Filling the Data Gaps in Mountain Climate Observatories Through Advanced Technology, Refined Instrument Siting, and a Focus on Gradients

Strachan, Scotty; Kelsey, Eric P.; Brown, Renée F; Dascalu, Sergiu M.; Harris, Frederick C.; Kent, G. M.; Lyles, B.F.; McCurdy, Greg; Slater, D. C.; Smith, Kenneth D.

doi:10.1659/mrd-journal-d-16-00028.1

Cited by 27 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 78 publications

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“…Such changes will have negative implications for water availability. The hypothesis also emphasizes the importance of maintaining and expanding hydroclimatic monitoring in mountain environments [5,20,71].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Winter Snow Level Rise in the Northern Sierra Nevada from 2008 to 2017

Hatchett

Daudert

Garner

et al. 2017

Water

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Abstract:The partitioning of precipitation into frozen and liquid components influences snow-derived water resources and flood hazards in mountain environments. We used a 915-MHz Doppler radar wind profiler upstream of the northern Sierra Nevada to estimate the hourly elevation where snow melts to rain, or the snow level, during winter (December-February) precipitation events spanning water years (WY) 2008-2017. During this ten-year period, a Mann-Kendall test indicated a significant (p < 0.001) positive trend in snow level with a Thiel-Sen slope of 72 m year −1 . We estimated total precipitation falling as snow (snow fraction) between WY1951 and 2017 using nine daily mid-elevation (1200-2000 m) climate stations and two hourly stations spanning WY2008-2017. The climate-station-based snow fraction estimates agreed well with snow-level radar values (R 2 = 0.95, p < 0.01), indicating that snow fractions represent a reasonable method to estimate changes in frozen precipitation. Snow fraction significantly (p < 0.001) declined during WY2008-2017 at a rate of 0.035 (3.5%) year −1 . Single-point correlations between detrended snow fraction and sea-surface temperatures (SST) suggested that positive SST anomalies along the California coast favor liquid phase precipitation during winter. Reanalysis-derived integrated moisture transported upstream of the northern Sierra Nevada was negatively correlated with snow fraction (R 2 = 0.90, p < 0.01), with atmospheric rivers representing the likely circulation mechanism producing low-snow-fraction storms.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Winter Snow Level Rise in the Northern Sierra Nevada from 2008 to 2017

Hatchett

Daudert

Garner

et al. 2017

Water

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“…This can happen in near-surface phenomena depending on the spatial scale of interest. For instance, mountains are often identified as fractal (Prusinkiewicz and Hammel 1993) and may require special techniques (e.g., Strachan et al 2016; Mountain Research Initiative Elevation-Dependent Warming Working Group 2015; Daly et al 2010). Yorgun and Rood (2015) investigated the spatial continuity of orographic precipitation using climate model simulations and synthetic data using variogram analysis.…”

Section: Alternative Metrics For Evaluating a Networkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial Coverage of Monitoring Networks: A Climate Observing System Simulation Experiment

Bodeker

Fassò

Chang

et al. 2017

Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology

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Observing systems consisting of a finite number of in situ monitoring stations can provide high-quality measurements with the ability to quality assure both the instruments and the data but offer limited information over larger geographic areas. This paper quantifies the spatial coverage represented by a finite set of monitoring stations by using global data-data that are possibly of lower resolution and quality. For illustration purposes, merged satellite temperature data from Microwave Sounding Units are used to estimate the representativeness of the Global Climate Observing System Reference Upper-Air Network (GRUAN). While many metrics exist for evaluating the representativeness of a site, the ability to have highly accurate monthly averaged data is essential for both trend detection and climatology evaluation. The calculated correlations of the monthly averaged upper-troposphere satellite-derived temperatures over the GRUAN stations with all other pixels around the globe show that the current 9 certified GRUAN stations have moderate correlations (r $ 0.7) for approximately 10% of the earth, but an expanded network incorporating another 15 stations would result in moderate correlations for just over 60% of the earth. This analysis indicates that the value of additional stations can be quantified by using historical, satellite, or model data and can be used to reveal critical gaps in current monitoring capabilities. Evaluating the value of potential additional stations and prioritizing their initiation can optimize networks. The expansion of networks can be evaluated in a manner that allows for optimal benefit on the basis of optimization theory and economic analyses.

