Projects/Activities

DMI runs radio sounding stations at the following six locations: Tórshavn (the Faroe Islands), Danmarkshavn, Illoqqortoormiit, Tasiilaq, Narsarsuaq and Aasiaat (Greenland). Two soundings are made every day at these stations. A monthly summary (CLIMAT TEMP) from all stations is prepared and transmitted routinely on the GTS.

Solar Ultraviolet (UV) radiation at different wavelengths is measured by DMI at two stations in Greenland, namely Pittuffik and Kangerlussuaq. In addition, DMI performs weekly ozone soundings at Illoqqortoormiut as well as sporadic ozone soundings at Pituffik during the winter months.

DMI operates and receives data from a network of approximately 100 automatic meteorological stations in Denmark, Greenland and on the Faroe Islands. Measurements are made in accordance with the WMO recommendations. As of 2001 a special dedicated network of (manual) stations for climatological observations has been discontinued, due to the convergence between the different network technologies. The objectives behind this decision are to eliminate human errors, to benefit from potential savings due to this rationalisation, and to reach a higher observation frequency. Climatological data are now obtained from the automatic network described above. Climatological data are collected to define the climate in Denmark, Greenland and on the Faroe Islands and to create a national database for a wide range of enquiries and research activities. Climatological work mostly consists of preparing annual and monthly statistics, including calculation of averages, percentiles and standard deviations. Substantial recorded data are needed to establish reliable averages and trends. In 2008 the daily inflow of data from Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands was 100,000 observations, and the central database at DMI currently contains more than 300,000,000 observations. Some of the recorded data are from as early as 1872. A monthly summary is prepared for the three stations in Denmark, one on the Faroe Islands and eight in Greenland using the CLIMAT format. These data are routinely submitted via the GTS. Radiation is measured as 10- minute mean values of global radiation at the DMI operated weather station.

As part of the GAW programme, Denmark contributes to the Global Ozone Observing System (GO3OS) with three stations in Greenland and one in Denmark. The stations in Greenland are: Kangerlussuaq, Pituffik and Illoqqortoormiut The station in Denmark is located in Copenhagen The stations in Greenland are primary and secondary stations in the Network for the Detection of Stratospheric Change (NDSC) that is supported by the International Ozone Commission.

Only one GUAN station is designated for Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands and it is situated in Narsarsuaq (WMO nr. 6186), Greenland. The station is run by DMI and is operated in accordance with the required standard.

The seven designated GSN stations in Denmark, Greenland and on the Faroe Islands are all run by DMI and include (Numbers are WMO station numbers): Greenland: 4211 Upernarvik, 4250 Nuuk, 4320 Danmarkshavn, 4360 Tasiilaq, 4390 Prins Christian Sund; The Faroe Islands; 6011 Tórshavn Denmark: 6186 Copenhagen. All of these stations currently meet the required standard for surface observation.

Wind resources measurements near several settlements to determine whether wind energy can be used as a local energy source and replace fossil fuel. The project concentrates on settlements in Sisimiut and Uummannaq and includes 6 settlements. A standard measurement setup consisting of a 10 m NRG-Systems meteorological mast equipped with a cup anemometer, a wind vane and a thermometer has been installed at each location. A 6 kW demonstration wind turbine has recently been erected in Sarfannguaq to document the potential of merging wind energy with a diesel powered electricity system. Network type: Wind resources

To acquire atmospheric data in support of both the prediction and detection of severe weather and of climate trend and variability research. This serves a broad range of users including researchers, policy makers, and service providers. Main gaps: Long-term, atmospheric monitoring in the North poses a significant challenge both operationally (e.g. in-situ automated snowfall measurements) and financially (charterd flights for maintenance and calibration).Most monitoring in the North is limited to populated areas. Attempts to develop an AMDAR capacity out of First Air and Canadian North fleets failed due to economical and technical difficulties. As demonstrated through impact studies, benefits of AMDAR in the North would be tremendous, however would require acquisition and deployment of specialized sensing packages such as TAMDAR (which includes measurements of relative humidity), development of datalink capacity through satellite communications (e.g. Iridium), and upgrading some aircraft systems when possible, especially the aircraft navigation systems. Network type: Atmospheric observing stations over land and sea composed of: - Surface Weather and Climate Network: o In-situ land stations comprising both Hourly stations and Daily Climate observations - Marine Networks: o Buoys (moored and drifting) o Ships: Automatic Volunteer Observing System - Upper Air Network: o In situ (radiosonde) o In situ Commercial Aircraft (AMDAR)

At present there are about 12 micrometeorological tower sites north of 60°N in Sweden that use eddy covariance techniques to measure the exchanges of carbon dioxide, water vapor, energy, and at some sites methane between terrestrial ecosystem and atmosphere on a long-term and continuous basis (Table 5, ##5, 9, 11, 12, 15, 16–22). Among these tower sites, Norunda is the oldest and most complete complete (Table 5, #5). Three towers are in use at Rosindal, 70 km northwest of Umeå, in full-scale nitrogen and carbon dioxide experiments (Table 5, #12). In addition, one site is located at Zackenberg on Greenland (Table 5, #22). At the sites, data on vegetation, soil, and meteorological and hydrological conditions are also collected. The Swedish sites are integrated in the international Fluxnet program that assembles more than 400 eddy covariance sites around the world in an effort to better understand land surface – atmosphere interaction and its role in global change. The Swedish micrometeorological towers are presently financed by research councils, viz. Swedish Research Council (VR) and Formas, EU and university faculties. A European research infrastructure for flux measurements, the Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS) is being planned and includes Sweden as one of the participating nations.

