TERENO Observatory
The set-up of the TERENO Pre-Alpine Observatory was motivated by the fact that mountain areas such as the pre-alpine region in southern Germany have been exposed to more intense warming compared to the global average trend and to higher frequencies of extreme hydrological events such as droughts and intensive rainfall.
The Pre-Alpine TERENO Observatory (about 40 km southeast of Munich) covers a total area of 655 km2 with strong north-south gradients in elevation (from 540 m a.s.l. in the north to 2885 m a.s.l. in the south), geology, soil and climate. The Observatory comprises three eddy covariance stations with additional ceilometer and lysimeter measurements at Graswang (DE-Gwg), Rottenbuch (DE-RbW) and Fendt (DE-Fen); an X-band radar at Geigersau and twelve commercial microwave links used to derive precipitation; and the SoilNet wireless underground sensor network at Fendt which provides high density spatially-distributed soil temperature and moisture measurements, plus neutron sensors which provide area-averaged soil moisture and snow water estimates.
Several highly specialised short-term campaigns have taken place at the TERENO Observatory using lidars, chamber measurements, distributed temperature sensing and tracer release experiments. Research topics include surface heterogeneity, flux footprints and sub-mesoscale processes, in particular understanding patterns and gradients in land surface–atmosphere exchange processes.
More details about the TERENO Pre-Alpine Observatory can be found here:
https://www.tereno.net/joomla/index.php/observatories/pre-alpine-observatory
and more generally about the TERENO network here:
https://www.tereno.net/joomla/index.php
An overview of the observatory is available here:
https://doi.org/10.2136/vzj2018.03.0060
The TERENO Pre-Alpine Observatory infrastructure was funded by the Helmholtz Association and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and is maintained by KIT.