Station
Description:
The
Meteorology Station is located on the campus of the University
of Wisconsin - La Crosse (UWL). The geographic location of the Meteorology
Station is 43 degrees, 48 minutes, 58.5 seconds North, and 91 degrees, 13
minutes, 57.1 seconds West. The station elevation is approximately 203 meters
above mean sea level. The Meteorology Station is automated with electronic
sensors for solar radiation, net radiation, air temperature, humidity, soil
temperature, soil heat flux, wind speed, wind direction, precipitation,
barometric pressure.
Funding for the UWL
Meteorology Station has been provided by the UWL
Department of Geography and Earth Science, the
The
The Pyranometer measures incoming Solar Radiation with a
silicon photovoltaic detector. The detector outputs current and a shunt
resistor in the sensor cable converts the signal from current to voltage. This
allows the Datalogger to directly measure the signal
and to convert the signal from voltage to watts per square meter.
The
Temperature and Relative Humidity
Probe contains a platinum resistance temperature (PRT) detector and
a capacitive relative humidity sensor. Temperature is measured in degrees celcius and relative humidity in percent.
The Wind Sentry Anemometer and Vane
measure horizontal wind speed and wind direction. The anemometer cup rotation
produces an AC voltage signal with a frequency directly proportional to wind
speed. Wind speed is measured in meters per second. Wind vane position is
transmitted by a precision conductive plastic potentiometer. The output signal
is an analog voltage directly proportional to the wind direction azimuth angle.
The Tipping Bucket Rain Gauge
is an adaptation of the standard Weather Service tipping bucket rain Gauge.
Output is a switch closure for each bucket tip. A multiplier in the datalogger program determines the units in which rainfall
is reported. Rainfall is measured in millimeters.
The Barometric Pressure Sensor
uses a Vaisala Barocap
silicon capacitive absolute pressure sensor with a 0...2.5 VDC output.
Barometric pressure is calculated from the measured output voltage using a
simple equation. Pressure measurements are reduced to sea level. Barometric
pressure is reported in millibars.
The Data Logger is a fully
programmable data logger/controller in a sealed module. The data logger is
accessed with a portable computer. The data logger must be programmed before it
will make any measurements. A program consists of a set of instructions entered
into a program table. The interval at which the table is executed determines
how frequently the sensors are measured. The UWL Meteorology Station data
logger measures the sensors every minute. The interval at which data are stored
is separate from the interval at which the table is executed. The UWL
Meteorology Station data logger stores data every hour.
A removable Storage Module
supplements the storage capacity of the data logger and is connected to the
data logger with a 9-pin peripheral cable. Data can be retrieved from a
storage module without a loss of data to the data logger. Data can also be
retrieved from the datalogger with a laptop computer,
or hand-held PDA via an infrared port. In the near future, real-time data will
be available via the UWL Geography and Earth Science Department WEB page.
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Archived Data (Coming Soon) |