Landslide Research
Landslide Research
Landslide Research
Harbor Mountain Weather Station is Up!
The Harbor Mountain weather station mentioned in our last blog post is up, and once operational, will provide data on wind speed and direction, precipitation, temperature, humidity, and snow depth. Gabriel Wolken and Ronald Daanen with the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys worked hard to design the station and coordinate the transportation of materials to the setup site.
A weather station at altitude was the Sitka Geo Task Force’s number one priority and recommendation for helping our community protect lives and monitor potential for landslides. Not only will this technological addition aid in making informed decisions about landslide risk, it will offer more detailed and accurate forecasts to our community of fisherman, hunters, and outdoor enthusiasts who rely on it year-round.
450 lbs. of weather station equipment was transported by foot from the Harbor Mountain parking lot to its site, which was approximately one mile from the start. Thanks to Sitka Fire Department’s Volunteer Search and Rescue team members Matt Hunter, Mike Motti, Ben Clark, and Alex Weissberg, we were able to strap most of the equipment to gurney; with the help of Annette Patton, Josh Roering, Eli Orland, and Oscar Roering from the University of Oregon and Bill Colthorp and Cora Siebert from the Sitka Sound Science Center, we were able to meticulously wheel it down a narrow trail of rocks and stairs. About 40 minutes later, the equipment was removed from the gurney, divvied up among the team, and carried the rest of the way.
Gabriel and Ronald wasted no time in getting the station set up, and had all of the equipment put together in under one hour. The station is approximately 12 feet tall and will transmit all data collected to the USFS Sitka Ranger District. You may be wondering how all of this data is collected by one weather station; the image below breaks the station down into its individual sensors.
We ask that you leave a respectul distance between yourself and the weather station, any tampering or unusual activity may be interpreted as incorrect weather data.
Thank you DGGS for your contribution to our community!
