ERORUN-STAFOR_Observatory_dataset

We provide here the dataset of the first observatory from the French network of critical zone observatories (OZCAR) located in an insular tropical and volcanic context, integrating a “Tropical Montane Cloud Forest”: The ERORUN-STAFOR observatory. This collaborative observatory is located in the northern part of La Réunion island (Indian Ocean) within the watershed of Rivière des Pluies (45.0 km²) which hosts the TMCF of Plaines des Fougères, one of the best preserved natural habitats in La Réunion Island. Since 2015, the ERORUN-STAFOR monitoring in collaboration with local partners collected a multidisciplinary dataset with a constant improvement of the instrumentation over time. At the watershed scale and in its vicinity, the ERORUN-STAFOR observatory includes 10 measurement stations covering the upstream, midstream and downstream part of the watershed. The stations record a total of 48 different variables through continuous (sensors) or periodic (sampling) monitoring. The dataset consists of continuous time series variables related to (i) meteorology, including precipitation, air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, net radiation, atmospheric pressure, cloud water flux, irradiance, leaf wetness and soil temperature (ii) hydrology, including water level and temperature, discharge and electrical conductivity (EC) of stream, (ii) hydrogeology, including groundwater level, water temperature and EC in two piezometers and one groundwater gallery completed by soil moisture measurements under the canopy. The dataset is completed by periodic time series variables related to (iv) hydrogeochemistry, including field parameters and water analysis results. The periodic sampling survey provides chemical and isotopic compositions of rainfall, groundwater, and stream water at different locations of this watershed. The ERORUN-STAFOR monitoring dataset extends from 2014 to 2022 with an acquisition frequency from 10 min to hourly for the sensor variables and from weekly to monthly frequency for the sampling. Despite the frequent maintenance of the monitoring sites, several data gaps exist due to the remote location of some sites and instrument destruction by cyclones. This observatory is a unique research site in an insular volcanic tropical environment offering three windows of observation for the study of critical zone processes through upstream-midstream-downstream measurements sites. This high-resolution dataset is valuable to assess the response of volcanic tropical watersheds and aquifers at both event and long-term scales (i.e. global change). It will also allow various progress in understanding the significant role of the TMCFs in the recharge processes, the hydrogeological conceptual model of volcanic islands, the watershed hydrosedimentary responses to extreme climatic events and their respective evolution under changing climatic conditions.