First results from the Swiss Slope Experiment at La Fouly (SELF) investigating the interaction of thermal circulation patterns and turbulent fluxes on steep slopes

We will present the first results from observations taken during the Swiss SELF summer 2010 field campaign. The SELF is part of a larger intensive hydrological project in the Val Ferret region of the Swiss Alps near the Grand St. Bernard pass designed to quantify the water balance in an alpine catchment. Data from a suite of 16 micrometeorological surface stations (Sensorscope stations) is being used to define catchment wide micrometeorological processes such as slope and valley wind system development, while detailed measurements of the turbulent processes on a steep idealized slope (20-45%) are also being made. The slope is instrumented along a transect with four towers (including a surface energy budget station and 10 m tower with sonic anemometers), 13 surface temperature measurement stations and a tethered balloon system to capture the complex interplay between surface and atmosphere. Initial data presented will include basic circulation pattern development and measurements of the turbulent fluxes of water vapor, heat and momentum on the slope.