GEO Mountains Inventory of In Situ Observational Infrastructure
New Release (September 2025): Version 3
GEO Mountains is pleased to announce the release of Version 3 (v3) of its Inventory of In Situ Observational Infrastructure — a continually evolving resource designed to make mountain monitoring efforts more visible, discoverable, and accessible to users and collaborators worldwide.
The Inventory compiles information on in situ observatories and other long-term monitoring infrastructure across the world’s mountain regions. It is available as an interactive web map and in two downloadable formats for offline use.
What’s New in Version 3
This latest update introduces several major developments:
-
Expanded coverage: The inventory now includes many more stations and networks, reflecting growing contributions from both operational and research-oriented monitoring efforts.
-
Network associations: Each station is now explicitly linked to the wider network or compilation it belongs to. In some cases, this means a single station appears in multiple networks, but this approach avoids the challenge of determining whether similarly located entries across datasets represent identical or distinct infrastructure.
-
Mountain range attribution: All stations are now associated with the mountain range in which they are located, based on the GMBA Mountain Inventory v2. These ranges are also visible directly on the web map, enhancing spatial context.
Together, these improvements bring the total number of entries in the Inventory to well over 100,000, offering an unprecedented view of global mountain observation efforts.
Why It Matters
While mountain regions are often described as “data-poor,” the growing number of monitoring stations and the increasing publication of corresponding time-series datasets (e.g. CAMELS, CA-Discharge, PatagoniaMet, EEAR-Clim, SECoMet and Poleka Kasué) suggest a more nuanced reality. Mountain observation networks are more extensive and interconnected than ever before — though challenges in data coverage, integration, and governance remain.
By providing a central, transparent overview of who is measuring what, where, how, and why, the GEO Mountains Inventory helps identify observation gaps, promotes collaboration, and supports better data access and use across disciplines.
Background
The Inventory was developed in close collaboration with the Mountain Research Initiative’s Mountain Observatories and Elevation Dependent Climate Change Working Groups, building on previous community efforts under the Global Network of Mountain Observatories (GNOMO).
It responds to the long-recognized need for a persistent, openly accessible database through which information on mountain observatories and monitoring infrastructure can be compiled, discovered, and shared (see Shagedenova et al., 2021).
Explore the Inventory
- View the Interactive Web Map (best experienced in full-screen mode; please allow time for loading depending on your connection).
-
-
Zoom in to explore individual sites.
-
Use the upper search box to find a location, or the lower search box to find a specific site.
-
-
- Download the Full Dataset — available in two alternative formats.
Suggested citation:
GEO Mountains (2025). Inventory of In Situ Mountain Observational Infrastructure, v3. DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.14899845.v3
Contribute Your Sites
The Inventory is a community-driven resource, updated regularly. We warmly invite contributions from researchers, practitioners, and organizations involved in mountain monitoring.
You can:
- Add new sites currently missing from the database.
- Update or improve information for existing sites (please indicate the corresponding GEO Mountains ID).
-
Showcase your fieldwork and increase the visibility and reuse of your datasets.
To be included, sites should be located in mountainous terrain (according to one or more recognized delineations). Ideally, each site has a dedicated webpage, though sites described in peer-reviewed publications can also be accepted.
Variables can be matched to the Essential Mountain Climate Variables (EMCVs) proposed by Thornton et al. (2021); contributors are also encouraged to specify other measured variables, such as those related to biodiversity, ecology, or socio-economic factors.
If you wish to contribute multiple sites in tabular format, please contact the GEO Mountains Secretariat directly.
Looking Ahead
Future developments aim to:
- Enhance metadata completeness to support comprehensive ‘data coverage’ analyses across space, time, elevation, and discipline.
-
Facilitate data storage and linkage for sites lacking open-access repositories. (In the meantime, platforms such as figshare, PANGAEA, and Mendeley Data are recommended.)
Through continued community participation, the GEO Mountains Inventory will become an even more powerful resource for understanding and sustaining the world’s mountain environments.
Contact:
For contributions, questions, or feedback, please email: geomountains@mountainresearchinitiative.org