activities i.e. the estimation of fresh water input for oceanographic circulation modelling, as one of the most important issues of the WMO Commission on Hydrology. In addition to the numerical use of the products, the direct use by end users would be improved as well.
Furthermore, the 3rd H-SAF Users Workshop registered the interest of FAO in monitoring the regions with scarcity of precipitation, and the need of maps of droughts for water management. To this purpose, the combined information of soil moisture index and precipitation will be an essential indicator to evidence and track critical regions. In this regard, the H-SAF portfolio will focus on dedicated products for this purpose. The role of the H-SAF envisaged by this vision shall be fully placed within the strategy of EUMETSAT, being in compliance with WMO mandate and within the framework of the Copernicus operations.
