3.1 Climatological monitoring

An automatic weather station (AWS) was installed at the old Mike’s Pass meteorological site (1860 m.a.s.l) in August 2012. At this site, the core climatological parameters of solar radiation (CMP3, Kipp & Zonen, Delft, The Netherlands), wind speed and direction (Model 03002, R.M. Young, Traverse city, Michigan, USA), air temperature and humidity (CS215, Campbell Scientific Inc., Logan, Utah, USA), rainfall (TR-525, Texas Electronics Inc., Dallas, Texas, USA) are monitored. The climatic data are averaged over 5-min intervals from observations made every 10 s and stored on a datalogger (CR1000, Campbell Scientific Inc., Logan, Utah, USA). The rain gauge orifice is at 1.2 m above the ground and all other sensors are located 2 m above the ground. Two additional rain gauges (TR-525, Texas Electronics Inc., Dallas, Texas, USA with a Hobo Pendant Event loggers UA-003-64, MA, USA) are installed at the site as well as a ground-level rain gauge designed to World Meteorological Organisation specifications, to ensure the quality of the rainfall record. Fog is monitored using a Juvick type gauge. Barometric pressure (PTB110, Viasala, Vantaa, Helsinki, Finland) and ground surface temperature (T107L, Campbell Scientific Inc., Logan, Utah, USA) are also recorded. Two additional AWS, one at a higher altitude of 3010 m.a.s.l (Vulture’s retreat) and another at a lower altitude of 1367 m.a.s.l (OIC Research office), measure the same core climatological parameters as the Mike’s Pass AWS.

Through Catchments I – X, twenty-three rain gauges (TR-525, Texas Electronics Inc., Dallas, Texas, USA with a Hobo Pendant Event loggers UA-003-64, MA, USA), at a standard height of 1.2 m, have been installed at the sites where the historic rain gauges were located.