Meteorological measurements

Abstract

From September 2007 until August 2010, an automatic weather station (AWS) has been operating at 650 m a.s.l. in the ablation area of Langfjordjøkelen (Fig. 12-2), as a contribution to the International Polar Year (Glaciodyn). The station (Fig. 12-6) was owned and maintained by the Institute for Marine and Atmospheric research Utrecht (IMAU), Utrecht University (contact: J.Oerlemans@uu.nl). The station recorded shortwave and longwave radiation (incoming and outgoing), air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, air pressure and distance to the surface. Sampling was done every few minutes (depending on the sensor) and 30-minute averages were stored. The measurements will be used to study the local microclimate at Langfjordjøkelen and to calibrate a mass balance model for the ice cap. Here, we present a selection of the data collected over the three-year period.