MaunakeaNet

Graduate Research Assistant: Marie M. McKenzie

Principal Investigator: Thomas W. Giambelluca, Department of Geography, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

Office of Maunakea Management (OMKM): Fritz Klasner

Background

The Office of Maunakea Management's (OMKM) Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP) identifies a need for improved climate data. Arthropod habitat model development has highlighted gaps in climate information such as, lack of climate precipitation data, snow data and good temperature data. From ecological, environmental, as well as a climatological perspective there are even bigger data gaps.

Purpose

The purpose is to develop a rigorous strategy that clearly articulates data gaps, information needs, potential site(s) for additional stations to fill these gaps, uses of additional climate data, and explicitly identifies the user community. Envisioned are a master station at the summit and satellite stations at lower elevations addressing local, regional and global understanding of weather and climate conditions such as mountain climatology (TWI), drought, storm forecasting, ecological influences of climate, public safety impacts and scientific research. Besides designing a 'network' of stations that address climatological needs, the other major part of this project is identifying user communities willing to help contribute in effort or time. For example, the Maunakea Weather Center has suggested they could serve as a data portal.

Research Objectives

Our focus is on scientifically defining climatological needs, ideal siting location(s), and network purposes. Deployed instrumentation would continuously monitor the climate of the upper elevations of Maunakea with possible transects from Windward–Leeward and North–South (Figure 1). Station elevations would target the TWI (~2,000 m), an intermediate elevation to the summit (~3,000 m), and the summit (~4,000 m). Generally, stations at lower elevations (<2,000 m) are already present, but will be identified in the network design as a means of further justifying their utility.

Figure 1. Windward - Leeward and North - South transects. Blue dots indicate existing weather stations (including rain gauges). Red dots indicate hypothetical station sites envisioned. The University of Hawaii manages lands on Mauna Kea including the Hale Pohaku mid-level astronomy support facilities at 9,200' elevation (19 acres), a 400-yard corridor along the Summit Access Road (723 acres), and the Mauna Kea Science Reserve (11,288 acres). The University designated 10,760-acres of the Mauna Kea Science Reserve as a Natural/Cultural Preservation Area, with no development activity. The remaining 525 acres (5%) of the Science Reserve are designated as an Astronomy Precinct.

Observation Parameters

Both the master station at the summit and satellite stations at lower elevations would include solar radiation, radiation balance, temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, turbulent fluxes of heat, moisture and momentum, precipitation including snow and soil moisture and temperature. Satellite stations will be analogous to HaleNet (Maui), with a standard suite of sensors and likely solar powered. Real-time data connection is not necessarily a requirement, but could occur through cell phone telemetry. The master station at the summit would ideally have more variety in the type of sensors as well as data quality.

Methods

Proposed Instrumentation for master environmental monitoring station

• Up to 10-m-tall tower with appropriate ancillary equipment, data logger enclosure, power supply equipment, etc.

• Campbell Scientific CR-3000 data logger (with back-up logger to swap out for calibration purposes)

• Sonic anemometers at 2, 5, and 10 m.

• Infrared gas analyzer at 10 m (with back-up sensor to swap out for calibration purposes)

• Four-component net radiometer

• Reference-grade global pyranometer

• RH: Vaisala temperature-humidity sensor - high quality with relatively low calibration drift (with back-up sensor to swap out for calibration purposes).

• Snow depth sensor - sonic

• Snow pillow - load cells to provide weight-based measurement - to provide snow density

• Tipping-bucket raingage with wind shield

• Precipitation: plate - or other frozen precipitation sensor

• Shortwave and Longwave Radiation: Kipp and Zonen 4- component radiation sensor

• Soil moisture +depth profile: Time-Domain Reflectometer (TDR)

• Soil temperature depth profile: temperature probes installed at 3 or more depths in soil

• Other instruments? (expansion capability for topics such as air quality)

Satellite stations would have a common core suite of sensors analogous to HaleNet.

Management Application

• Provide a defensible review of need for and use of climate monitoring stations on Maunakea, with benefits to the community identified (scientists, farmers, ranchers, visitors, local residents, etc.).

• Providing background detail needed for subsequent preparation of compliance documentation for a new weather station on the summit of Maunakea (or for expansion of an existing station) and consultation with Maunakea Management Board (including Kahu Ku Mauna). Such documentation would most likely be in the form of an 'Environmental Assessment' (EA), but preparation of compliance documentation is not included in the scope of this proposal. State regulations generally allow weather stations to be exempt EA preparation according to OEQC, although Maunakea summit is a sensitive area and thus an EA is assumed to be a requirement under OEQC rules. Verification of the appropriate level of compliance to be included as part of this project.

• Provide recommendations for start-up costs and funding operations, data management, reporting etc.

• Provide baseline climate monitoring data for resource program development purposes, operations, and future research.

Sustainability

• Goal: Long-term stability and operation of such a network

• Establishing partnerships with user community

• Funding support from users, including land owners, government agencies, and other stakeholders.

Map of UH Management areas, landowners and rainfall stations used to develop rainfall atlas. Source:

Giambelluca, T.W., Q. Chen, A.G. Frazier, J.P. Price, Y.-L. Chen, P.-S. Chu, J.K. Eischeid, and D.M. Delparte, 2013: Online Rainfall Atlas of Hawai‘i. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc. 94, 313-316, doi: 10.1175/BAMS-D-11-00228.1. Rainfall Atlas of Hawai'i

Argyroxiphium sandwicense subsp. sandwicense