Site Name
IMPROVE:
WHPE1
Region
Southern Rocky Mountains
Terrain
Terrain is shown in the 2 km terrain map and the 20 km terrain map.
The Wheeler Peak Wilderness Area is located in north-central New Mexico
occupying 19,661 acres on the crest of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
Terrain is rugged and mountainous, with elevations ranging from 2,332 m
(7,650 ft) to 4,013 m (13,161 ft) at the crest of Wheeler Peak, the highest
point in New Mexico. It contains the headwaters of the Rio Hondo and the Red
River both of which flow from the Sangre de Cristos to the Rio Grande to the
west.
The IMPROVE monitoring site representing the Wheeler Peak Wilderness is
WHPE1, located at a high point just outside the northern Wilderness boundary
at an elevation of 3,372 m (11,060 ft).
Representativeness
The WHPE1 IMPROVE site is at a high elevation and should be very
representative of Wilderness vistas. At this high elevation it may
occasionally be above regional haze, and may also at times be isolated from
lower valley bottom Wilderness locations contained within valley inversions.
Nearby Population/Industrial Centers and Local Sources
The WHPE1 IMPROVE site is located in close proximity to the Taos Ski Valley
resort and may see winter time influences from diesel powered trail grooming
activities.
Nearby Meteorological Data Stations
Nearby meteorological monitoring network stations are shown in the data
network map. Locations and data from
nearby RAWS monitoring sites can also be accessed at the
RAWS station US Climate Archive
website. There are no network stations within Wilderness boundaries. Nearest
RAWS stations, with wind data, are at Cimarron and Rio Grande Gorge. Data
has been collected at Cimarron only since June, 2003. There is also a
Surface Airways Observation (SAO) site at Taos, with data collection
beginning November, 2003. Meteorological data from various New Mexico sites
is also available from the
New Mexico Air
Quality Bureau Meteorological Data site.
The Wheeler Peak Wilderness is about 120 miles north of the Albuquerque
RAOB site. Twice daily soundings from Albuquerque should be representative
of upper air structure regionally and within the Wheeler Peak Wilderness.
Wind Patterns
Albuquerque wind roses
show regional wind patterns. Most of the year but especially in winter there
is a strong northerly component that varies according to the position of the
jet stream. During summer the jet stream migrates further north than usual,
so that synoptic westerly winds aloft are weaker and more southerly winds
dominate, coinciding with the
North American Monsoon.
During this period moisture bearing winds move into the region from the
southwest at the surface, from the Gulf of California, and aloft from the
southeast, from the Gulf of Mexico. Convective instability associated with
surface heating of the moist air, combined with orographic uplift as air is
transported towards higher terrain to the north, produces frequent
convective precipitation events often associated with intense rainfall,
lightning, hail, and damaging winds. Southerly winds may also transport
airborne particulate material into the Wilderness from sources and source
regions to the south and southeast, including Mexican sources
Locally, in the absence of strong regional pressure gradients, flows will be
dominated by upslope/downslope winds typical of mountainous areas. The
Wilderness may be influenced by upslope and return flow along the Rio Grande
drainage, upslope flow being from the south, the direction of Albuquerque,
with a potential for local transport from that area into the Wilderness via
Wilderness canyons and upward mixing.
Potential local transport routes into the Wilderness include southerly and
upslope flow via the Rio Grande valley from nearby source regions to the
south, including the Albuquerque urban area 120 mi away. Possible more
distant source regions include Mexico and Gulf Coast areas also to the south
with transport into the Wilderness via upward mixing in source regions and
upper level transport to contribute to larger scale regional haze.
Inversions/Trapping
Wang and Angell,
1999 describe two regions of the U.S. with high frequencies of regional
stagnation events, in the southwest and south-central U.S. The north central
New Mexico region that includes the Wheeler Peak Wilderness is midway
between these two regions and according to long term data should typically
have one stagnation episode per month from May to October, where an air
stagnation episode is defined as stagnation conditions that persist for 4
days or longer. During this period, pressure and temperature gradients in
the region are weakest, and wind circulations weakest. Subsidence inversions
during these conditions may trap regional haze with buildup over periods of
several days
Climatological Statistics
Albuquerque
Normals Means and Extremes are representative of regional climatology at
lower elevations.
Meteorological Indicators for Local Sources
Keywords