Field Notes

West Pond: 2013-07-26 10:25:00 (DOY 207)
Author: Cove Sturtevant
Others: Laurie, Yanel

Summary: Accidentally tore inflatable pipe with car. No water under tower. Ant problem still present in 7550 box. Data download. Bumped flux system to 20 Hz. Leveled radiometer and PAR sensors.

West Pond
2013-07-26

We arrived around 10:25 PDT. It was sunny, breezy, and warm (22 C). The inflatable pipe they have running across the road on the way to the site had water flowing through it. It looked possible to drive across so I slowly went over it. Turns out that was a supremely poor decision because the plastic of the tube snagged on something under the car and it ripped. Jim was nearby to turn the water off. I felt pretty horrible but was relieved at least slightly to know that that usually doesnt happen. So, note to all: dont drive over the inflatable pipe when water is running through it.

There was no water under the tower when we arrived, and too little water to take water samples. There was a slight resurgence of ant activity in the 7550 box, and it appeared that the ants might have tunneled through the foam seal around the door of the box (where they were originally coming through). We didnt have any silicone with us today, so I tried to give the seal more pressure by putting a rubber glove over the breached area and closing the door. We may end up needing a more clever solution than starving them out.

After downloading data and checking the readings, I bumped the 7550 USB output rate to 20 Hz. I adjusted the sonic to output serial at 57600 baud (for communication with the computer) and the measurement output to 20 Hz. I verified that all readings recorded to file were updating at 20 Hz.

7500 readings:
CO2 = 390 ppm (400 after cleaning)
H2O = 700 mmol m-3 (650 after cleaning)
signal strength = 87.16% (87.85% after cleaning)
t = 23.4 C
p = 101.4 kPa
sos = 347.2 m s-1

7700 readings:
CH4 = 1.9 ppm (same after cleaning)
RSSI = 31, bumped to 73 after cleaning
Reservoir was full.

MET looked good aside from readings indicative of no water under the tower. Laurie leveled the 4-band radiometer because Sara noted in the data that the sensor was tilted slightly to the west (later peak in radiation). Leveling the sensor was a challenge because the sensor orientation changes when the arm is folded in, so Laurie eyeballed it. Laurie also adjusted the PAR sensor to approximately level.

I knocked down another developing wasp nest under the upper scaffold platform.

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8 sets found

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