Some years ago, the MRI's Elevation Dependent Climate Change (EDCC) Working Group proposed the concept of a Uniform High-Elevation Observing Platform (UHOP). Now, with support from GEO Mountains, work to make the concept a reality can truly begin!
In this context, a UHOP workshop will take place in Bern, Switzerland, between Sunday 25 and Tuesday 27 June 2023 (following the 36th International Conference on Alpine Meteorology, which is being held in St. Gallen, Switzerland). The focus will be on climate variables.
Potential outputs are i) a clearly defined, globally achievable UHOP protocol that balances scientific relevance, technical feasibility, and cost , ii) a paper or document describing the discussions / outcomes that is targeted towards international organisations who may have the means to help fund and support instrumentation, site maintenance, and data curation and sharing activities, and iii) the identification of any sites that already meet the UHOP criteria (or could do with minimal additional investment), plus spatial gaps in transect measurement that could be future UHOP priority candidates.
The workshop could potentially also identify some scientific spin off questions, such as how to isolate elevational dependencies in measurements from networks distributed in space (as opposed to from linear transects) and/or how to harmonise data from different sensors to make them inter-comparable.
Workshop Program
25 June - 16:00 - 18:00
- Afternoon: Welcome, introductions, & UHOP as a theoretical concept
- Evening: Dinner at own cost
26 June - 09:00 - 17:30
- Morning: Definition of an elevation gradient and how can it be captured in space (and time)
- Afternoon: Specification for the Anchor stations and calibration of float stations at Anchor sites
- Evening: Workshop Dinner
27 June - 08:30 - 12:30
- Morning: Identifying and overcoming bureaucratic challenges associated with UHOP implementation (Parallel Session)
- Morning: Managing and analysing UHOP data (Parallel Session)
- Early afternoon: Conclusions, final remarks and agenda setting
Participation Details
The number of participants will be limited. Some travel bursaries will be available to successful applications, especially from developing countries. Please apply using this form by 28 April 2023.
Download the flyer to learn more about UHOP.
Join Online
If you would like to tune into the workshop virtually, join us online here at the times listed above (CEST).
Cover image by Douglas Hardy