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“…We acknowledge that siting climate monitoring in mountain topography requires a balance for selecting ideal settings for sensing different variables. For example, precipitation is most accurately gaged in protected zones, whereas air temperature, humidity, and wind should be measured in open areas to be generally representative (Strachan et al ., ).…”

Section: Network Implementationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As Lundquist et al . () observe, there is a paucity of literature regarding “… how instruments are actually installed, maintained, and quality‐controlled, likely because technicians are paid to fix problems rather than write about them.” Furthermore, there is a lack of documentation and standardization of quality control (QC) in environmental sensor networks (Strachan et al ., ), casting doubt on the reliability and comparability of resulting data (Campbell et al ., ), even though quality‐controlled and annotated datasets are of high value for reuse (Porter et al ., ). Despite these concerns, high‐frequency water quantity and water quality monitoring are essential to capture hydrologic and chemical patterns in aquatic systems, test hypotheses (Horsburgh et al ., ; Rode et al ., ), and facilitate water resource management (Parr et al ., ; Pellerin et al ., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Globally, mountains play an important role in providing water resources from snow and ice to downstream urban population centers ( e.g ., Viviroli et al ., ; Immerzeel et al ., ; Buytaert and De Bièvre, ), but are underrepresented in environmental data collection networks (Strachan et al ., ). The Intermountain West of the United States (U.S.) encompasses high elevation landscapes from the Sierra Nevada east to the Rocky Mountains, is characterized by arid to semiarid climate (Wise, ), and provides water resources to well over 30 million people in urban centers in the U.S. and Mexico (Vano et al ., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Designing and Implementing a Network for Sensing Water Quality and Hydrology across Mountain to Urban Transitions

Jones

Aanderud

Horsburgh

et al. 2017

J American Water Resour Assoc

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Water resources are increasingly impacted by growing human populations, land use, and climate changes, and complex interactions among biophysical processes. In an effort to better understand these factors in semiarid northern Utah, United States, we created a real-time observatory consisting of sensors deployed at aquatic and terrestrial stations to monitor water quality, water inputs, and outputs along mountain to urban gradients. The Gradients Along Mountain to Urban Transitions (GAMUT) monitoring network spans three watersheds with similar climates and streams fed by mountain winter-derived precipitation, but that differ in urbanization level, land use, and biophysical characteristics. The aquatic monitoring stations in the GAMUT network include sensors to measure chemical (dissolved oxygen, specific conductance, pH, nitrate, and dissolved organic matter), physical (stage, temperature, and turbidity), and biological components (chlorophyll-a and phycocyanin). We present the logistics of designing, implementing, and maintaining the network; quality assurance and control of numerous, large datasets; and data acquisition, dissemination, and visualization. Data from GAMUT reveal spatial differences in water quality due to urbanization and built infrastructure; capture rapid temporal changes in water quality due to anthropogenic activity; and identify changes in biological structure, each of which are demonstrated via case study datasets.

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Filling the Data Gaps in Mountain Climate Observatories Through Advanced Technology, Refined Instrument Siting, and a Focus on Gradients

Abstract: BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.

Cited by 27 publications

References 78 publications

Winter Snow Level Rise in the Northern Sierra Nevada from 2008 to 2017

Winter Snow Level Rise in the Northern Sierra Nevada from 2008 to 2017

Spatial Coverage of Monitoring Networks: A Climate Observing System Simulation Experiment

Designing and Implementing a Network for Sensing Water Quality and Hydrology across Mountain to Urban Transitions

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