Climate measurement network
Climate is an important driver of the dynamics of our ecosystems. It is an expression of long-term weather patterns over at least 30 years and is highly variable in space and time in the high mountains. The research infrastructure of the National Park enables the analysis of climate and its effects over long periods of time. For this purpose, the national park operates a dense network of measuring stations, which makes it the reference area for climate research in the high mountains.
Automatic climate station at Hinterberghorn
The measuring network of fully automatic stations was established in 2005 in close cooperation with the Bavarian Avalanche Warning Service and the German Weather Service. It emerged from a network of mechanical measuring stations that had been operated since the founding of the national park.
The current station network has a high spatial and temporal resolution: It currently comprises 15 sites at altitudes ranging from 800 to 2,700 m above sea level. The measurement interval is 10 minutes. The measured values land in the database of the national park via mobile radio almost in real time. The high timeliness of the data is particularly interesting for the forecasts of the Bavarian warning services for avalanches and floods.
Maintenance of the automatic climate station at the Watzmannhaus
Not every station measures every parameter. Air temperature and humidity are always included, usually also wind strength and wind direction. Global radiation and back radiation provide information about the energy flow. Precipitation is only measured where the input is as unaffected as possible by the environment. The snow depth is recorded with an ultrasonic sensor. At two locations, snow scales additionally determine the weight of the snow cover. The Kühroint station has the largest variety of measuring sensors. It is operated jointly with the Bavarian Avalanche Warning Service.
Installation of a snow scale at the automatic climate station in the rutting mountain depth
The stations are maintained on 1-2 days per year, at stations in extreme locations by helicopter. Measurement failures are consciously accepted there, should they occur outside the maintenance possibilities. Regardless of occasional gaps, the data density increases with each additional measurement year, even in these remote areas.
The fully automated climate measurement network is spatially complemented by the partially automated stations of the German Weather Service. The historical data from the former mechanical climate stations of both measuring networks still contain great research potential. Since both the Bavarian Avalanche Warning Service and the German Meteorological Service operate sites outside the national park, it is also possible to embed them in the supraregional climate events.
In the network of forest climate stations operated by the Bavarian State Institute for Forests and Forestry, the National Park has been represented by a high mountain site for over 25 years. In addition to the weather, parameters on forest growth and soil are also collected here.
Contact:
Annette Lotz
Leitung AG Datenmanagement, Geodateninfrastruktur (GDI-NPB), fachübergreifende Integration von Anwendungen-Daten-Schnittstellen, Klimamessnetz