1. High-Resolution Pan-Alpine Precipitation Analysis and Application MeteoSwiss Contribution to EURO4M

2. EEA Report – The Alps Water-tower of Europe Vital ecosystem services
„Support monitoring and data collection networks to expand the knowledge base and widen the scope for in-depth analysis of long data series.“
Water-tower of Europe
Vital ecosystem services
„Global climate change ...
... threatens the alpine hydrological system drastically.
... may worsen current water resource issues and lead to increased risk of conflicts.“
Need policy guidance (for local and regional stakeholders) on robust adaptation strategies.
Regional climate change and adaptation –
The Alps facing the challenge of changing water resources
EEA, Tech Report, 9/2009,
Water tower of Europe: Head waters of major rivers: Danube, Rhine, Po, Rhone
Vital ecosystem services: high variability of climatic conditions enables variable ecosystems and delivers vital ecosystem services within an beyond the region.
Based on a review of past climatic variations and future climate change scenarios for the region, the report
Societal and political implications: .... Risk of conflicts between users inside and outside the region, and competition between different sectors.
Report identifies barriers to adaptation. Among which is the limited scientific knowlege and uncertainty about regional climate change and ist local impacts. For facilitating a better understanding and more reliable regional scenarios the report suggests among others to ...
This is at the heart of EURO4M as a whole project and with the focus on precipitation and extreme hydrological conditions in the Alpine region it is at the heart of MeteoSwiss contribution to EURO4M.

3. Alpine Rain-Gauge Networks
ETH
> 6800 stations
Frei & Schär 1998,
Frei et al. 2006
Meteorological and hydrological services in Alpine countries operate together many thousand rain-gauge stations with time series extending over several decades. Together, these networks constitute probably the densest in-situ measurement network over a large-scale high-mountain region worldwide. Probably the only one capable of resolving the rich meso-beta scale precipitation patterns of heavy precipitation events.
Data from these networks is currently not exchanged on a regular basis, for technical reasons and issues of data policy. This complicates to address the pan-Alpine dimension of hydrological issues.
Activity builds upon previous compilation effort, the Alpine Precipitation dataset at ETH, encompasses ....
The task will be to update data for the recent 15 years, to enhance data coverage in regions currently poorly represented and to ensure actual status of data quality.
We will be able to build upon previously established contacts to data centers for this undertaking, but efforts to tap new centers – in particular in Italy - will be essential.
Compile pan-Alpine rain-gauge dataset:
Alps and adjacent flatland,
high-resolution (all accessible data from national/regional services),
daily, multi-decadal.

4. Gridded Dataset Develop method for gridding
Schwarb et al. 2001
Again this activity will build upon previous gridding experience aquired at ETH with the Alpine precipitation dataset, yet the focus in EURO4M will be on a much higher resolution requiring the consideration of statistical topography-precipitation relationships.
Develop method for gridding
km-scale (~ 2x2 km), daily, 1971-recent, building on experience with APD
Provide dataset for research
preliminary version in month 36.

5. Climate- and Monitoring Products
90% - Quantile daily precipitation (mm)
Mean maximum annual dry-day period
Frei & Schmidli (2005)
Base-line and climate monitoring information
frequency of heavy precipitation and dryness-periods, anomalies
Variations over the past 50 years

6. Extreme Events Floods of the past 50 years
MeteoSwiss 2006
Floods of the past 50 years
consistent spatial analysis,
for hydrological modelling in trans-boundary catchments (CC impacts)

7. Evaluation 5-year return level of 1-day precipitation (mm, SON)
Frei et al. 2006
Evaluate other precipitation datasets of EURO4M
Updated E-Obs, GPCC, regional RA, downscaling from reg. RA
representation of extremes, decadal-scale variations

8. Uncertainties Station data Grid 1 Grid 2
MeteoSwiss 2008
In terms of science MeteoSwiss would like to address several issues that have to do with errors and uncertainties in gridding products.
Addressing errors and uncertainties in gridding products:
check for data quality, examine effect of variable observation practice,
account for network variations in time,
quantify interpolation uncertainties (ensemble gridding)

9. CM-SAF SEVIRI-based surface solar radiation and cloudiness over Alps
Dürr et al. 2008, Stöckli R.
SEVIRI-based surface solar radiation and cloudiness over Alps
optimized Heliosat method, improved cloud/snow discrimination
2004-, daily or better,
development ongoing in CM-SAF

10. EUMETGRID EUMETGRID: High-resolution
gridded datasets & derived products for Europe
Merging national gridding products
Precip, Temp,
Pressure,
Snow-cover
Use Synergies betw. EURO4M and EUMETGRID:
trans-Alpine grids vs. tiled national grids
gridding methods for other climate variables
derived products and user contacts

11. Expectations Co-operation / co-ordination with data requests
Knowledge exchange on QC and gridding methods
Learn potential/limitations of regional reanalyses and remote sensing data.
Links to users, share experience on user needs
Learn about new climate monitoring products and forms of user/public communication. …

12. People New!! Christoph Frei Gaudenz Flury Francesco Isotta
Christian Lukasczyk
Christoph Frei
Gaudenz Flury
New!!
Francesco Isotta
Christof Appenzeller
Mark Liniger
Reto Stöckli
Simon Scherrer
Christian Jung