Installation and Procedures Manual. Automatic
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Danced Management of Matiau Basin Conservation Area Sabah, Malaysia TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE REPORT No. 24 Installation and Procedures Manual Automatic Weather Stations May 2001 Author: Dr. Tony Greer Ornis Consult Ltd., Vesterbrogade 140,2 OK 1620 Copenhagen V, Denmark Phone: + 45 33318464 Fax: + 4533247599 E-mail: tony_greer @hotmail.com Managementof the Malian Basin Conservation Area Automatic Weather Stations May ZOO1 Managementof the Maliau Basin Conservation Area Installation and ProceduresManual Automatic Weather Stations Draft May 2001 Pr~ manual A WS Issue no. 1 Date of issue May 2001 Prepared Nolhaidab,Tony Greer Checked HansSkotte Moller Approved WaidiSintm Procedures manual -A WS 1 Table of Contents 1 Maliau Basin Conservation Area -Installation of Automatic Weather Stations 3 1.1 Initial project objective 3 1.2 Siting information -MBCA 6 1.3 Equipmentpurchased 8 2 Weather station and sensors-maintenance 9 2. Generalmaintenance 9 2..2.3 1 week 9 2 1 month 9 2 .4 6 months 10 2.5 1 year 10 2 .6 2 years 10 3 Datalogger (CRIOX) Maintenance 11 3.1 Protection from the environment 11 3.2 CRlOX housing 11 3.3 Power Requirements 11 3.4 The PSl2LA Lead Acid Battery 12 3.5 Grounding -protection from lightening 13 4 Contact address for inquiries, maintenance and repairs 15 5 Data storageand retrieval 16 6 Data Processing and Storage 17 6.1 Schedule 17 6.2 Equipment checklist for data collection using a PC. 17 6.3 Data storageprocedure 22 6.4 Data processingprocedure Error! Bookmark not defmed. .1 ~ manual-A WS 2 7 Future research 23 7.1 Collaboration with JabatanCajicuaca 23 7.2 Future research 23 ~ manual-A WS 3 1 ~~aliau Basin Conservation Area -Installation of Automatic Weather Stations 1.1 IJllitial project objective To advise and assist with the installation and operation of climatic stations at the Studies:Centre and elsewherein the Basin. 1.1.1 Inltroduction With referl~ce to the above initial objective, the project documentproposed the purchaseand installation of three automatic weather stations for the Maliau Ba~ sin ConservationArea (MBCA). At the initial planning stage, considerableat- tention hw; to be given to the actual geographicalpositioning of the stations. Positionin~:can be influenced by a number of factors, for example, (i) geo- graphical i.e. to provide good spatial coverage,or (ii) by habitat, i.e. to be posi- tioned wiftlin specific habitatsto determineclimatic differences,if any. Although ,climatic variables will have some control over vegetationtype and structure vvithinthe MBCA, it is probable that soil type and associatednutrient status, alOJtlgsideother geomorphologicalfactors, exert a far greater influence. Also takilJlginto considerationthat an associated output of the project is to monitor hydrological processesand ultimately the water budget of the basin, it was decidl~dto compromiseas far as possible between spatial and habitat cov- erage.Ho'~ever, the actual sitting of stationswas further limited by site access, i. e. the abiilityto transportthe equipmentand constructionmaterials to th~ site. The finall.ocations do provide good overall spatial coverage(Figure 1). This is particularl:y important for monitoring the spatial distribution of rainfafl, which given the topographyof the basin, could Vaty significantly. However, an area that remains unstudied and may warrant further investigation or the sitit.1gof an additional station, is the kerangas forest along the rim, par- ticularly nearby Gunong Lutong. These areas may be of interestbecause of the additional height (possibly in excessof 2,000 m) and becausethe veg~tationis frequently shrouded in cloud. Becauseof this exposureto horizontal precipita- tion, the forest can probablybe classifiedas cloud forest. ~~ manual-A WS 5 Station! Lowland for- 273m N 04u43' 67:5" CampBelian est E 116056' 19.2" Station2 Karangas -1000 m N 04v43' 51. 9" Cameltrophy E 116053' 08. 9" Station3 Karangas -1220 m N 04u 52' 05. 4" StrikeRidge El16° 52' 55. 8" 1.1.2 Installation -overview In order to obtain accurateand representativemeteorological data the selection of appropriate monitoring sites is critical. A location is required that is clear from obstructions such as trees, which may affect wind, rain and solar radiation measurementsand in general the site should be representativeof the area of interest. Weather station siting Wind, air temperature,and water vapor pressuremeasurements are affected by surfacetype and roughness,soil moisture,regional topography, and obstruc- tions. Sites selectedfor their applicability to a broaderarea should be free from ob- structionssuch as buildings, trees, and steepslopes. Towers are often used to raise measurementheights above low-lying obstructions. SuggestedMeasurement Heights and Exposure As far as possiblethe following criteria should also be considered: Wind sensors should be located over open level terrain and at a dis~ce of at least 10 times the heightof nearbytrees or other obstructions. Temperature and relative humidity sensors should be located over an open and level area at least 