Abruzzo: monitoring at high altitude

At the end of October 2016, a high-altitude meteorological station was installed at the top of Tavola Rotonda, with a summit reaching 2,403 metres and which, during this period of intense cold, recorded temperatures that plunged to -20.9°C. The Tavola Rotonda is the last offshoot to the south of the Majella mountain group, a very long chain of peaks that all reach over 2,000 metres.

The station has the same characteristics as that installed in 2014 on the K2 (News on the K2), then built ad hoc for the high mountains. It has been positioned in proximity to the existing VVFF (Fire Department) radio station, which is not easily accessible, especially in the cold and rainy months, when the terrain prevents even off-road vehicles from reaching the summit. For this reason, all of the materials needed for installation were transported by helicopter.

The weather station in question is portable, created with a steel and aluminium structure so as to be lightweight in order to facilitate working in difficult contexts whilst also being robust so as to withstand very cold temperatures and particularly intense weather events.

The station is equipped with:

• RTX20 radio data transmission module;

• Solar cell power supply unit;

• THS thermometer;

• Anemometer group (wind direction and speed);

• Barometric sensor;

• Radiometer.

The Centro Funzionale d’Abruzzo (Regional Control Cener) specifically requested this installation in order to gather the greatest possible number of cognitive elements to serve the elaboration of weather forecasts in relation to hazards such as avalanches and fires, whilst ensuring top-level reliability and guaranteeing 24-hour operation in real time.

CAE was able to quickly implement the installation of the station in a point considered to be strategic for the Administration, with measuring instruments that comply with all WMO (World Meteorology Organization) directives.