The Kühtai data set: 25 years of lysimetric, snow pillow, and meteorological measurements

Abstract

Snow measurements at the Kühtai station in Tirol, Austria, (1920 m.a.s.l.) are described. The data set includes snow water equivalent from a 10 m ² snow pillow, snow melt outflow from a 10 m ² snow lysimeter placed at the same location as the pillow, meteorological data (precipitation, incoming shortwave radiation, reflected shortwave radiation, air temperature, relative air humidity, and wind speed), and other data (snow depths, snow temperatures at seven heights) from the period October 1990 to May 2015. All data have been quality checked, and gaps in the meteorological data have been filled in. The data set is unique in that all data are available at a temporal resolution of 15 min over a period of 25 years with minimal changes in the experimental setup. The data set can therefore be used to analyze snow pack processes over a long‐time period, including their extremes and long‐term changes, in an Alpine climate. Analyses may benefit from the combined measurement of snow water equivalent, lysimeter outflow, and precipitation at a wind‐sheltered alpine site. An example use of data shows the temporal variability of daily and 1 April snow water equivalent observed at the Kühtai site. The results indicate that the snow water equivalent maximum varies between 200 and more than 500 mm w.e., but there is no statistically significant temporal trend in the period 1990–2015.

Key Points:

• A 25 year snow data set in an Alpine setting with minimal changes in the experimental setup

• Meteorological and snow data at 15 min resolution were quality checked and gaps were filled

• The data set can be used for analysing long‐term snow processes and testing snow models