Meteorological data from Lihtti, northern Sweden

Tarfala Research Station staff

This dataset contains meteorological data acquired by Tarfala Research Station’s automated weather station located in Lihtti, northern Sweden. Lihtti is an important site for the Girjas Sami reindeer herding community.

The measurements contained in this dataset start in July 2015 and are continuously updated, but the remoteness of, and occasionally extreme conditions at, the site pose a challenge to continuous data acquisition.

Meteorological variables reported here are: air temperature, relative humidity, short wave radiation, wind speed, wind direction, precipitation, snow depth, and soil temperature, as well as variables derived from these (such as wind speed maximum, for instance). Note that due to failure of sensors and/or batteries, not all variables are recorded at all times. Also, the frequency of measurement acquisition (e.g. values reported every 10 minutes, or every 30 minutes) can differ for different time periods.

AtmosphereWeather observationsLihttiGirjasAutomated weather stationTarfala Research StationAir temperatureRelative humidityWind speedWind directionShort wave radiation

Name

Version

Citation

References

Kirchner N, Barnett J, Tarfala Research Station staff (2023) Meteorological data from Lihtti, northern Sweden, September 2021 – March 2023. Dataset version 1. Bolin Centre Database. https://doi.org/10.17043/tarfala-2023-lihtti-meteorology-1

Data description

The dataset consists of eleven csv files, named as CC_tarfala-lihtti-meteorology_YYYY-MM_YYYY_MM.csv where CC = 01, 02, 03, to 11 is a counter, followed by the name of the dataset, and the time period YYYY-MM_YYYY-MM during which measurements were acquired (e.g. from September 2021 to March 2023).

The individual datafiles contain values for the following meteorological variables collected at Lihtti, geographical location: N 7532929, E 619168 (SWEREF99 TM coordinate system), elevation 914 m above sea level.

Variables

In all files

• date_time Date and time stamp (YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm) (in UTC+1).
• ta_avg Average air temperature (°C), 10 minute or 30 minute arithmetic mean of measurements conducted once per minute. Measured by a HygroClip 2S3 in a Solar Radiation Shield.
• ta_min Minimum air temperature in output interval.
• ta_max Maximum air temperature in output interval.
• ta_std Standard deviation of TA within output interval.
• rh Relative humidity of air (%). Measured by a HygroClip 2S3 in a Solar Radiation Shield. Transient measurement at output interval.
• sw_avg Incoming shortwave radiation (W/m²). Measured by a CS300. Measured every ten seconds. Arithmetic mean of all readings within output interval.

Not in all files

• ta_min Minimum air temperature in output interval.
• ta_max Maximum air temperature in output interval.
• ta_std Standard deviation of TA within output interval.
• ws_avg Wind speed (m/s), measured by a Young Wind Monitor 05103-5. Measured every ten seconds. Arithmetic mean of all readings within output interval.
• ws_min Minimum wind speed within output interval.
• ws_max Maximum wind speed within output interval.
• ws_std Standard deviation of WS within output interval.
• wd Wind direction (degrees from Geographic North 0-360°), measured by a Young Wind Monitor 05103-5. Measured every ten seconds. Vector average of all readings within output interval.
• wdstd Standard deviation of wd within output interval.
• sw_std Standard deviation of SW within output interval.
• precip Liquid precipitation (in mm), measured by a Young Tipping Bucket 52203.
• snow_depth Snow depth (in m), measured by a Campbell Scientific SR50A-EE.
• soil_temp_avg Soil temperature (°C), measured by a Campbell Scientific 107 Temperature probe. 10 minute or 30 minute arithmetic mean of measurements conducted once per minute.
• soil_temp_min Minimum soil temperature in output interval.
• soil_temp_max Maximum soil temperature in output interval.
• soil_temp_std Standard deviation within output interval.

Files

01_tarfala-lihtti-meteorology_2015-07_2015-12.csv

• 28 July 2015, 18:30 to 31 December 2015, 23:50
• 22497 records
• Variables reported in 10 minute intervals.
• Air temperature and relative humidity were acquired ca. 2.1 m above ground.
• Shortwave radiation was acquired ca. 2.6 m above ground.
• Wind direction and speed were acquired ca. 3.0 m above ground.
• Precipitation was acquired ca. 2.1 m above ground.
• Snow depth was acquired ca. 2.7 m above ground.
• Soil temperature was acquired at ground level.
• These data have previously been published at the SITES data portal.

02_tarfala-lihtti-meteorology_2016-01_2016-12.csv -1 January 2016, 00:00 to 31 December 2016, 23:50

• 52704 records
• Variables reported in 10 minute intervals, and acquired as for 01_tarfala-lihtti-meteorology_2015-07-28_2015-12-31.csv
• These data have previously been published at the SITES data portal.

03_tarfala-lihtti-meteorology_2017-01_2017-12.csv

• 1 January 2017, 00:00 to 31 December 2017, 23:50
• 52560 records
• Variables reported in 10 minute intervals, and acquired as for 01_tarfala-lihtti-meteorology_2015-07-28_2015-12-31.csv
• These data have previously been published at the SITES data portal.

