Our work has now taken weather observations to the highest reaches of Asia and the Americas, leading to new insights into high-mountain water resources. But the challenge ahead remains considerable with far too many blank spaces on the map of meteorological understanding.
Dr Tom Matthews, Senior Lecturer, in Environmental Geography
05 March 2025
King's researcher installs weather stations on highest mountain in western and southern hemisphere
Dr Tom Matthews, of the Department of Geography, has jointly led a successful team to install five weather stations on the highest mountain in the western and southern hemisphere.
The researchers installed a weather station a few meters from the top of Aconcagua (22,838 feet or 6,961 metres). in Argentina as part of a network of five new observation sites that will provide crucial data about water availability in a region severely impacted by a 15-year mega-drought.
Understanding the rapid changes occurring in these high-altitude environments is critical to developing solutions to protect the future of the planet’s natural resources. Dr Matthews, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Geography, has also previously installed a weather station on Mount Everest.
The expedition was co-led by climatologist Baker Perry, National Geographic Explorer and professor at the University of Nevada, Reno and Pierre Pitte from the Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA).
In addition to the summit station, stations were also installed at Base Camp, called Plaza de Mulas (13,943 feet or 4,250 metres), Plaza Argentina (13,516 feet or 4,120 metres), Horcones Glacier Superior (14,632 feet or 4,460 metres) and Nido de Condores (18,110 feet or 5,520 metres).
Sensors on the weather stations will collect data about wind speed and direction, air pressure, temperature, relative humidity, radiation, precipitation and snow depth. The Aconcagua stations are now part of a wider network that monitors water availability in the Argentinian Andes. The data is transmitted to the global National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) repository and uploaded in a regional archive, which will ensure the data is accessible to scientists and the public around the world.
The stations can also be used to improve forecasts of weather conditions, which may help make Aconcagua safer for the 3,000 climbers who attempt to summit the peak each year and for the science team that will make the climb annually to conduct maintenance on the equipment.
Baker Perry, National Geographic Explorer and professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, said: "This ground-breaking scientific project will allow researchers and policymakers to better understand water resource availability as water storage in glaciers and seasonal snowpack continue to decline. These stations will give us a glimpse into the future."
A video by Pablo Betancourt on the expedition can be found below.
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Senior Lecturer in Environmental Geography