Download Himalayas Reference Site Pyramid Station Regional Hydroclimate

Himalayas Reference Site Pyramid Station
Regional Hydroclimate Project:
CEOP_AP (Coordinated Energy and water cycle Observation Project_Asia and Pacific)
CEOP_HE (High Elevations)
Reference Site Name:
Himalayas
Station Name:
Pyramid
Other Stations at Reference Site:
Lukla
Namche
Pheriche
Syangboche
Contact Information:
Name: Elisa Vuillermoz
Affiliation: Ev-K2-CNR Committee
Address: Via San Bernardino, 145 24126 Bergamo, ITALY
E-mail: [email protected]
Telephone: 0039-035-3230513
Fax: 0039-035-3230551
Name: Gianni Tartari
Affiliation: CNR-Water Research Institute (IRSA)
Address: c/o ev-K2-CNR Committee, Via San Bernardino, 145 24126 Bergamo, ITALY
E-mail: [email protected]
Telephone: 0039-035-3230511
Fax: 0039-035-3230551
Associated Web Sites:
 CEOP (www.ceop.net)
 HE (www.ceop-he.org)
 Ev-K2-CNR (www.evk2cnr.org
Station Location, Maps and Google Earth Files:
Latitude: 27o 57' 33" N
Longitude: 86o 48' 48" E
Elevation: 5035 m a.s.l.
CEOP_AP Regional Map (click for full resolution):
Himalayas Regional Map (click for full resolution):
Google Earth .kmz file of MAHASRI Himalayas Reference Site stations and radiosonde locations
Station Description:
General Description:
The Himalayan chain is known as the “Roof of the World”, comprising most of the highest
mountains on Earth including the peaks of the Everest group: Everest (8,848 m), Lhotse (8,501
m) and Nuptse (7,861 m). It is also called the “Third Pole”, given the permanent snow and ice
conditions comparable to those in the polar regions, like the high Khumbu Glacier from 4,600 m
to 8,200 m.
In the Khumbu Valley, in the area of Sagarmatha National Park, a network of 6 Automatic
Weather Stations (AWSs) has been installed over the past 10 years. The meteorological stations
are located in Lukla (2,660 m a.s.l.), Namche (3,570 m a.s.l.) Pheriche (4,260 m a.s.l.) and
Lobuche, near the Pyramid Laboratory-Observatory (5,050 m a.s.l.), where 3 stations have been
implemented.
The network takes hourly measurements of seven standard parameters: temperature, relative
humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind speed and direction, global radiation, total precipitation.
One of the stations near the Pyramid and the Lukla station have been expanded to include
sensors for the determination of soil parameters (temperature, water content, thermal flux),
snow level and four components of radiation. Since 1994, a unique series of a standard
meteorological variables have been continuously recorded at the Pyramid Laboratory Observatory
(Tartari et al., 1998).
The Pyramid site is located at the foot of Mount Everest at an altitude of 5,050 m a.s.l. in a
lateral valley (Lobuche Valley, North-South oriented) at the middle of Khumbu Glacier on the
hydrological right. The surrounding area is dominated by large moraines and high mountains
(5,800-6,200 m). The floor of the main (Khumbu) valley is occupied by the Khumbu Glacier that
is about 6-8 km long and 0.8-1,0 km wide. Tracing valley width at the top of the surrounding
mountains, it reaches a distance of over 4-5 km. The valley slopes range between 0 to 100%.
The lower topographic limit of permanent snow cover is located at an altitude of 5,500-5,600 m.
The bedrock is mainly Late Tertiary Granites, with a primarily quartz-silicatic composition,
showing a low propensity to weathering processes. In most of the catchments, soils are absent
or very thin. From a geo-lithological point of view, the catchment is dominated by a fine-to
medium-grained muscovite-biotite-tourmaline leucogranite. Muscovite-tourmaline-garnet granite
is less abundant and mainly occurs in the marginal parts of the granitic bodies.
Vegetation cover in these catchments is restricted to small areas of alpine meadow composed by
Leontopodium monocephalum, Potentilla fruticosa, Stellaria decumbens, Anaphalis cavei, A.
xylorhiza. The area is characterized by patches of low brush dominitated by Rhododendron
anthopogon, R. setosum, R. nivale, spotted with dwarf form of Juniperus.
The nearest village is over 5 km away, while there is a small settlement comprised of a few
lodges just under 2 km away.
The Pyramid Reference Site (click for full resolution):
Station Operator: Ev-K2-CNR Committee
Vegetation and Land Use:
Dominant land cover at the measurement location: Land cover in these catchments is restricted
to small areas of alpine meadow composed by Leontopodium monocephalum, Potentilla fruticosa,
Stellaria decumbens, Anaphalis cavei, A. xylorhiza. The area is characterized by patches of low
brushes dominitated by Rhododendron anthopogon, R. setosum, R. nivale, spotted with dwarf
