Near-surface air temperature lapse rate over complex terrain in the Southern Ecuadorian Andes: Implications for temperature mapping

Near-surface air temperature variation with altitude (Tlr) is important for several applications including hydrology, ecology, climate, and biodiversity. To calculate Tlr accurately, a dense monitoring network over an altitudinal gradient is needed. Typically, meteorological monitoring in mountain r...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research
Main Authors: Cordova Mora, Mário Andrés, Abril Orellana, Olmedo Andrés, Carrillo Rojas, Galo Jose, Celleri Alvear, Rolando Enrique, Orellana-Alvear, J
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: INSTITUTE OF ARCTIC AND ALPINE RESEARCH 2016
Subjects:
Antarctic and Alpine Research
Arctic
Online Access:http://dspace.ucuenca.edu.ec/handle/123456789/29093
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85015625218&doi=10.1657%2fAAAR0015-077&partnerID=40&md5=0b46ee3c7e080645cf8c6af2134c6ab5
https://doi.org/10.1657/AAAR0015-077
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Summary:Near-surface air temperature variation with altitude (Tlr) is important for several applications including hydrology, ecology, climate, and biodiversity. To calculate Tlr accurately, a dense monitoring network over an altitudinal gradient is needed. Typically, meteorological monitoring in mountain regions is scarce and not adequate to calculate Tlr correctly. To overcome this problem in our region, we monitored temperature over a gradient ranging 2600-4200 m a.s.l. during an 18 month period. Using these data, we calculated Tlr for the first time at this altitude in the Andes and tested the impact of using the standard Tlr values instead of the observed ones to map temperature by means of the MTCLIM model. We found that annual lapse rate values (6.9 °C km-1 for Tmean, 5.5 °C km-1 for Tmin, and 8.8 °C km-1 for Tmax) differ significantly from the MTCLIM default values and that temperature maps improved vastly when measured Tlr was entered, especially for Tmax and Tmin. Our results may be representative of the broader area, as Tlr in our study period is not affected by microclimatic conditions generated by differences in topography and land cover between our monitoring sites; moreover, observed temperature during our study period was found to be representative of the longer-term annual climatology of the region.

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