A new dataset for climate change studies in complex alpine terrain (in the making)

The Berchtesgaden National Park located in the Bavarian Alps in Southeastern Germany is a highly interesting study field due to its extreme topography (~ 600 - 2700 m.a.s.l.) and locally most variable climate conditions. 

Due to the research objective of the national park and the cooperation with the German Meteorological Service (DWD) we find a dense measurement infrastructure compared to other alpine regions. Ground measurements of temperature, relative humidity, precipitation and wind conducted by both partners go back as long as the 1980s with stations in different altitudes covering the complex terrain. Altogether, data of almost 100 stations is available, albeit with different record lengths (some only have short records of a few years). However, up to now, the datasets of the two institutions have only been used separately and lack a stringent quality control which takes into account the challenges of measurements in complex terrain.

New efforts are now underway to create a quality controlled, homogenized dataset for the Berchtesgaden National Park which will be openly available for the research community. Additionally, a gridding of the station data is planned which is of high importance to cover complex high mountain areas as adequately as less complex regions. The efforts also include the assessment of uncertainties, both of the measurement devices and of the digitization of thermohygrograph charts, as well as the compilation of metadata. Data from the operational Networks of the German and Austrian Meteorological Services, as well as other available station networks in the region are included in the processing of data.

This contribution will introduce this new dataset which is currently in the making and which in future can be used as common historical reference e.g. for climate change studies, as boundary conditions for impact models or for the validation of climate models in complex terrain. It will also highlight some of the challenges of measurements in complex terrain and their data processing.