The TERENO-preAlpine Observatory: A Research Infrastructure for Hydrometeorological Observation and -Modeling across Compartments and Scales

Abstract:

The improved understanding of the interlinked atmospheric and terrestrial hydrological processes requires concerted and compartment-crossing observation and -modeling efforts. Through the TERENO preAlpine Observatory, located in the southern Bavarian region of Germany, comprehensive technical infrastructure is being established to allow joint analyses of water-, energy- and nutrient fluxes. The observatory extends from the Ammergau mountains in the South till Lake Ammersee in the North. The observatory is designated as an international research platform, open for participation and integration.

The technical infrastructure consists of a multitude of precipitation gauges at different altitudes, an X-band radar, and a set of commercial microwave radio links allowing to derive line integrated precipitation estimates, numerous snow monitoring stations, a SnowPack Analyzer, neutron based SnowFox devices, as well as a snow melt lysimeter and time-lapse photography. For the quantification of the combined water and energy fluxes, three eddy covariance systems including four-component net-radiometers and soil-heat flux instrumentation are operated. Soil moisture patterns and dynamics are measured with a wireless sensor network consisting of 55 in-situ soil moisture profiles, a cosmic ray probe probe and 36 precision weighing vegetated lysimeters at different locations and altitudes. Groundwater dynamics and hydrogeochemical composition of the two main local aquifers are monitored at five observation wells as well as streamflow at three weirs at various cross sections. Additionally, stable water isotopes are analyzed.

The operational monitoring is complemented by intensive measurement campaigns, like the ScaleX campaign in June and July 2015 for which we present first results. Here, additional remote sensing measurements of atmospheric wind, humidity and temperature profiles are performed, which are complemented by micro-light aircraft- and UAV-based remote sensing for three-dimensional pattern information.

The comprehensive observations serve as validation and evaluation basis for compartment crossing modeling systems, here particularly for the analysis of the joint atmospheric and terrestrial water- and energy balance e.g. with the WRF-Hydro modeling system.