Observations are key to uncertainty quantification (UQ) in climate research because they provide a corroborating source of information about physical processes being modeled. However, observations have uncertainties and this poses a set of methodological and practical issues for comparing them to model simulations. The scientific themes of the workshop include:

* Experimental design aspects of collecting ground-based and remotely-sensed observations;
* Data fusion and homogenization: how to combine heterogeneous observational data sources to get a clearer picture of the true physical process;
* Link to Uncertainty Quantification for projection of future climate based on past and present observations.

The workshop is co-sponsored by the Cooperative Institute for Climate and Satellites (CICS-NC) and by SAMSI. It is organized in cooperation with the Program in Spatial Statistics and Environmental Statistics (SSES) at the Ohio State University.