form of Juniperus
Canopy height: No information.
Land cover within 50 m of site: No information.
Land cover within 500 m of site: No information.
Land cover within 12 km of site: No information.
Seasonal land cover changes: No information.
Major changes in land cover at site from October 2002 to December 2004: None.
Slope at the site: No information.
Other notes: None.
Soil Type and Characterization:
Surface soil type: Sand: 39.42%; Silt: 58.19%; Clay: 2.39%.
Soil type in deeper layers: No information.
Surface soil porosity: 16%.
Soil porosity in deeper layers: No information.
Soil infiltration rate: No information.
Bulk Dry Density: No information.
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity: No information.
The Soil Reference Group(s) (from World Reference Base for Soil Resources): No information.
Climate:
The Himalayan climate is normally cold and dry in winter and hot and moist in summer during the
monsoon season, although conditions fluctuate seasonally as well as along the altitudinal
gradient. The monsoon season generally begins in mid-June and lasts until mid-September.
Winter synoptic circulation is dominated by western streams (westerly) bringing events which
lead to snowfalls in the western and central Himalayan Range and the Tibetan Plateau. In
summer, southern monsoon streams dominate carrying damp ocean air toward the interior of the
continent.
The Khumbu Valley is located in the central part of the Himalayan Range. High valley circulation
is dominated by local breeze system: the valley wind (about 4 m s -1) came from S all day during
summer, driving humid monsoon air up the valley (Ueno et al., 2008). During the other seasons,
the valley wind blew from sunrise to sunset. In the non-monsoon season the mountain wind
blew from 00:00 to 08:00 during winter (with a strong component from NW due to the influence
of the westerlies), from 00:00 to 06:00 during the pre-monsoon and from 20:00 to 08:00 in the
post-monsoon. During summer, active/break phase was recognisable in the early morning
(06:00).
Air temperature showed a typical variation related to cloudiness: an almost flat course is evident
during summer, with a very reduced thermal range. On the contrary, the thermal range was
very high during winter due to fair weather conditions. In winter, maximum daily temperature
was usually below 0°C, especially in February, the coldest month, while in the summer the
maximum value was often positive (Bollasina et al., 2001).
Khumbu Valley is characterized by poor annual mean precipitation in the high elevation – approx.
500 mm at altitudes above 4,000 m, mostly concentrated during the monsoon season. In the
lower part of the valley the precipitations increase to more than 1000 mm. The summer monsoon
and winter rainfalls represent, respectively, 85% and 15% of annual precipitation in high valley.
In the inner Himalayas, the total annual precipitation is usually scarce, about 55% of the amount
(650 mm ) recorded at the Syangboche AWS (3,833 m. a.s.l.) located about 18 km SW far from
the Pyramid (Ueno et al., 2000).
Depending on the level of activity (active/break phase) of the monsoon, precipitation had
different diurnal variation (Bollasina et al., 2002; Ueno et al., 2008). In particular, during the
active phase, when the monsoon trough at 500 hPa deepened and the core of the Tibetan High at
200 hPa was placed west of the Himalayas, precipitation occurred almost all day long with a very
light decrease in the early morning. On the opposite during the break phase, when both the
monsoon trough and the Tibetan High (with its core shifted eastward) were weaker, convective
precipitation prevailed, and the diurnal course had a marked peak in the late afternoon (18:00).
The pluriannual behaviour of main meteorological variables measured by Pyramid AWS are
coherent with tropospheric biennial oscillation (TBO), a quasi-biennial periodicity of the Asian–
Australian monsoon system, in the course of many variables (e.g., precipitation, atmospheric
pressure, sea surface, temperature) occurring in the Indian and Pacific regions (Loschnigg et al.,
2003). It is recognized to be the results of large-scale interactions between sea, land and
atmosphere, including tropical-mid-latitude interactions (Bertolani et al., 2000). The TBO has
been shown to contribute to climate variations in the Indian and Pacific Ocean regions and is
interrelated with the large-scale climate variations in the ENSO–monsoon system.
CEOP Parameters Measured and Instrumentation:
SURFACE METEOROLOGY AND RADIATION INSTRUMENTATION AND DESCRIPTION: The
sensors are mounted on a 2-m and a 5-m masts.

