Eugster Werner

FINIMSAS: Fog Interception and Nutrient Inputs to Montane-Subalpine Areas in Switzerland

Project Number: 2100-055554
Project Type: Research_Project
Project Duration: 04/01/1999 - 09/30/2002 project completed
Funding Source: SNSF ,
Project Leader: Herr Werner Eugster
verstorben
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related to this project.


Research Areas:
Atmosphere (Processes)
Natural science

Disciplines:
meteorology

Keywords:
alps
Switzerland
subalpine
fog
nutrient input
fog deposition
water droplet interception
nitrogen deposition
eddy covariance flux measurements
micrometeorology
inhomogeneous terrain


Abstract:
Atmospheric deposition of nitrogen is one possible cause of novel forest decline (Mohr 1994) and it is assumed that elevated nitrogen inputs impose negative long-term effects on natural ecosystems.

This project addresses the question ``how important is occult deposition to forests in the montane-subalpine region of Switzerland?'' Occult deposition is the deposition pathway that is not included in either dry deposition or wet deposition sampling schemes. Occult deposition occurs when fog and cloud droplets are intercepted by the vegetation, and it is of large potential importance at elevated sites on the Swiss Plateau and along the Jura and prealpine foothills. In these areas the existence of frequent and dense fog layers (primarily during the winter season) supports the working hypothesis that occult deposition might well be in the order of magnitude of wet deposition in upper montane and subalpine areas of Switzerland.

The following scientific approaches are used to assess and quantify occult deposition inputs of nitrogen and selected trace elements to an upper montane or subalpine forest:

* installation of an eddy covariance measurement setup for direct measurement of droplet-size dependent liquid water flux between the atmosphere and the forest canopy, a setup which is the first of its kind in Switzerland and one among a very small number world-wide;

* fog and cloud water sampling with a conventional fog collector, and chemical analyses of these samples with a Dionex ion-gas-chromatograph;

* comparison of occult deposition fluxes with simultaneously measured wet deposition fluxes;

* spatial extrapolation an scaling up from the proposed measuring site to a montane-subalpine altitudinal transect between the Jura mountains and the Alps using conventional meteorological data and surrogate data (e.g. remote sensing data of upper limit of fog layer).


Reference: Mohr, H. (1994) Stickstoffeintrag als Ursache neuartiger Waldschäden. Spectrum der Wissenschaft, January 1994, 48--53.



Leading questions:
How important is occult deposition to forests in the montane-subalpine region of Switzerland?

URL: http://www.giub.unibe.ch/~eugster/projects/FINIMSAS

Publications:
  • Burkard R., Bützberger P., and Eugster W. (2003) Vertical Fogwater Flux Measurements Above an Elevated Forest Canopy at the Lägeren Research Site, Switzerland. Atmospheric Environment 37, pp. 2979-2990, doi:10.1016/S1352-2310(03)00254-1.

  • Burkard R., Eugster W., Wrzesinsky T., and Klemm O. (2002) Vertical Divergence of Fogwater Fluxes Above a Spruce Forest. Atmospheric Research 64, pp. 133-145.

  • Thalmann E., Burkard R., Wrzesinsky T., Eugster W., and Klemm O. (2002) Ion Fluxes From Fog and Rain to an Agricultural and a Forest Ecosystem in Europe. Atmospheric Research 64, pp. 147-158.

  • Burkard R., Wrzesinsky T., Eugster W., and Klemm O. (2001) Vertical Flux Divergence During Fog Deposition. Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Fog and Fog Collection, St. John's, Canada, 15-20 July 2001, pp. 161-164.

  • Burkard R., Wrzesinsky T., Eugster W., and Klemm O. (2001) Quantification of Fog Deposition With Two Similar Set-ups. Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Fog and Fog Collection, St. John's, Canada, 15-20 July 2001, pp. 185-188.

  • Eugster W., Burkard R., Klemm O., and Wrzesinsky T. (2001) Fog Deposition Measurements with the Eddy Covariance Method. Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Fog and Fog Collection, St. John's, Canada, 15-20 July 2001, pp. 193-196.

  • Wrzesinsky T., Thalmann E., Burkard R., Eugster W., and Klemm O. (2001) Fog Deposition of Nutrients and Pollutants to a Montane Forest Site. Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Fog and Fog Collection, St. John's, Canada, 15-20 July 2001, pp. 169-172.


    Last update: 9/1/03
    Source of data: ProClim- Research InfoSystem (1993-2024)
    Update the data of project: CH-55554

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