GCOS Global Climate Observing System Austrian Inventory Report 2017 Editor and publisher Zentralanstalt für Meteorologie und Geodynamik Hohe Warte 38, 1190 Vienna, Austria www.zamg.ac.at December 2017 Editorial team Silke Adler, GCOS Coordinator, ZAMG Hermine Fürst, ZAMG www.gcos.at Picture credits www.meteoPics.eu: Heidi Schützinger, Daniel Loretto, Maximilian Ziegler (Cover) Peter Lichtenauer (Wagrain-Tappenkarsee, P. 3) Contents Introduction ......................................................................................................... 6 Contributing Institutes ........................................................................................ 8 Atmospheric Observations - Surface 17 Climate monitoring ZAMG ........................................................................ 18 VAMES ....................................................................................................... 21 Aerodrome Met stations ........................................................................... 24 Sunshine duration ..................................................................................... 27 UV Radiation .............................................................................................. 29 Solar and terrestrial radiation ................................................................... 32 BRSN ......................................................................................................... 34 HISTALP ...................................................................................................... 37 Atmospheric Observations – Upper Air 40 RASO ZAMG ............................................................................................... 41 RASO AUSTRO CONTROL .......................................................................... 43 Austrian Weather Radar Network ........................................................... 45 Atmospheric Observations – Composition 47 Stratospheric Ozone ................................................................................. 48 Air Quality Monitoring Network ............................................................... 51 Air Quality Monitoring of federal states of Austria .................................. 53 Sonnblick Observatory .............................................................................. 68 Terrestrial Observations - Hydrosphere 71 eHYD ......................................................................................................... 72 Tuxer Alps ................................................................................................. 74 Torrent Research Areas ............................................................................. 75 ISMN - In situ soil moisture observations ................................................. 77 ASCAT surface soil moisture ..................................................................... 79 Terrestrial Observations - Cryosphere 82 Snow ......................................................................................................... 83 Glaciers ..................................................................................................... 88 Permafrost ................................................................................................ 95 Regional avalanche warning services in Austria ....................................... 98 Terrestrial Observations - Biosphere 101 National Forest Inventory of Austria ...................................................... 102 Monitoring hydrological data of forest ecosystems .............................. 103 Phenology ZAMG .................................................................................... 105 Long term data sustainability ........................................................................... 109 Annex ............................................................................................................... 110 . Foreword Local Observations for Global Understanding The ultimate success of the Global Climate Observing System, GCOS, depends on effective coordination at the national level of the contributions of Member countries to the WMO Integrated Global Observing Systems (WIGOS), the IOC-led and co-sponsored Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), the coordination of the various and very diverse terrestrial observing systems, and the many other in situ and space-based observing systems providing climate-related observation data. The need for an effectively operating GCOS has recently assumed even greater importance with the Paris Agreement1, which was adopted by the 21st Conference of Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in December 2015 which addresses global efforts to limit climate change. Its central aim is to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping the global temperature rise until the end of this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees Celsius. This is, however, not possible without a thorough and reliable systematic observations of the climate system. The mechanism to address these observation needs is GCOS. Established in 1992 and co-sponsored by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Environment Progamme (UNEP) and the International Council for Science (ICSU), GCOS promotes standardized, systematic and sustained climate observations in order to improve the understanding of our climate system and enhance climate services. One of GCOS most prominent tools to promote climate observations are the Essential Climate Variables (ECVs), a collection of currently 54 parameters that serve as a guideline for operators of climate observation systems. GCOS guides climate observing systems through regular implementation plans. The recent plan was published in 20162 and responds to the needs identified in the GCOS status report from 20153 but also to the ambitious goals and expectations of the Paris Agreement. This 2016 plan includes many actions to improve the observing networks that will help to improve and adapt observations networks to the increasing needs of the climate community. In order to reach this goal, the 22nd COP in Marrakesh in 2016 invited “United Nations agencies and international organizations to support the full implementation of the [GCOS] implementation plan, as appropriate”. This recognition and support by the United Nations and its members to address the big challenges laid out in the Paris agreement holds for all climate observing networks of which the GCOS consists. The responsibility for GCOS implementation and operation at the national level in individual WMO, IOC, UNEP, and ICSU Member countries is thus usually distributed across many departments and agencies rather than being focused solely in a single agency, such as the National Meteorological Service (NMS). It is therefore useful, in order to ensure effective coordination across the GCOS contributing organizations at the national level and to maintain a coordinated overall channel of communication with the GCOS Secretariat in Geneva, that there be a jointly designated ‘GCOS National Coordinator’ in each country with responsibility for as many as possible of the following functions. 1 "Paris Agreement". United Nations Treaty Collection. 8 July 2016: https://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XXVII-7- d&chapter=27&clang=_en 2 The Global Observing System for Climate: Implementation Needs. GCOS-200 (GOOS-214). Pub WMO, Geneva, 2016. https://library.wmo.int/opac/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=19838. 3 The Global Observing System for Climate: Status of the Global Observing System for Climate. GCOS-195. Pub WMO, Geneva, 2015. 3 Many countries have appointed GCOS National Coordinators and National Committees that are able to cross-manage the observation requirements of the atmospheric, ocean and terrestrial domains. Many countries still need to establish such national coordination mechanisms. I would like to thank Austria and the Zentralanstalt für Meteorologie und Geodynamik, ZAMG, for nominating in 2017 an Austrian GCOS Coordinator, Ms Silke Adler, whose efforts in facilitating climate observations will certainly serve as inspiration and motivation for all national experts in climate research and observation to prove that it will need “Local observations for Global Understanding” of our changing Earth`s climate. Dr. Carolin Richter Director of the GCOS Secretariat, World Meteorological Organization 4 Foreword Policy makers have to face changing climate conditions and their possible impact on various aspects of live. Long-term series of climate measurements are essential for our knowledge of the interactions between the climate, ecosystems and human activities. In Austria, we can count on long-standing meteorological data collections, the longest starting in 1767 at Kremsmünster, which builds the basis for research on climate change. Not only temporal, but also spatial continuity is the deciding factor for successful climate monitoring. Therefore supporting and promoting monitoring networks on an international level is a major task when dealing with climate change. The Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is such an effort. It was founded to identify and coordinate monitoring networks worldwide. It also supports countries in setting up monitoring networks especially