Proposal for the Unified High Elevation Observing Platform (UHOP). For Monitoring, Understanding, and Predicting Climate Change Phenomena across the World’s Mountains

Climate change impacts appear to be enhanced in mountain regions, which show rapid loss of snow and ice, shifting ecological systems, and increasing effects on mountain societies and human activities. Where we have data, the rate of climate change is often observed to be more rapid at higher elevations.
However, there remains a distinct lack of consistent “on the ground” climate measurements across elevation gradients worldwide, undermining our ability to effectively report, understand, and predict these changes and their impacts.
This document arose from a workshop hosted by the Mountain Research Initiative and GEO Mountains at the University of Bern, Switzerland, from 25–27 June 2023. In it, we outline a global approach for the observation of climate and weather variables across elevation gradients in the world’s mountains.
More specifically, we elaborate and invite community feedback on v1.0 of a standardised protocol – the Unified High Elevation Observation Platform (UHOP) – for making climate and meteorological observations across elevational gradients. We consider best practice in where to set up transects, and what type of stations to employ to do this.
We also consider how other important objectives, such as weather forecasting, hazard prediction, and snow and ecological monitoring can be integrated. We envisage providing global accreditation to observation networks already meeting criteria, and support for network enhancement. The work remains in progress, and further ideas and suggestions on the proposals are welcome.
We hope that the UHOP will ultimately provide benchmark data for scientists and government agencies wanting to understand climate change and meteorological forecasting in these regions, in turn enhancing community resilience in mountains and downstream.