04_tarfala-lihtti-meteorology_2018-01_2018-12.csv

• 1 January 2018, 00:00 to 31 December 2018, 23:50
• 52560 records
• Variables reported in 10 minute intervals, and acquired as for 01_tarfala-lihtti-meteorology_2015-07-28_2015-12-31.csv
• These data have previously been published at the SITES data portal.

05_tarfala-lihtti-meteorology_2019-01_2019-12.csv

• 1 January 2019, 00:00 to 31 December 2019, 23:50
• 52560 records
• Variables reported in 10 minute intervals, and acquired as for 01_tarfala-lihtti-meteorology_2015-07-28_2015-12-31.csv
• These data have previously been published at the SITES data portal.

06_tarfala-lihtti-meteorology_2020-01_2020-08.csv

• 1 January 2020, 00:00 to 9 August 2020, 23:50
• 31968 records
• Variables reported in 10 minute intervals, and acquired as for 01_tarfala-lihtti-meteorology_2015-07-28_2015-12-31.csv
• These data have previously been published at the SITES data portal.

07_tarfala-lihtti-meteorology_2021-09_2023-03.csv

• 20 September 2021, 09:00 to 29 March 2023, 17:00
• 79987 records
• Variables reported in 10 minute intervals, and acquired as for 01_tarfala-lihtti-meteorology_2015-07-28_2015-12-31.csv
• The following sensors were not functional and hence rendered no values:
  • precipitation
  • snow depth
  • soil temperature
• These data are obtained from Kirchner et al. (2023).

08_tarfala-lihhti-meteorology_2023-08_2023-09.csv

• 5 August 2023, 00:00 to 29 September 2023, 23:30
• 2688 records
• Variables reported in 30 minute intervals.
• Sensor installation was changed:
  • Air temperature and relative humidity were acquired ca. 2.2 m above ground.
  • Shortwave radiation was acquired ca. 1.8 m above ground.
  • Wind direction and speed were acquired ca. 3.3 m above ground.
  • Precipitation was acquired ca. 2 m above ground.
  • Snow depth was acquired c. 1.56 above ground.
  • Soil temperature was acquired ca. 15 cm below ground.
• The soil sensor stopped working on 8 September 2023, 08:30.
• These data are obtained from Kirchner et al. (2023).

09_tarfala-lihhti-meteorology_2023-11_2023-12.csv

• 5 November 2023, 00:00 to 28 December 2023, 23:30
• 2592 records
• Variables reported in 30 minute intervals, and acquired as for 08_tarfala-lihtti-meteorology_2023-08_2023-09.csv.
• No data is available from the soil temperature sensor.
• Note that snow depth values of ca. 1.56 m indicated that the sensor is ice-covered and that hence a false snow-depth is returned (1.56 m is the installation height of the sensor).
• These data are obtained from Kirchner et al. (2023).

10_tarfala-lihhti-meteorology_2024-05_2024-11.csv

• 18 May 2024, 07:00 to 22 November 2024, 06:50
• 27070 records
• Variables reported in 10 minute intervals, and acquired as for 08_tarfala-lihtti-meteorology_2023-08_2023-09.csv.
• No data is available from the soil temperature sensor and the wind sensor.
• Note that snow depth values of ca. 1.56 m indicated that the sensor is ice-covered and that hence a false snow-depth is returned (1.56 m is the installation height of the sensor).
• These data are obtained from Kirchner et al. (2023).

11_tarfala-lihhti-meteorology_2025-04_2025-09.csv

• 4 April 2025, 14:00 to 13 September 2025, 13:40
• 23326 records
• Variables reported in 10 minute intervals, and acquired as for 08_tarfala-lihtti-meteorology_2023-08_2023-09.csv.
• No data is available from the soil temperature sensor.

Comments

Please acknowledge Tarfala Research Station when using this dataset.

Data for the period September 2021 – March 2023 is obtained from the dataset by Kirchner et al. (2023).

Data for the period 2015⁠ – ⁠2020 is obtained from the SITES data portal.

Version history

Version 2

Data from July 2015 to September 2025.

Version 1

Initial release. Data from September 2021 to November 2024.

Project

Base program of Tarfala Research Station

Publisher

Bolin Centre Database

License

First name

Nina

Last name or organisation

Kirchner

Email address

nina.kirchner@su.se

Address

Tarfala Research Station and Department of Physical Geography; Stockholm University

Postal code

SE-106 91

City

Stockholm

Country

Sweden

GCMD science keyword

Earth science > Atmosphere

GCMD location

Continent > Europe > Northern Europe > Scandinavia > Sweden

Dataset language

English

Begin date

2015-07-28

End date

2025-09-13

DOI

Time

Versions

• 3 2026-03-21T04:36:53.598+00:00
• 2 2025-10-27T08:46:23.175+00:00
• 1 2025-04-17T09:25:53.600401+00:00