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This publication presents a comprehensive hydrometeorological data set for three research sites in the upper Rofental (1891–3772 m a.s.l., Ötztal Alps, Austria) and is a companion publication to a data collection published in 2018. The time series presented here comprise data from 2017 to 2023 and originate from three meteorological and snow hydrological stations at 2737, 2805, and 2919 m a.s.l. The fully equipped automatic weather stations include a specific set of sensors to continuously record snow cover properties. These are automatic measurements of snow depth, snow water equivalent, volumetric solid and liquid water contents, snow density, layered snow temperature profiles, and snow surface temperature. One station is extended by a particular arrangement of two snow depth and water equivalent recording devices to observe and quantify wind-driven snow transport. These devices are installed at nearby wind-exposed and sheltered locations and are complemented by an acoustic-based snow drift sensor. We present data for temperature, precipitation, humidity, wind speed, and radiation fluxes and explore the continuous snow measurements by combined analyses of meteorological and snow data to show typical seasonal snow cover characteristics. The potential of the snow drift observations is demonstrated with examples of measured wind speeds, snow drift rates, and redistributed snow amounts during several blowing snow events. The data complement the scientific monitoring infrastructure in the research catchment and represent a unique time series of high-altitude mountain weather and snow observations. They enable comprehensive insights into the dynamics of high-altitude meteorological and snow processes and are collected to support the scientific community, local stakeholders, and the interested public, as well as operational warning and forecasting services. The data are publicly available from the GFZ Data Services repository: 10.5880/fidgeo.2023.037 (Department of Geography, University of Innsbruck, 2024). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the living data process in ESSD, this publication presents extensions of a comprehensive hydrometeorological and glaciological data set for several research sites in the Rofental (1891-3772 m a.s.l., Ötztal Alps, Austria). Whereas the original dataset has been published in a first original version in 2018 (https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-151-2018), the new time series presented here originate from meteorological and snow-hydrological recordings that have been collected from 2017 to 2020. Some data sets represent continuations of time series at existing locations, others come from new installations complementing the scientific monitoring infrastructure in the research catchment. Main extensions are a fully equipped automatic weather and snow monitoring station, as well as extensive additional installations to enable continuous observation of snow cover properties. Installed at three high Alpine locations in the catchment, these include automatic measurements of snow depth, snow water equivalent, volumetric solid and liquid water content, snow density, layered snow temperature profiles, and snow surface temperature. One station is extended by a particular arrangement of two snow depth and water equivalent recording devices to observe and quantify wind-driven snow redistribution. They are installed at nearby wind-exposed and sheltered locations and are complemented by an acoustic-based snow drift sensor. The data sets represent a unique time series of high-altitude mountain snow and meteorology observations. We present three years of data for temperature, precipitation, humidity, wind speed, and radiation fluxes from three meteorological stations. The continuous snow measurements are explored by combined analyses of meteorological and snow data to show typical seasonal snow cover characteristics. The potential of the snow drift observations are demonstrated with examples of measured wind speeds, snow drift rates and redistributed snow amounts in December 2019 when a tragic avalanche accident occurred in the vicinity of the station. All new data sets are provided to the scientific community according to the Creative Commons Attribution License by means of the PANGAEA repository (https://www.pangaea.de/?q=%40ref104365). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A comprehensive hydrometeorological and glaciological data set is presented, originating from a multitude of recordings at several intensively operated research sites in the Rofental (1891-3772 m a.s.l., Ötztal Alps, Austria). The data sets are spanning a period of 150 years and hence represent a unique, worldwide unprecedented pool of high mountain observations. Their collection has originally been initiated to support the scientific investigation of the glaciers Hintereis-, Kesselwand- and Vernagtferner. Later, additional measurements of meteorological and hydrological variables have been undertaken; data now comprise records of temperature, relative humidity, short- and longwave radiation, wind speed and direction, air pressure, precipitation and water levels. For the glaciers, annual mass balance, glacier front variation and flow velocities as well as photographic images of the glacier status have been recorded. Since 2001, a series of distributed (airborne and terrestrial) laserscans has been processed. Most recently, a permanent terrestrial laser scanner installed on "Im hintern Eis" (3244 m a.s.l.) enables to continuously observe almost the entire area of Hintereisferner. The data and research undertaken at the sites of investigation enable combined research of atmospheric, cryospheric and hydrological processes in complex terrain, and support the development of several state-of-the art hydroclimatological and glacier mass balance models. The institutions taking part in the Rofental research framework have joined to a cooperation consortium and promote their site in several international research initiatives. In the framework of INARCH, all original research data sets are now provided to the scientific community according to the Creative Commons Attribution License by means of the PANGAEA repository (https://doi.org/doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.876120). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seasonal snow cover is an important temporary water storage in high-elevation regions. Especially in remote areas, the available data is often insufficient to explicitly quantify snowmelt contributions to streamflow. The unknown spatio-temporal variability of the snowmelt isotopic content, as well as pronounced spatial variations of snowmelt rates lead to high uncertainties in applying the isotopic hydrograph separation method. This study presents an approach that uses a distributed snowmelt model to support the traditional isotopic hydrograph separation technique. The stable isotopic signatures of snowmelt water samples collected during two spring 2014 snowmelt events at a north- and a south-facing slope were volume-weighted with snowmelt rates derived from a distributed physics-based snow model in order to transfer the measured plot-scale isotopic content of snowmelt water to the catchment scale. The observed ƍ18O values and modelled snowmelt rates showed distinct inter- and intra-event variations, as well as marked differences between north- and south-facing slopes. Accounting for those differences, two-component isotopic hydrograph separation revealed snowmelt contributions of 35 ± 3% and 75 ± 14% for the early and peak melt season, respectively. Differences to formerly used weighting methods (e.g. using observed plot-scale melt rates) or considering either the north- or south-facing slope were up to 5 and 15%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is expected to affect supply and demand of water in Alpine headwatersheds in the next decades. Glaciers are retreating, seasonal snowcover duration is shortening, and streamflow is expected to decrease after a period of peak water. Future changes in the spatiotemporal availability of water resources can pose serious challenges to water management and induce conflicts in water use downstream. In the HydroGeM3 project, future climate change effects on the availability of water resources in the Oetztal Alps (Tyrol, Austria) are investigated by forcing the hydroclimatological model AMUNDSEN with scenario data retrieved from different RCP climate scenarios. Indicators for hydropower generation and winter tourism have been defined in an inter- and transdisciplinary stakeholder process. Quality assessment of the non-scenario model results is supported by means of multilevel spatiotemporal validation, and time series of streamflow components estimated with tracer-based hydrograph separation (stable isotope ratios) are compared to respective model results. Water demand is assessed using a newly developed agent-based model to estimate water fluxes at the human-environment interface. Model results indicate considerable decrease in snow amounts of up to 80 % in low to medium elevations in the future and strongly retreating glaciers with less than 20 % of their present-day volume still left by 2100. Runoff volumes in some catchments decrease by almost 40 % on the annual scale along with a shift of peak flows from July to June, and the average natural ski season length decreases by up to 50 days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]