 For example, a common processing description is necessary to simplify documentation of data, facilitate exchange by sharing a common data format agreed by RDAC, GDAC and users, to avoid significant duplication of effort, to minimise reformatting of different data products derived by RDAC and to ease the integration of RDAC data to provide global coverage data sets at GDAC centres.Operationally produced data products will be improved by using additional data that are only available in a delayed mode together with extensive quality control procedures as part of the GHRSST reanalysis (RAN) project (see http