The total column amount of ozone and other trace gases are measured with mm-wave instruments, FT-IR and DOAS spectrometers, at IRF in Kiruna (Table 6, #8.1). With the sun or moon as infrared light sources, FT-IR spectrometers can quantify the total column amounts of many important trace gases in the troposphere and stratosphere. At present the following species are retrieved from the Kiruna data: O3 (ozone), ClONO2, HNO3, HCl, CFC-11, CFC-12, CFC- 22, NO2, N2O, NO, HF, C2H2, C2H4, C2H6, CH4, CO, COF2, H2O, HCN, HO2NO2, NH3, N2, and OCS. Together with Russian and Finnish institutes at the same latitude, IRF studies the stratospheric ozone and its dependence on polar atmospheric circulation and precipitation of charged particles. The ground-based instruments are also used to validate satellite measurements of vertical ozone distribution (Odin, SAGE III, and GOME). Aerosols and thin clouds are measured at IRF in Kiruna. For example, researchers use Lidars (Light Detection and Ranging) to measure polar stratospheric and noctilucent clouds. Winds and structures are measured with ESRAD MST radar at IRF in Kiruna. At IRF in Kiruna measurements are used to assess the physical and chemical state of the stratosphere and upper troposphere and the impact of changes on the global climate. Particle precipitation is measured by relative ionospheric opacity meters (riometers) at IRF in Kiruna. Riometers measure the absorption of cosmic noise at 30 and 38 MHz and provide information about particles with energies larger than 10 keV. The electron density of the ionosphere is measured by ionosonds and digisondes at IRF in Kiruna.

SMHI measures the thickness of the ozone layer at 2 sites in Sweden, one at Norrköping in southeast Sweden and one at Svartberget Forest Research Park, Vindeln, 70 km NW of Umeå. At Svartberget a Dobson and a Brewer Spectrophotometer are operational. The measurements are part of SEPA’s Environmental Monitoring Program.

Calculating deposition in a grid over Sweden showed the lack of information on deposition at high altitude. SMHI applied the meso scale MATCH model to calculate the deposition field and the matched model is called MATCH-Sweden. The result is found at http://www.smhi.se/cmp/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=5640&l=sv The observations made at these stations are: Particles in air: SO4-S, NO3-N, NH4-N, Cl, Na, Ca, Mg, K Gase:s NH3-N, HNO3-N, SO2-S Deposition open field precipitation: H+, SO4-S, Cl, NO3-N, NH4-N, Ca, Mg, Na, K Deposition in forest throughfall: H+, SO4-S, Cl, NO3-N, NH4-N, Ca, Mg, Na, K To integrate the relatively few deposition measurement sites, SMHI has adopted the Mesoscale Atmospheric Transport and Chemistry Model (MATCH) that uses emission data, meteorological data, routines for chemical processes, and a transport model to calculate long-range transport and deposition of air pollutants (Table 4, #1.5). Time series of gridded data over Sweden for deposition of different inorganic chemical compounds calculated with the MATCH-Sweden model are available at SMHI (Appendix, Table 11). When the MATCH-Sweden model was first tested, the deposition network lacked high elevation sites. Hence, a monitoring program for deposition at higher elevations (Table 4, #1.9) was started. It consists of 4 sites in high elevation forests along the Swedish mountain ridge, where NO3, NH4, NH3, HNO3, SO2, SO4, Na, K, Ca, Mg, Cl, pH, conductivity, and amount of precipitation are analyzed on monthly accumulated precipitation samples.

The subprogram main task is to check if international agreements as the UN Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLTRAP) are followed. EMEP = European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme. The network comprises 10 stations, out of which three are in northern Sweden. Air chemistry is monitored by diffusion samplers. The following compounds are measured: SO2, SO4, tot-NH4, tot-NO3, soot, NO2, O3 Precipitation quality is monitored by samplers with lid, open only when it rains. The following compounds are measured: SO4-S, NO-N, Cl, NH4-N, Ca, Mg, Na, K, pH, EC. Ozone near ground is analyzed every hour and is part of an European warning system PM10 is particles Metals in air and precipitation is analysed at Bredkälen only. The following elements are analyzed: As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn, V, Hg, metyl-Hg.

The PMK Network is part of the national network for deposition measurements. The aim is a longterm monitoring concentration and deposition of different air transported compounds. The aim is also to generate knowledge about longterm variation in the deposition field, and to give background data from low polluted areas for calculation of pollution deposition in more polluted areas. The Air and Precipitation Chemistry Network includes about 25 sites (14 in northern Sweden) where precipitation from open accumulating samplers are collected and analyzed for pH, SO4, NO3, NH4, Cl, Ca, Mg, Na, K, conductivity, and amount of precipitation (Table 4, #1.2). At 3 sites (one in northern Sweden) precipitation is analyzed for heavy metals, mercury, and methyl-mercury (Table 4, #1.3).

At the top of the micrometeorological tower (102 m) at Norunda north of Uppsala, carbon dioxide and methane concentrations are also measured.

at the Institute for Space Physics (IRF) in Kiruna, an automated weather station logging air temperature, humidity, wind, pressure, and UV-radiation has been in operation since 1996

Investigations within many areas of biosciences and geosciences are carried out at the station. The emphasis of staff research is on plant ecology and meteorology. The main objectives of the ecological projects are to study the dynamics of plant populations and to identify the controlling factors at their latitudinal and altitudinal limits. The meteorological projects deal with recent climate changes in the region, and also with local variations of the microclimate in subalpine and alpine ecosystems.

The Faculty of Forestry at SLU has two research stations with experimental forests, two experimental forests with permanent staff, three without permanent staff and a large number of long-term field trials. These facilities are spread over the country.