Initial results from the Automatic Weather Station (AWS) on the ablation tongue of Forni Glacier (Upper Valtellina, Italy)

On September 26(th) 2005, Italy's first Automatic Weather Station (AWS) was set up on the melting surface of a glacier (Forni Glacier, Upper Valtellina, Stelvio National Park, Lombardy Alps). The AWS (named AWS1 Forni) is equipped with 12 different sensors to collect data on the main atmospheric parameters serving to describe the glacier boundary layer. The data collected during the first year of operation are presented in this paper, along with some preliminary comments. The results obtained are consistent with those from other AWSs located around the world on the melting surfaces of glaciers, thus underlining the correct selection of the location for this AWS and proper operation of the instruments. The analysis of incoming and outgoing radiation permitted the quantification of the albedo values: c. 0.7 for snow and c. 0.3 for ice, with an annual value of 0.417 and thus only c. 21 % of the solar radiation available at the top of the atmosphere being absorbed by the Forni Glacier surface. The snow pit stratigraphy was found to match the instrumental snow level record very closely.