Field Notes

West Pond: 2023-01-06 15:00:00 (DOY 6)
Author: Daphne Szutu
Others: Dennis

Summary: Regular data collection/cleaning, swapped 7500 for calibration, losing power sporadically, storms this week and more rain to come

2023-01-06
West Pond

Dennis and I arrived at 15:00 PST. Some farmers were fixing the sheep fences by the entrance gate when we arrived. It was overcast, cool, and breezy. We’ve had a string of atmospheric river storms since late December. More storms with potentially high wind are expected this weekend and next week. The canopy has blown down a lot in the recent storm, and from the bottom boardwalk I could see clear across the wetland. The interior dirt road leading up to the tower was a bit wet so I parked halfway down.

The inlet was off and I could see plenty of water under the tower. The staff gauge read 35cm.

The wood in the lower boardwalk is even softer now with the recent rains and should be replaced.

There’s been some power issues since 2022-12-27. We’ve lost a full day of data and a few half days. Maybe a loose connection somewhere? I’ll have to come back with waders to check on the batteries and solar panels.

I downloaded met, cam, USB GHG, and miniDOT data. The camera usually has a fan by the enclosure window to help keep air moving and reduce condensation. Today the camera's fan was near the back of the enclosure and I'm not sure when it got moved. I need to move it back next time, and/or we should put a picam up here now that parts are finally available again. I changed the miniDOT desiccant and then dropped the canning lid (not the ring) in the water. I still had one more canning lid set which I used to keep the blue (dry) desiccant dry.

I checked the conductivity sensor as part of its routine check every three months and its orifice was clear.

We swapped 7500s for calibration: sn 0035 came off and sn 0065 went on. I updated the config file, updated the pressure coefficient, changed the eddy clock +5sec to match the laptop clock, and reset the 7550 box. All looked ok.

The 7550 box had some moisture in it last time but looked ok today. I did not swap the desiccant.

Dennis cleaned flux and rad sensors. I topped off the wash reservoir.

0035 dirty read: 415ppm CO2, 490mmol/m3 H2O, 13.2C, 102.2kPa, 96SS
0035 clean read: 417ppm CO2, 480mmol/m3 H2O, 13.2C, 102.4kPa, 98SS
0065 fresh read: 425ppm CO2, 479mmol/m3 H2O, 13.2C, 102.3kPa, 101SS
The 7700 read: 2.2ppm CH4, 44RSSI– 82 after cleaning

We left at 15:25 PST.

0 photos found

8 sets found

Can't check WP_DO
1 WP_DO graphs found