9m in diameter. Ideally the surface should be CQveredby short vegetation.Sensors should be located at a distanceof at least fQUf times the height of any nearby obstruction. Sensorsshould be protected frOn} thermal radiation and adequatelyventilated. Situations to avoid include: ste~ slopes, shelteredhollows, high vegetation,shaded areas, swamps and low pl~es hold- ing standingwater after rains. Precipitation -a rain gaugeshould be situated above level ground th,t is cov- ered with short vegetation.The distanceto obstructionsshould be 2-4 times the ~ manual-A WS 6 height of the obstruction. The height of the gauge opening should be as low as possiblebut shouldbe high enoughto avoid splashfrom the ground. Solar radiation -pyranometers should be located to avoid shadows on the sensor at any time. In the northern hemisphere,mounting the sensor on the southernmost portion of the weatherstation will minimize the chanceof shad- ing from other weather station structures. Reflective surfaces and sources of artificial radiation should also be avoided. The sky should not be blocked by anysurrounding objects <100 above the horizontal plane. Further references TheState Climatologist (1985) Publicationof the American Associationof StateClima- tologists: Heightsand ExposureStandards for Sensorson AutomatedWeather Stations, v. 9, No.4 October,1985. EPA (1987). On-SiteMeteo{ological Program Guidance for RegulatoryModeling Applica- tions, EPA-450/4-87-O13.Office of Air Quality Planningand Standards,Research Triangle Parks,North Carolina 27711. WMO (1983). Guideto MeteorologicalInstruments and Methods of Observation.World MeteorologicalOrganization No.8, 5th edition, GenevaSwitzerland. Tanner, BertrandD. (1990). AutomatedWeather Stations, Remote Sensing Reviews, 1990, Vol. 5 (1), p.73.98. 1.2 Siting information -MBCA Variations from the above should be taken into considerationwhen interpreting the results. Specific infonnation on the MBCA weather station localities is as follows: 1.2.1 Weather Station 1 -Camp Bellan Habitat: Lowland dipterocarpforest Location: N 04043' 07.5" E 116056' 19.2" Height: 272.91m The siting of the station was limited to the few existing clearings.Extending the searchbeyond the existing potential sites would require the felling of ~ consid- erable number of trees. As such, a compromisehad to be made bety.reenthe suitability of the site and the environmentalconsequences and impact pf devel- oping a new site. Factors which could have some affect on some readings at the Camp Belian location include early morning and late evening shadow from trees which re- main present on the horizons. This could affect pyranometerreadings, particu- larly in the late afternoon. ~IT~ manual -A WS 7 To some extent the site, a small clearing caused by logging activity, remains quite shelteredfrom some wind gusts. Gusts were observedto shakethe nearby forest canopy quite strongly while the anemometersometimes remained mo- tionless. Nearby to the station there is an area of ponded water, the presenceof which could elevate humidity. Preliminary results suggest that this is not the case, however,this should still be borne in mind. Due to the station location, outside of the basin and within the lowland diptero- calp forest and becauseof the clear evidenceof frequent visits from elephants, the weather station therefore required some form of additional protection to prevent damage. A small ditch was constructedaround the station to dissuade elephantsand other large mammals. 1.2.2 Weather Station 2 -near Camel Trophy But The Camel Trophy location is also affected by the presenceof nearbytrees. The trees will in part have an affect on the amount of solar energybeing monitored (pyranometer),particularly at the beginning and end of the day. Again, the site was consideredthe best possible location with regard to obstructions without excessive forest clearance. The obstructionsmay also have an impact on rain- fall but given the high intensity nature of tropical rainfall this effect is likely to be much reduced. Habitat: Heath forest platauexon white sandysoil. Location: N 04043' 51.9" E 116053' 08. 9" Height: 1000m (approx.). 1.2.3 Weather Station 3 -Strike Ridge As with the other two locations, edge effects of the nearby canopyh~ve to be taken into consideration.However, this site is more exposed, being locatedI on the end of a ridge. It was observedthat wind speedsrecorded by the ~enome- ter were more typical of thoseexperienced above the nearbycanopy. Habitat: Heath forest on an exposedpoint at the end of a ridge Location: N 04052' 05. 4" El16° 52' 55. 8" Height: 1220 m (approx.). ~ rnanual-A WS 8 1.3 Equipment purchased 3 Rain gaugeCS 700-5L 200 mm rain gauge 3 Temperatureand relative humidity CS 500 5L 3 Radiationshield and adapter 3 Solar radiation L1200S 5L 3 034-5L Met one wind sets 3 Base and levelling fixture 3 Power supply 3 EnclosureENC 12/14 3 Solar panel 10 watt 3 UTI0 Tower lOft with all required attachments 3 Data logger CR lOX 1M with CR 10KD key- 1 pad 1 PC 208W software SC32A cables 1.3.1 Supplier IntegratedEquipment & InstrumentationSdn Bhd 67A J1nPIS 11/9 Bandar Sunway 46150 PetalingJaya Selangor E-mail [email protected] Tel.