METLIFT

A deep snow pack, remote locations, no external power supply and very low temperatures are often the main ingredients when it comes to the deployment of meteorological stations in mountainous terrain. WMO recommendations concerning distance of the sensors to the surface are hardly fulfilled especially due to the varying snow depths. The accurate position of the sensor related to the snow surface is normally not known since a daily inspection is not possible. Even worse, the sensor might be completely snow-covered. All these problems can be overcome by “METLIFT”, a measurement device which has been developed at the department recently. A snow height sensor measures the distance to the snow surface. If certain limits are exceeded the whole station is adapted (lifted) accordingly. The lift can deal with a snow depth of up to 4 m. Accumulators recharged by solar panels guarantee the internal power supply. Data transfer is possible via radio transmission and/or GSM.

Poster, EGU 2012
Dorninger, M (2012): METLIFT - A new device for accurate measuremants in a snow rich environment. Geophysical Research Abstracts, 14, EGU2012, 12491.