CZNet DWCZ -- Meteorology, Air Temperature -- (DWCZ-BT-Met) -- Betasso -- (2020–Ongoing)

OVERVIEW

Description/Abstract

The Betasso 10 m Meteorological Tower is part of the Dynamic Water Critical Zone (DWCZ) network and provides continuous atmospheric, radiation, and soil observations for the Betasso catchment near Boulder, Colorado.

All instruments are wired to a Campbell Scientific CR1000 (s/n 16759) datalogger. Measurements include: - Wind speed and direction, air temperature, and relative humidity at 10 m
- Incoming shortwave radiation at 5 m
- Net radiation at 1.6 m
- Precipitation via a heated tipping-bucket rain gauge at ~1 m
- Soil temperature and volumetric water content at ~20 cm depth

Data are collected at 10-minute intervals to support long-term monitoring of meteorological conditions, energy–water fluxes, and climate variability in the DWCZ network.

Site Description:
The Betasso catchment, located in the lower Boulder Creek watershed within the Colorado Front Range, represents a montane forest environment at approximately 1950 m elevation. The site is characterized by ponderosa pine and mixed-grass vegetation on steep slopes and thin soils underlain by granitic bedrock. The tower captures climate gradients that influence evapotranspiration, snow accumulation, and soil moisture variability—key components of water and energy flux studies in the Dynamic Water Critical Zone network.

Legacy data are available here:
https://www.hydroshare.org/resource/6bf3e44b9de344749d8f665e139e7311/

Instrument Group Summary
| Sensor ID | Measurement | Model / Description | |------------|--------------|---------------------| | BT_Met_CR1000 | Datalogger | Campbell Scientific CR1000 | | BT_Met_AT_1000 | Air Temperature & Humidity | Vaisala HMP60 | | BT_Met_CS616_20 | Soil Moisture | Campbell Scientific CS616 | | BT_Met_Hflux | Soil Heat Flux | Campbell Scientific HFT3 | | BT_Met_NRad | Net Radiation | Kipp & Zonen NR Lite2 | | BT_Met_RMYoung_200 | Wind Speed & Direction | RM Young 05103 | | BT_Met_RMYoung_1000 | Wind Speed & Direction | RM Young 05103 | | BT_Met_SRad | Incoming Shortwave Radiation | LICOR LI-200SZ | | BT_Met_T107_20 | Soil Temperature | Campbell Scientific T-107 | | — | Barometric Pressure | Vaisala PTB110 | | — | Precipitation | RM Young 52202 Heated Tipping Bucket |

Location:
- Coordinates (WGS 1984): 40.014 N, –105.337 W
- Elevation: 1948.259 m
- Date Range: Feb 4 2009 – Ongoing
- Frequency: 10 min intervals

Also see the “Live Met Station.”

Creator/Author

Holly Barnard (Holly.Barnard@colorado.edu)
Suzanne Anderson (Suzanne.Anderson@colorado.edu) (CZO legacy)
Nicole Hornslein (czfield@colorado.edu) (DWCZ Field Manager, current)

Funding Agency

National Science Foundation (EAR 2012669)

CZNet

DYNAMIC WATER CRITICAL ZONE

Contact

czdata@colorado.edu

Subtitle

Meteorological data from Betasso Met Tower
Instrument ID: BT_Met (BT_Met_CR1000 / BT_Met_Radio – Freewave Radio FGR)

SUBJECTS

Disciplines

Climatology / Meteorology

Topics

Meteorology | Air Temperature

Subtopic

(DWCZ_BT_Met)

Level

Level 1

Keywords

Meteorological | Met | Air Temperature | Relative Humidity | RH | Shortwave Radiation

Variables

DATE_TIME | AIRTEMP(C)-2M(AVG) | AIRTEMP(C)-2M(MIN) | AIRTEMP-2M(MIN) TIME | AIRTEMP(C)-2M(MAX) | AIRTEMP-2M(MAX) TIME | RH-2M | RH-2M(MIN) | RH-2M(MAX) | WINDSPEED(m/s)-2M(AVG) | WINDSPEED(m/s)-2M(MAX) | WINDSPEED-2M(MAX) TIME | WINDDIR-2M(DEGREES) | WINDDIR-2M STD DEV(DEGREES) | AIRTEMP(C)-10M(AVG) | AIRTEMP(C)-10M(MIN) | AIRTEMP-10M(MIN) TIME | AIRTEMP(C)-10M(MAX) | AIRTEMP-10M(MAX) TIME | RH-10M | RH-10M(MIN) | RH-10M(MAX) | WINDSPEED(m/s)-10M(AVG) | WINDSPEED(m/s)-10M(MAX) | WINDSPEED-10M(MAX) TIME | WINDDIR-10M(DEGREES) | WINDDIR-10M STD DEV(DEGREES) | IN SW RAD(W/m²)-5M(AVG) | IN SW RAD(W/m²)-5M(MIN) | IN SW RAD-5M(MIN) TIME | IN SW RAD(W/m²)-5M(MAX) | IN SW RAD-5M(MAX) TIME | IN SW RAD(MJ/m²)-5M(TOTAL) | SOIL HEAT FLUX(W/m²)-15CM | SOIL TEMP(C)-15CM | SOIL VOL WATER CONTENT(%)-15CM | BAROMETRIC PRESS(MBAR) | RM Young 52202 Heated Tipping Bucket (MM)

Variables ODM2

Temperature | Barometric Pressure | Radiation (total incoming) | Radiation (incoming) | Relative Humidity | Precipitation | Ground Heat Flux | Volumetric Water Content | Wind Direction | Wind Speed

TEMPORAL

Date Start

2009-02-04

Date End

Ongoing

Time Zone

MST (Arizona)

SPATIAL

Field Areas

Betasso

Location

Betasso

North Latitude

40.01447

South Latitude

40.01447

West Longitude

–105.337

East Longitude

–105.337

Elevation

1948.259 m