There he experiences fantastic sunrises before he starts reading the meteorological devices, or hurricane-force winter storms make everything tremble. The Sonnblick Observatory (SBO), originally intended purely as a weather station, has existed since 1860 at an altitude of 3106 m in the Goldberg Group, i.e. in the middle of the Hohe Tauern National Park, in the municipality of Rauris.
At the end of the 19th century, many weather observation stations were built on higher mountain peaks in order to get weather data that is far from urban influences. There are several reasons why this observatory was built on the Sonnblick: There was gold mining in the Rauris valley, which meant that there was already a good technical infrastructure here. There was also a telephone line to the miners’ house at an altitude of over 2000 m.
Weather station under nature protection
The Sonnblick summit is a towering rocky peak that can be exposed to winds from all sides – ideal conditions for a weather station in the mountains. This exposed location and the fact that the SBO is located in a nature reserve with no overflights is a great advantage today. You can measure the carbon dioxide content of the air without being influenced by air traffic. Originally, the station was purely a weather station. In recent years, this observatory has become an internationally recognized climate research institute. The SBO currently plays a central role in the European research program ACTRIS. This project investigates the influence of clouds on the climate. Preparations are currently underway for this research project, which will be fully operational in three years.
Elke Ludewig, head of the SBO, describes what is happening on the Sonnblick: “Since autumn 2021, a blue, man-high, narrow and rather inconspicuous box has been standing in a laboratory room of the observatory. Inside is a 250,000 euro measuring device called PINE. The device measures the conditions under which ice nuclei form in clouds. To do this, air particles are sucked in through a chimney from a height of around three to ten meters above the roof terrace of the observatory and cooled down to minus 50 degrees in the device’s cloud chamber and water content are documented and analyzed.” Of course, this only works if clouds have also formed over the Sonnblick, and according to the climate researcher and meteorologist, this is the case on around 270 days a year.
But back to Simon Feigl. The chief technician, who grew up in Steyr, is responsible for ensuring that all the devices on the Sonnblick Observatory work perfectly. This also means that the entire infrastructure at this altitude is seamlessly integrated. Not an easy task given the low temperatures that often prevail, with lots of ice and snow in winter.
Snow for the shower
You have to get up before six o’clock in the morning – not so that you can admire the sunrise, but because the first weather data have to be transmitted at seven o’clock, which are then updated every hour until 7 p.m. The outdoor measuring devices must be checked for icing and cleaned throughout the day.
After the first weather reports, breakfast is served, which one of the two technicians prepares. There are always at least two technicians in the station, where they are on duty for 14 days.
In addition to the routine work on the measuring devices, animal and plant observations are also documented, because climate change also has a major impact on fauna and flora. And then snow shoveling is also one of the important jobs, because the snow comes into a snowmelt, so that there is always plenty of shower water.
9 p.m. is the end of the working day and Simon Feigl and his colleagues then sleep contentedly as the sun rises again.
Three questions for Simon Feigl
How did you become chief engineer at Sonnblick Observatory?
After high school in Steyr, I studied Technical Physics at Graz University of Technology. Meanwhile, I did internships at the world’s largest particle accelerator at CERN in Switzerland. In my free time, I went to the mountains as often as possible. After that, I was a research assistant at the JKU in Linz for two years in the field of scanning tunneling microscopy. My workplaces were high-tech laboratories in which even daylight was usually filtered out because the sensitive instruments required it. But my passion for the mountains grew steadily and so I looked for a way to combine my scientific, technical and professional knowledge with the mountains and the environment. When the position “Chief technician at the Sonnblick Observatory” was advertised in 2021, I applied and I am here now.
What are the duties of a Chief Engineer?
I am responsible for the engineering team. Together we take care of the uninterrupted operation of the observatory with its measuring instruments. The basic supply is also part of the year-round operation in the high alpine region. That means checking that the heating is working, that enough water is being prepared and that the food delivery via the cable car is working. The power supply in this extreme situation sometimes poses problems for us, but we have emergency generators on the station. And then of course there are the measurements and the data check itself as well as organizing the transfer.
What is so fascinating about this extraordinary workplace?
First of all, I’ll name the sunrises and sunsets in the most incredible colors that can be enjoyed without the haze in the lower atmospheric layers. The storms and hurricanes during which one feels small and insignificant even in the shelter of the building are interesting experiences. Then every clear day I am thrilled by the view of countless peaks – those close to home such as the Traunstein or the Große Pyhrgas, which are more than 100 kilometers away, or also Dachstein, Hochkönig, Watzmann, then Großglockner, Hochalmspitze, Lienz Dolomites, Dobratsch , Italian peaks, Triglav and so on. I was also very impressed that we were able to measure the pressure wave from the volcanic eruption in Tonga in January this year here on the Hoher Sonnblick. After all, Tonga is 17,000 kilometers away from us.
Source: Nachrichten
