High-altitude weather and climate observatory of Col Margherita (MRG)
Regional Station GAW-WMO
The Col Margherita High Altitude Observatory (MRG) is located on the southern slope of the Eastern Alps (46.37 N, 11.79 E), at an altitude of 2543 meters above sea level. The site is located within the Dolomites, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is considered strategic, because despite not being at a particularly high altitude, it is representative of the synoptic conditions of the south-facing Eastern Alps, where there is no similar station. The main characteristics of the site are that it represents the synoptic conditions of the free troposphere at that height and pressure (700 hpa), as there are few the orographic barriers in the surrounding area and there is an absence of local pollution sources.
Instrumentation currently installed at the observatory:
- full meteorological station: temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, atmospheric pressure, incident and reflected solar radiation, sensors for the measurement of atmospheric precipitation and snow cover height;
- mercury analyser;
- temperature controlled bulk deposition sampler for the collection of precipitation for mercury analysis;
- bulk deposition samplers to collect samples for the analysis of organic, inorganic and stable isotopes in precipitation.
Follow us on Twitter
History
The Col Margherita Observatory was built in 2012 in the framework of GMOS Project (2013-2015) and it was subsequently operational within the Nextdata (2016-2018) and I-GOSP (2018-2020) projects. The observatory is equipped with a complete meteorological station, an ozone analyser and a total gaseous mercury analyser. The station is fully automated. It is connected to the main power grid and is also equipped with a solar power backup system with ~200ah of batteries in case of network failure. The observatory is equipped with a remote control via GSM/GPRS technology. The site, due to its proximity to the cable car of the San Pellegrino Ski is accessible, and can be used for seasonal sampling campaigns for snow, and wet and dry atmospheric deposition.
