Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11765/12179
Elevation effects on air temperature in a topographically complex mountain valley in the Spanish Pyrenees
Title: Elevation effects on air temperature in a topographically complex mountain valley in the Spanish Pyrenees
Authors: Navarro-Serrano, FranciscoLópez Moreno, Juan IgnacioAzorín Molina, CésarAlonso-González, E.Aznárez-Balta, MarinaBuisán Sanz, Samuel Tomás ORCID RESEARCHERID SCOPUSID Autor AEMETRevuelto, Jesús
Keywords: Air temperature; Complex terrain; Cluster analysis; Lapse rates; Weather types
Issue Date: 2020
Publisher: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
Citation: Atmosphere. 2020, 11(6), 656
Publisher version: https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/atmos11060656
Abstract: Air temperature changes as a function of elevation were analyzed in a valley of the Spanish Pyrenees. We analyzed insolation, topography and meteorological conditions in order to understand how complex topoclimatic environments develop. Clustering techniques were used to define vertical patterns of air temperature covering more than 1000 m of vertical elevation change. Ten locations from the bottom of the valley to the summits were monitored from September 2016 to June 2019. The results show that (i) night‐time lapse rates were between −4 and −2 °C km−1, while in the daytime they were from −6 to −4 °C km−1, due to temperature inversions and topography. Daily maximum temperature lapse rates were steeper from March to July, and daily minimum temperatures were weaker from June to August, and in December. (ii) Different insolation exposure within and between the two analyzed slopes strongly influenced diurnal air temperatures, creating deviations from the general lapse rates. (iii) Usually, two cluster patterns were found (i.e., weak and steep), which were associated with stable and unstable weather conditions, respectively, in addition to high‐low atmospheric pressure and low‐high relative humidity. The results will have direct applications in disciplines that depend on air temperature estimations (e.g., snow studies, water resources and sky tourism, among others).
Sponsorship : This study was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness project CGL2017‐82216‐R (HIDROIBERNIEVE).
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11765/12179
ISSN: 2073-4433
Appears in Collections:Artículos científicos 2019-2022


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