Hazelrigg Weather Station

About the weather station

Hazelrigg weather station, up on the hill near the University’s wind turbine, has been recording daily weather observations since 1976, with another 10 years or so of data from a site on Campus preceding that. It is a Met Office climatological station, and the data we record contributes to the long-term climate record for the UK, as well as helping to verify weather forecasts and climate models.

Every morning at 0900 UTC, measurements are taken of key climate variables such as daily maximum and minimum temperatures, rainfall and sunshine totals; as well as observations of cloud cover and type, wind speed and direction, present weather, visibility, ground (or snow) conditions, soil temperatures and overnight minimum temperatures over grass and concrete surfaces. These records are made using instruments (or techniques) that are standardised across all the Met Office sites and have remained broadly similar for many decades. They all need to be placed in a particular way in suitable locations to maximise the consistency of standards between sites, and over time.

It is the consistency and continuity that make the data valuable as a kind of benchmark against which the vast amount of modern digital data from automated systems can be compared with the historical record. However, it does require that someone be there at exactly the same time, 365 days a year.

As well as the Met Office climate data, we have data from two automated weather stations, which are also available for research, teaching and student projects. Everything is continuously logged as 10-minute averages/totals. The variables measured are:

Atmospheric pressure
Air temperature and relative humidity
Grass & concrete surface temperature
Soil temperatures at 5, 10, 20, 30, 50, 100 cm depth
Rainfall accumulation
Sunshine duration, and levels of total and diffuse solar radiation
Wind speed & direction at 10 m height

Weather monitoring equipment

Barograph

Barographs measure atmospheric pressure adjusted to sea level and provide a continuous trace on a chart. We have weekly charts going all the way back to the 1960s.

Stevenson Screen

The Stevenson Screen is where thermometers are housed - the standard and most accurate way of measuring the ambient air temperatures. It’s sited over open grass, away from heat sources; being white prevents it from heating up in the sun, and the ventilated sides allow a free flow of air from the surroundings. The Met Office provide and calibrates instruments to measure daily temperatures. We also have our own sensors for temperature and humidity connected to a data logger that records continuously.

Counter Anemometer

A mechanical anemometer clocking up a continuous count of the amount of air passing through in km. A reading is taken every morning, and subtracting the previous reading gives a 24-hour ‘total count’ that can be converted to average wind speed. The data predates the modern digital data for wind speed and direction by several decades.

Tipping Bucket

The tipping bucket contains a simple see-saw mechanism which tips every time the cup at either end fills with 0.2 mm of rainfall. The attached magnet then sends a signal to the data logger to register this, while the other side then begins to fill, and so on. We also have charts, pre-dating the digital age, from old ‘tipping bucket’ rain gauges that give a real-time record of rainfall intensity and have been used by the environment agency to look at historical rainfall events to help them to predict the flood risk for Galgate.

Turf Wall

The longest continuous measurement of daily rainfall at the site is from the ‘Turf Wall’ manual rain gauge. The wall around the edge is the same height as the top of the gauge and protects the side of the cylinder from the wind, so giving a more accurate measure of rainfall. The gauge itself is a standard diameter (5 inches) and height above the ground (30 cm). It has a sharp rim, so raindrops either fall in, or outside of that 5-inch diameter, and is set completely level to ensure accurate measurements.

Campbell-Stokes Sunshine Recorder

The Campbell-Stokes Sunshine Recorder focuses the sun’s rays onto the card at the back as the planet spins around, burning a line in the card as it goes, whenever the sun is out. Hazelrigg is one of 12 Met Office ‘designated sunshine sites’ across the U.K., as we have such a long continuous record of using it. They’ve been around since the 1880s (this one seems to have a date of 1954) so the historical data can be compared with modern-day electronic sensors. The cards are sent off to the Met Office archives at the end of each month by post.

SPN1 Sunshine Recorder

This instrument can tell us the amount of both direct and diffuse solar radiation reaching the surface. It does this using 7 separate sensors and a shading structure, arranged in such a way that at least one sensor will always be completely shaded, and one completely unshaded. The difference between the two measures the amount of direct versus diffuse radiation, which also allows sunshine duration to be calculated, as it takes a measurement every second. This is the equivalent measure that is obtained from the cards on the Campbell-Stokes sunshine recorder over a 24-hour period.

Wind vane and anemometer

These are mounted on a mast at the standard height for wind measurement of 10 m above the ground and at a suitable distance from any buildings, tall trees etc. Wind speed and direction are recorded as 10-minute averages.

Fieldwork at Hazelrigg

In addition to the long-running weather station, the grassland and other facilities at the Field Station are extensively used for research and student projects (in particular, by the Plant Biology, Environmental Science, and Ecology and Conservation research groups within LEC, as well as the Space and Planetary Physics group). Many of these facilities are managed by individual members of staff - please contact them if you wish to make use of the equipment or site.

Grassland experimental enclosures

These plots were set up in 2014 as part of a long-term experiment looking at the effects of warming and grassland management (grazing, nutrient addition) on plant-soil ecosystem function and greenhouse gas emissions. There are 5 enclosed blocks each marked out with 25 3 x 3 m plots.

Email Professor Richard Bardgett

Grassland experimental plots

There are also grassland areas with varying management histories (ranging from untouched for 50+ years to intensively farmed) that are available to study the effects of these changes in management on soil ecosystem processes and greenhouse gas emissions.

Email Professor Carly Stevens

Mesocosm enclosures

There are several enclosed areas for standing out of large pots (‘mesocosms’) which have been used to study the effects of various factors (notably plant species diversity) on soil biogeochemical processes and greenhouse gas emissions.

Polytunnels and Solardomes

Both of these plant growth facilities are available for booking when a more controlled environment is required. In the past, the Solardomes at Lancaster have been used extensively to study the effects of air pollution and rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations on plant growth and soil nutrient cycling/carbon storage.

Beehives

The Hazelrigg site is also home to several beehives, housing colonies of honeybees (Apis mellifera). These bees are used for a wide range of scientific experiments, and the honey harvested from them is often available at the ReStore shop, with profits utilised to fund further experiments. The team welcome collaborations from across the University - please get in touch if you wish to use the hives.

Email Dr Philip Donkersley

Toxic Organic Micro-Pollutants (TOMPs) network

The TOMPs network measures ambient air concentrations for a range of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) across the UK. The network was set up in 1991 with monitoring sites at urban and rural locations. Apart from Hazelrigg, the network of sites includes Manchester, London, Weybourne, High Muffles in North Yorkshire and Auchencorth Moss south of Edinburgh. The network has provided over 30 years of continuous data and, as such, comprises an important dataset which can be used to provide estimates of the change in atmospheric concentrations over time.

Email Dr Andrew Sweetman

Key contact

Dr James Heath

Fieldwork Support Technician

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