Climate stations for Warra
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Project SearchLong Term Ecological Research
Project name: Climate stations for Warra
Year started: 1998
Project number: WRA042
Primary investigator: Sandra Roberts
Other investigator(s): Carolyn Ringrose
Enquiries: warra.enquiries@forestrytas.com.au
Organisation(s): Forestry Tasmania
Project type: Professional
Project status: Active

Project summary:

There are three climate stations at the LTER site. The Almos AWS (automatic weather station), was launched in September 2004 and is located off Warra Road beside the Environdata Weathermaster 2000 climate station (altitude 500 m). This station is the property of Forestry Tasmania and maintained by the Bureau of Meteorology. Data is transmitted by radio to the Bureau, then displayed in near real-time on the Bureau web pages (Warra is listed under ‘West Coast, South Coast and Highlands’). The data are also archived on the Bureau weather database and can be accessed via the registered users’ web pages. The following parameters are recorded; air temperate (°C), dew point temperature (°C), relative humidity (%), wind direction, speed and gusts (kmhr), rainfall last 10 minutes (mm) and rain since 9 AM (mm).

The are two older stations which provided localised information for other studies at Warra. One station, a Unidata system, is located on Manuka road at an elevation of 125 m, and ran between 1998 and 2003. A second station is an Environdata Weathermaster 2000 climate station, installed in October 2001 above the Swanson and King catchments, accessed from Warra road at an elevation of 500 m. Both met Australian meteorological standards (i.e. they are surrounded by a cleared area with a diamater of two and a half times the height of the nearest vegetation).

Methodology:

The following parameters are recorded; air temperate (°C), dew point temperature (°C), relative humidity (%), wind direction, speed and gusts (kmhr), rainfall last 10 minutes (mm) and rain since 9 AM (mm). The old stations recorded: rainfall (by means of a tipping bucket system and a rain gauge), ambient temperature, relative humidity and global solar radiation. The Weathermaster also measured wind speed and direction. Dataloggers recorded measurements at up to fifteen-minute intervals. Data from these stations were periodically compiled and made available to researchers via this website. These two stations are no longer in use.

Datasets:

None available.

Publications:

Ringrose, C., Meyer, S., Bren, L.J. & Neilsen, W.A. (2001). Hydrology of small catchments in the Warra LTER Site: objectives and preliminary analysis. Tasforests 13: 31-44.

Roberts, S. (2009). Water quality in the Warra Long-Term Ecological Research study area 1998-2006. CRC Forestry Technical Report 193.

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