Station pressure 2m CX115P Lsi-Lastem (Italy)

Air Temperature 2m DMA570 Lsi-Lastem (Italy))

Dew point - (2 m derived)

Relative humidity 2 m DMA570 Lsi-Lastem (Italy)

Specific humidity (2 m derived)

Wind speed 5m DNA022 Lsi-Lastem (Italy)

Wind direction 5m DNA022 Lsi-Lastem (Italy)

U wind component (derived) (5 m)

V wind component (derived) (5 m)

Precipitation - 1.5m DQA035 Lsi-Lastem (Italy)

Snow depth - 2m Snow Depth SLU4/20 Micros (Italy)

Incoming shortwave radiation - 2m CM3 Kipp&Zonen (The Netherlands)

Outgoing shortwave radiation - 2m CM3 Kipp&Zonen (The Netherlands)

Incoming longwave radiation - 2m CG3 Kipp&Zonen (The Netherlands)

Outgoing longwave radiation - 2m CG3 Kipp&Zonen (The Netherlands)

Net radiation 2 m derived

Skin temperature - Not measured

Incoming Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) - Not measured.

Outgoing Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) - Not measured.
Surface meteorological station at Pyramid (click for full resolution):
METEOROLOGICAL TOWER INSTRUMENTATION AND DESCRIPTION:
No data of this type available at this station.
FLUX INSTRUMENTATION AND DESCRIPTION:

Sensible Heat Flux Not measured

Latent Heat Flux Not measured

CO2 Flux Not measured

Soil Heat Flux (5 cm depth; Soil Heat Flux DPE260 Lsi-Lastem (Italy)
SOIL INSTRUMENTATION AND DESCRIPTION:

Soil temperature (5 and 20 cm depth) - DLA400 Lsi-Lastem (Italy)

