Big Eyes in the Sky

and on land and sea. The GOS or Global Observing System, as nefarious as it sounds, is a coordinated system of the World Meteorological Association. It uses an array of surface-based, sea-based and outer space satellites to track, measure and predict inclement weather.

Charter members of GOS include (in alpha order with date of membership):

• Belarus 12 Apr 1948
• Hong Kong 14 Dec 1948
• Iceland 16 Jan 1948
• Lebanon 22 Dec 1948
• New Zealand 2 Apr 1948
• Norway 9 Dec 1948
• Romania 18 Aug 1948
• Russian Federation 2 Apr 1948
• Sweden 10 Nov 1948
• Ukraine 12 Apr 1948
• United Kingdom and Northern Ireland 14 Dec 1948

Altogether, about 186 countries or territories are GOS members. With so many watchful eyes, it is amazing that the dreadful tsunamis of 2005 were not detected in a timely way.