Collaborative Research: A Climate Station Network for the Chiricahua Sky Island Ecoregion

西南研究站(SWRS)和沙漠研究所(DRI)西部地区气候中心(WRCC)的这一合作项目将在奇里卡瓦山脉东西两侧的海拔梯度上建立五个高质量的长期气候监测站。这些气候站收集的数据对于在SWRS进行研究的科学家在当地以及对世界各地的科学家观察动植物分布和丰度的预测变化以及气候数据中的相关梯度都是重要的。气候变化预计将与动植物分布和丰度的变化有关。各种气候模型预测，气候变化最显著的影响将出现在亚利桑那州东南部“天空群岛”的斜坡上。然而，在这个原本研究得很充分的山脉中，气候监测站几乎完全缺乏。由于西南考察站(SWRS)周围地区生境和生物的多样性，50多年来，人们对该地区动植物的分布和丰富度进行了深入的研究。SWRS位于奇里卡瓦山脉，是美国西南部马德里安群岛/天空群岛一个独特的综合体的一部分，该山脉由大约27个山脉组成。SWRS科学家收集的许多数据已经对马德里安天空岛栖息地和物种的保护和管理产生了直接影响。这一多样化地区的植物和动物的高度生物多样性确保了科学家们将继续被吸引到SWRS，以进行未来和正在进行的对该地区--S生物群的研究。安装横跨奇里卡瓦山脉东西坡的五个气候站，以及一个海拔梯度从1280米到2743米的气象站，将使科学家能够将他们的生态观测与这些共享的气候数据进行比较，并扩大他们的问题，以包括不同空间尺度上的生态-气候相互作用的新领域。访问科学家、学生和教师对当地气候数据的访问将促进SWRS的几乎所有研究和教育活动。与WRCC及其主办机构DRI的合作将把收集的气候测量的使用扩大到学术、政府、管理和私营部门。建立气候模型的物理地理学家和大气科学家将受益于沿着这座天空岛山的海拔梯度获得的数据。有关西南科考站的更多信息，请访问他们的网站：http://research.amnh.org/swrs/.

This collaborative project between the Southwestern Research Station (SWRS) and the Western Regional Climate Center (WRCC) at the Desert Research Institute (DRI) will build five high-quality, long-term climate monitoring stations positioned along an elevational gradient on the eastern and western slopes of the Chiricahua Mountains. The data collected by these climate stations will be important both locally to scientists conducting research at the SWRS, and globally to scientists all over the world to observe both predicted changes in the distribution and abundance of plants and animals, as well as, the associated gradients in climate data. Climate change is predicted to be associated with changes in the distribution and abundance of plants and animals. Various climate models predict the most dramatic effects of climate change to be apparent along the slopes of the "Sky Islands" of southeast Arizona. However, climate monitoring stations are almost entirely lacking in this otherwise well-studied mountain range. Because of the wide diversity of habitats and organisms easily accessible in the areas surrounding the Southwestern Research Station (SWRS), the distributions and abundances of plants and animals of this area have been well studied for over five decades. The SWRS is located in the Chiricahua Mountains, part of a unique complex of about 27 mountain ranges, the Madrean Archipelago/Sky Islands of the southwestern U.S. Much of the data collected by SWRS scientists already has had direct influence on the conservation and management of the Madrean Sky Island habitats and species. The high biodiversity of plants and animals of this diverse area insures that scientists will continue to be attracted to the SWRS for future and ongoing studies of the area?s biota. Installation of five climate stations, spanning the eastern and western slopes of the Chiricahua Mountains and an encompassing an elevational gradient from 1280 to 2743 m, will allow scientists to compare their ecological observations to this shared climate data and expand their questions to include new areas of ecology-climate interactions at different spatial scales. Access to local climate data by visiting scientists, students, and teachers will enhance virtually all research and educational activities at the SWRS. Partnership with the WRCC and its host institution DRI will expand the use of collected climate measurements to the academic, governmental, management, and private sectors. Physical geographers and atmospheric scientists building climate models will benefit from the data obtained along the elevational gradient of this sky island mountain. For more information about the Southwestern Research Station, visit their website at http://research.amnh.org/swrs/.