The meteorological station of the Ebre Observatory is part of the ESOS (Estaciones Semiautomáticas de Observación de Superficie) network of the Spanish Meteorological Office (Agencia Estatal de Meteorología, AEMET). Every day of the year an observer makes, at least 7 times a day, measurements of temperature, relative humidity, atmospheric pressure, precipitation, wind speed and direction, evaporation, sunshine duration, total amount of clouds, type of clouds, and visibility. He also writes in the meteorological diary the presence of those phenomena that are not quantified but are observed, such as the presence of haze, fog, dew, rainbow, storm, etc.

These measurements are combined with those obtained by a complete automatic weather station that includes a visibilimeter and a disdrometer, which measures the type of precipitation as well as its cumulative value. Direct, global and diffuse solar radiation as well as ultraviolet and infrared radiation are also recorded. The hourly data of temperature, humidity and atmospheric pressure are taken from the paper records and corrected by comparing them with the values read from the observations with a thermometer, barometer and psychrometer, respectively. Precipitation is obtained by combining the distribution given by the pluviograph with the total amount of rain collected with the rain gauge. Wind data are taken from the automatic station, maintaining an anemocinemograph as an auxiliary instrument.

We provide support to other institutions that are interested in having measurement points in our facilities, such as for example the Xarxa Aerobiològica de Catalunya (XAC) which has installed a sensor of pollen, the network of measurement of solar irradiance of Catalonia or the Lightning Research Group of the UPC on behalf of ASIM (Atmosphere Space Interactions Monitor) project.

In our website daily data since January 2004 is available, as well as the daily evolution of the main variables. The weather bulletin with a summary of the principal observations is published yearly and it can be downloaded from the online bulletins section.

Our set of all meteorological observations constitutes an important climatic series, which, for some of the variables, can be extended to a longer period, as since the year 1880 meteorological observations were carried out at the Colegium Maximum that the Society of Jesus had in the town of Jesús (which is located at about 2 km in a straight line from our current location). The series features two intervals without data, which are the years 1890 and 1891, in addition to 9 months of the year 1938 of which we do not have data as a consequence of the Spanish civil war. The detailed study of these series allows the characterization of our climate and the study of its variations. The normal values of the series, i.e., the 30-year average can be consulted at the AEMET web page, while the annual climate indicators of all series are available from the Servei Meteorològic de Catalunya.

INSTRUMENTATION

As it has already been mentioned, the meteorological station consists of an automatic weather station and instrumentation of manual reading.

See Catalan or Spanish versions for a detailed description of the instruments.

Automatic weather station

It is a Thies Clima automatic station equipped with sensors for the measurement of ambient, soil and 15 cm temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, atmospheric pressure, as well as a tipping-bucket gauge and a disdrometer for the precipitation, and a visibilimeter.

Manual observatory

The manual observatory is equipped wit the most common instruments for meteorological observations. Thus in the garden, and inside a Stevenson Screen hut, there are the instruments for the measurement of temperature, humidity and evaporation. The recording and non recording precipitation gauges are also placed on the meteorological garden.

Inside the meteorological pavilion we can find the barometers and the barographs, as well as the recording part of an anemocinemograph, beeing the sensors on the roof, where there is a tower with cup anemometers and wind vanes.   

Finally, on the roof of another building there is a heliograph for the measurement of sunshine duration, a pyrheliometer which measures the direct solar radiation, a shaded pyranometer recording the diffuse sky radiation and a pyranometer, with which the global radiation is determined. Ultraviolet and infrared radiations are also monitored. 

Details

Last Updated: 27 June 2014

The observational work done at the Ebro Observatory is twofold. On the one hand, observations are done with the best possible quality and precision. On the other, the already existing databases are continuously maintained and debugged. These observational activities are closely related to the scientific research realised at the Observatory, assuming that the best situation to generate useful data products for the scientific community is the one in which the scientists design and evolve the strategies for obtaining the parameters needed by their community.

Thus, a wide range of observations are done at the Observatory, in the fields of solar science, meteorology, seismology, geomagnetism and aeronomy. The fact that these observations are available in international databases used by the international scientific community, some in realtime and others after treatment, give them an added value, especially considering that some of these series began in the late nineteenth century.

Details

Last Updated: 24 May 2013