Importance / Issues

Weather drives all ecological systems, both aquatic and terrestrial. In APHN parks, elevation variation and complex terrain strongly influence local meteorological patterns, affecting surface and groundwater regimes, species distribution patterns, pollutant concentrations, and many other factors influencing the natural resources of the Network. Because long-term weather data may separate the effects of climate from other disturbances in natural systems, the Network is planning to collect weather and climate data critical for interpreting trends in Vital Signs and other park monitoring projects.

Preliminary Monitoring Objectives

The primary objectives of this long-term monitoring effort are to periodically summarize data from several key weather stations within each park, and to track changes in weather station characteristics. An annual report will be produced describing major trends as well as deviations from averages and extreme weather events. This document will provide a ready reference for Network and park staff to use in conjunction with other monitoring data.

Specific objectives are:

1. To maintain accurate weather station locations and data for analysis with Vital Signs and other park monitoring and research.

2. To graph and analyze, maximum/minimum and average temperature, wind speed and precipitation for the recent year in comparison to past years.

4. To make weather summaries and station data widely available on Network and Park websites.