Soil moisture (5 cm depth). Soil Moisture HMS9000 Sdec (France)
RADIOSONDE INSTRUMENTATION AND DESCRIPTION:
No data of this type available at this station.
Site References:
Web:
www.evk2cnr.org
Literature:
Lau, K.M., V. Ramanathan, G.X. Wu, Z. Li, S.C. Tsay, C. Hsu, R. Sikka, B. Holben, D. Lu,
G. Tartari, M. Chin, P. Koudelova, H. Chen, Y. Ma, J. Huang, K. Taniguchi and R. Zhang.
2008. The joint Aerosol–Monsoon experiment. A New Challenge for Monsoon Climate
Research. American Meteorological Society, 1-15.
Ueno K., K. Toyotsu, L. Bertolani and G. Tartari 2008. Stepwise onset of monsoon
weather observed in the Nepal Himalayas. Monthly Weather Review. 136, 2507-2522.
Baudo R., G. Tartari & E. Vuillermoz. 2007. Mountains witnesses of global changes.
Research in the Himalaya and Karakoram: SHARE-Asia project. Elsevier, Development in
Earth Surface Processes, 10: 342 pp
Bollasina, M., L. Bertolani and G. Tartari. 2002: Meteorological observations in the
Khumbu Valley, Nepal Himalayas, 1994-1999, Bull. Glac. Res., 19, 1-11.
Ueno K., R. B. Kayastha, M. R. Chitrakar, O. R. Bajracharya, A. P. Pokhrel, H. Fujinami, T.
Kadota, H. Iida, D. P. Manandhar, M. Hattori, T. Yasunari and M. Nakawo. 2001:
Meteorological observations during 1994-2000 at the Automatic Weather Station (GENAWS) in Khumbu region, Nepal Himalayas, Bull. Glac. Res., 18, 23-30.
Ueno K., H. Iida, H. Yabuki, K. Seko, A. Sakai, G. S. Lhakupa, R. B. Kayastha, A. P.
Pokhrel, M. L. Shrestha, T. Yasunari and M. Nakawo. 1996: Establishment of the GEN
Automatic Weather Station (AWS) in Khumbu region, Nepal Himalayas, Bull. Glac. Res.,
14, 13-22.
Presentations:
 Tartari, G., E. Vuillermoz, P. Bonasoni, E. Manfredi & B. Schommer. 2009. High Altitude
environmental monitoring: the SHARE project and CEOP-HE. European Geosciences Union
General Assembly 2009, Vienna, Austria, 19 – 24 April 2009
 Tartari, G. 2008. Ev-K2-CNR Climatic studies at CEOP Reference sites in Himalaya and
Karakorum Regions. International Conference on Hydrology and Climate Change in
Mountainous Areas, Kathmandu, Nepal, 15 – 17 November 2008.
 Vuillermoz, E., G. Tartari, E. Manfredi, A. Thomas. 2008. Reference stations for the High
Elevations (HE) network. The 2nd CEOP Annual Meeting, Geneve, Switzerland, 15 – 17
September 2008.
 Vuillermoz, E., G. Tartari & B. Schommer. 2006. The Ev-K2-CNR Committee: an integrated
approach to scientific and technological research at high altitude. (poster). International
Workshop and Symposium on Mt. Fuji Project: for the establishment of a high mountain
observation platform of extreme environment, Tokyo, Japan, 22-23 November 2006.
 Tartari, G. 2006. The Himalayas & Karakoram CEOP sites – SHARE Asia Project. I Pan–
GEWEX Meeting, Frascati, Italy, 9-13 October 2006.
 Vuillermoz, E., L. Bertolani, C. Smiraglia, G.P. Verza, G. Tartari, A. Marinoni & P. Bonasoni.
2006. SHARE- Asia Automatic Weather Station Network: an integral component for climate
research in the Karakorum – Himalayas region. I International Workshop on Energy and
Water Cycle over the Tibetan Plateau, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lhasa, Tibet, China, 312 September, 2006.
 Tartari, G., F. Salerno, P. Bonasoni, E. Vuillermoz & R. Salerno. 2006. The Ev-K2- CNR
interdisciplinary approach in monsoon-water cycle study in Himalayas. International
Workshop "Impact of Elevated Aerosols on Radiation-Monsoon-Water Cycle Interactions”,
Xining, China, 31 July – 5 August, 2006.
 MAHASRI (13 March 2007; Washington, DC, USA)
 Introduction to CAMP Quality Control Data System (27 February 2006; Paris, France)
 GAME/CAMP (10 March 2004; Irvine, California, USA)
 GAME/CAMP (02 April 2003; Berlin, Germany)
 CAMP Himalayas (31 March 2003; Berlin Germany)
 CAMP Himalayas (6 March 2002; Tokyo, Japan)
Data Sets and Documentation:
 2007 Data Sets and Documentation
 PMN Summary Report 1994-2006 (Vuillermoz, E., E. Cabini, G.P. Verza and G. Tartari.
2008. Pyramid Meteorological Network (PMN). Khumbu Valley, Nepal. Summary
Report 1994 – 2006. Publication by Ev-K2-CNR/SHARE Proget: 287 pp. (Available
free in pdf format: [email protected])
 2005-2006 Data Set Documentation
 EOP-3/4 and beyond Data Sets and Documentation
 Surface Meteorological Data: Current Status and Browse Plots
 Soil Temperature and Moisture Data: Current Status and Browse Plots
 Flux Data: Current Status and Browse Plots
 Meteorological Tower Data: Current Status and Browse Plots
 EOP-1 Converted Format Data Sets and Documentation
EOP-1 Native Format Data Sets and Documentation