Cold-air pool development and covariance analysis of the measured meteorological parameters in the Mohos sinkhole, Bükk Plateau, Hungary

Dobos, András and Farkas, Réka and Dobos, Endre (2025) Cold-air pool development and covariance analysis of the measured meteorological parameters in the Mohos sinkhole, Bükk Plateau, Hungary. IDŐJÁRÁS / QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF THE HUNGARIAN METEOROLOGICAL SERVICE, 129 (3). pp. 279-306. ISSN 0324-6329

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Abstract

It is a well-known phenomenon that sinkholes, compared to their environment,have a relatively colder microclimate, due to the topographic conditions (closeddepressions). Its geomorphological characteristics favors the development of cold-air poolsand can cause significant temperature anomalies. This process has been documented inseveral papers before, but the detailed buildup and breakup, and especially theenvironmental covariates that drive these processes, are not well documented yet. Thispaper aims to summarize a three months period measurement (spring of 2023) in NorthernHungary, on the karst plateau of the Bükk Mountains. This plateau is characterized with acomplex karst surface development, having interconnected sinkhole systems. The Mohossinkhole – the largest sinkhole of the area with several contributing smaller sinkholes – wasselected for the measurement campaign. A detailed terrain and remotely sensed databasewere built to characterize the geomorphology and its contribution to the development ofthe sinkhole’s microclimatic system. A sensor system was developed and adopted to thelocal conditions using 10 directly measured or derived meteorological parameters (airtemperature (200 cm, 40 cm), dew point, solar radiation, relative humidity, wind speed,daily evapotranspiration, vapor pressure deficit., and soil temperature), along with twocomparison sites from the edge of the sinkhole and from a representative site of the BükkPlateau, where no major microclimatic derivation factor was assumed. During this period,the Carpathian Basin was characterized by a significant variability of weather patterns, andwas optimal to analyze the behavior of the sinkhole's microclimate system based on theregional weather trends and their atmospheric dynamics. Several temperature inversionevents were developed and analyzed to describe the relationships between the cold-air pooldevelopment and the external meteorological affects. The events were classified into thecommonly accepted categories. The results demonstrated that the time of the lowestrecorded temperatures was partly independent from the general temperature regimes. Themost important factors are the general geomorphological factors, favorable radiation conditions, and lack of any external physical disturbance. It was also proved that the soiltemperature had the largest correlation with the temperature change (r = 0.95), followed bythe dew point (r = 0.92), vapor pressure deficit (r = 0.85), wind speed (r = 0.83) and therelative humidity (r = -0.8). That was also documented, that the near-surface dynamics playan important law in the behaviors of the sinkhole microclimate system, thus the buildupand breakup of the cold-air pool.

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