The GuMNet Initiative

The GuMNet (Guadarrama Monitoring Network) was born within the Campus of International Excellence Moncloa (CEI) infrastructure as a collaboration among different institutions: the Complutense and Polythecnic Universities of Madrid, CIEMAT (Centre for Energy, Environmental and Technological Research), AEMET (State Meteorological Agency), National Park of the Sierra de Guadarrama (PNSG), National Heritage (PN) and the Institute of Geosciences (IGEO-CSIC).

The GuMNet infrastructure consists in 10 real time automatic weather stations with instrumentation for observing the state of the atmosphere, surface and the subsurface at the Sierra de Guadarrama, just 50 km north-northwest of the city of Madrid. GuMNet lays the fundations of a research network on weather, soil thermodynamics, boundary layer physics, climate and ecosystem oriented impacts, air pollutions, etc. in the Sierra de Guadarrama. GuMNet represents a first step to provide a unique observational network in an environment of high protection to be used as a laboratory serving a wide range of scientific and educational interests. 

The database generated by GuMNet will attract future studies concerning environmental and climate change in the context of ecosystems in middle and high mountain areas. This valuable source of data aims at generating a space for scientific collaboration with other national and international institutions. The diversity of potential uses of the GuMNet observational network will be very useful in education at all levels; from basic cycles, higher degrees and research.

Conceptually, GuMNet intends to convert a well known space such as the Sierra de Guadarrama in a laboratory for interdisciplinary research. On one hand, a space for exchange of observational ,etjpdpñpgoes and scientific discussion among researchers. On the other hand, online platforms and various informative materials will allow the public to acces the results generated by different research lines with a focus on this region.