History and Data Records of the Automatic Weather Station on Denali Pass (5715 m), 1990–2007

We present the data records and station history of an automatic weather station (AWS) on Denali Pass (5715 m MSL), Alaska. The station was installed by a team of climbers from the Japanese Alpine Club after a fatal accident involving Japanese climbers in 1989 and was operational intermittently betwe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of applied meteorology and climatology 2020-12, Vol.59 (12), p.2113-2127
Main Authors: Hartl, Lea, Stuefer, Martin, Saito, Tohru, Okura, Yoshitomi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accidents
Air temperature
Approximation
Arctic research
Automatic weather stations
Correlation analysis
Data
Decision making
Expeditions
History
Low temperature
Meteorological conditions
Mountain climbing
National parks
Records
Research facilities
Teams
Weather
Wind
Wind speed
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Summary:We present the data records and station history of an automatic weather station (AWS) on Denali Pass (5715 m MSL), Alaska. The station was installed by a team of climbers from the Japanese Alpine Club after a fatal accident involving Japanese climbers in 1989 and was operational intermittently between 1990 and 2007, measuring primarily air temperature and wind speed. In later years, the AWS was operated by the International Arctic Research Center of the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Station history is reconstructed from available documentation as archived by the expedition teams. To extract and preserve data records, the original datalogger files were processed. We highlight numerous challenges and sources of uncertainty resulting from the location of the station and the circumstances of its operation. The data records exemplify the harsh meteorological conditions at the site: air temperatures down to approximately −60°C were recorded, and wind speeds reached values in excess of 60 m s−1. Measured temperatures correlate strongly with reanalysis data at the 500-hPa level. An approximation of critical wind speed thresholds and a reanalysis-based reconstruction of the meteorological conditions during the 1989 accident confirm that the climbers faced extremely hazardous wind speeds and very low temperatures. The data from the Denali Pass AWS represent a unique historical record that can, we hope, serve as a basis for further monitoring efforts in the summit region of Denali.
ISSN:1558-8424
1558-8432
DOI:10.1175/JAMC-D-20-0082.1