The thermometer reached -35.2°C in the Campo Magro sinkhole, located at the foot of Mount Lozze in the Ortigara area. Despite the polar cold, this is not yet a record for the site. On December 27, 2020, the installed weather station recorded -41.8°C, and on February 14, 2021, the instruments reported an even lower temperature of -42.6°C. Thanks to the weather station equipped with a solar shield and data logger, installed in the sinkhole by the site manager Riccardo Benetti and the founding member of the Meteotriveneto association Giampaolo Rizzonelli, the natural depression has become the subject of in-depth studies and meteorological analyses by researchers involved in the "Cold Sites" project, initiated in 2008 by Meteotriveneto.
"This natural basin is located at an altitude of 1612 meters in the northern part of the Altopiano dei Sette Comuni," says Benetti. "Since September 2020, when we installed the weather station, we have been recording daily weather data and temperatures that form in the sinkhole. The depression has a particular microclimate, with very harsh conditions originating within the depression, a microclimate that is studied to understand still little-known natural phenomena, that occur almost exclusively in sinkholes."
Given the interest generated by the Campo Magro sinkhole, in the summer of 2022, the first tests were started to make these data available in real-time, without the need for Meteotriveneto personnel to go on-site every time they need to be downloaded. After testing various devices and different frequencies, just a few weeks ago, researchers managed to reach the final validation, putting the data online in real-time, accessible to anyone on the website https://doline.meteotriveneto.it/campomagro/, where you can find scientific information about the microclimate.
"Sinkholes are perfect for studying the effect of temperature inversion and all the phenomena that derive from it," continues Benetti. "On clear and calm nights, they release heat into the free atmosphere and cool rapidly. The cold air, which is heavier than warmer air, gradually settles at the bottom of these basins, and being enclosed, they accumulate it, forming a 'lake of cold air' where extreme temperatures are reached. A fascinating study that we hope, with the immediate sharing of data, will involve more and more scholars and enthusiasts.
" Anyway, the powerful return of the African anticyclone is about to effectively put the winter season on standby, which will be forced to retreat after having made its presence felt (strongly) in recent days. The upcoming meteorological-climatic scenario will be decidedly out of the ordinary. Let's prepare for days characterized not only by almost total atmospheric stability but above all, increasingly milder temperatures that are destined to soar, surpassing the expected standards for this period. The regions of the South, geographically closer to the warm African lands, will particularly record temperatures outside the normal range.
(Gdv, mercoledì 24 gennaio)