1. Microclimatological
Instrumentation

2. Microclimatological Instrumentation
Trent Weather
Station (Lafleur)
Lethbridge Microclimate Station (Flanagan)

3. Example of Coulee Weather
Station
(Letts)

5. Tipping Bucket Raingauge
Each ‘tip’ is logged by
the datalogger

6. Tipping
Bucket
Raingauge
Mechanism
                                                                                                    

7. Old Fashioned Raingauge
Parque Munchique
Cauca, Colombia

8. Lakeview
Ridge,
Waterton Lakes
National Park

9. Temperature Measurement
Thermocouple
2 wires of different composition joined by an electrical source
Electrical resistance sensitive to temperature
Resistance is measured and coverted to temperature information
Thermister
The hotter it gets, the less power it lets through
Resistance is measured and converted to temperature information

10. Temperature and Relative Humidity
Temperature and RH sensors
housed in Gill Radiation Shield
Relative humidity sensor
detects vapour adsorption onto
a sulfonated polystyrene surface
Temperature Sensor:
thermister
Function of Shields:
Protect sensor from radiation (especially incoming shortwave
and outgoing longwave radiation) while allowing air to pass.

11. Stevenson Shield An earlier radiation shield often used
with wet and dry
bulb thermometers
Photo: Trent Weather Station

12. Rainfall and Snowfall Measurements
Precipitation Gauge with Nipher Shield

14. Wind Speed and Direction
Cup anemometer
signal frequency
converted
to windspeed
Wind vane

16. Sonic anemometer Sound waves measure wind speed and temperature
Time of flight for a sonic
impulse to travel from a
transmitting to a receiving
transducer in both directions
determines wind speed
and direction
Sonic
Transducers

17. Why is this sonic anemometer placed so much higher than it
would be placed
over a grassland
or a peatland ?
Source: University of Colorado
(African savanna site)

18. Micrometeorological Tower

19. Yikes !

20. Radiation Measurements
Shields made of materials
appropriate for desired wavelength
(eg. polyethylene for net radiation – transparent to both longwave and shortwave energy)
Millivolt signals are
proportional to the
radiation level
Net radiometer

21. Pyranometer Pyrgeometer UV-B Radiometer Measures solar radiation on
planar surface
Pyrgeometer
Measures infrared (longwave)
radiation
UV-B Radiometer
Measures ultraviolet solar radiation
on planar surface

22. Base camp Tambito al Cocal River Field Station
2º30´25´´N, 77º00´02´´W, 1450 m
Tambito al
Cocal River
Field Station
Photo taken from
microclimate station

23. Juntas,
El Tambo,
Cauca,
Colombia
901 m asl

24. Radiation Measurements
Also: pyranometer for broadband incoming radiation L K
UV-A
K (not visible) L

25. Radiation Data

26. More radiation sensors…
Source: University of Colorado

28. Diffuse Radiation Measured using a shade disk Radiation from entire
sky except from within
3 of Sun

29. Heat Flux Plate Senses conductive heat transmission in the medium
within which it is buried
Used for soil energy
balance studies
Voltage proportional
to heat flux through
plate

30. Sensible and Latent Heat Fluxes
Eddy correlation
Sonic anemometer
measurements of vertical
velocity and temperature
Krypton hygrometer
measurements of water
vapour density

31. Detector senses amount of radiation received in this range
Krypton Hygrometer
Source emits in the nm range for which absorption by water vapour is strong and other gases do not absorb
Detector senses amount of radiation received in
this range
Baseline established by conventional measurements
                                                 

32. “Leaf’ Wetness Sensor

33. Leaf Wetness Data

34. Downloading data from the datalogger…

35. Ideally, this is how it’s
supposed to look…

36. Nice and organized ! Equipment Rack Power Supplies Closed Path IRGAS
(CO2/H20 Analyzers)
Calibration
Equipment
Data Acquisition Computer
Source: Dr. Larry Flanagan

37. Photosynthesis Measurements
Weather stations often support
ecological or biological research

39. Other fieldwork related problems…

40. … turned out to be a ‘false’ Coral (phew!)