Field Notes

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Mayberry: 2023-12-08 08:30:00 (DOY 342)
Author: Daphne Szutu
Others: Kuno, Robert, Koong, Eddie, Daniela

Summary: Kuno's chamber/soil sampling campaign, cold day, regular data collection/cleaning, HMP dead--no RH/AirT data for now, installed new water level sensor

2023-12-08
Mayberry

Kuno, Robert, Koong, Eddie from CSUEB, Daniela from LBL, and I arrived around 8:30 PST for Kuno’s chamber/soil sampling campaign. We are taking CH4, CO2, and N2O measurements with homemade dark floating chambers. We are also measuring water quality parameters (temperature, pH, DO, conductivity, turbidity, ORP, WTD), taking 10cm deep soil samples, taking dissolved gas samples from the water, and recording each point with GPS. Kuno is planning to come back in June/July to sample the same points so we can compare senescent and growing season data. Kuno, Koong, and Eddie were team A, sampling various points in the middle and edge of the channel with the dark floating chamber. I think they got 16 measurements. They traveled north and then east through the channel until the water was flowing too fast for them to sample.

Robert, Daniela, and I were team B. We had both the CH4 7810 and N2O 7820 analyzers and sampled the 6 preset collars. These are collars Joe and I had installed last week along the western edge of the channel, 5 in the muddy soil just above the water’s edge and 1 in dry soil next to the blown-down tule area. Robert carried the CH4 7810 analyzer in my backpack and we floated the N2O 7820 analyzer in one of those long blue plastic totes that have been used for shipping sonics. The shape of the plastic tote combined with the size and weight of the N2O 7820 analyzer made it hard to balance the analyzer. It was basically one person’s job to hold it steady in the water at all times. But we managed it and both analyzers stayed safely dry during this sampling campaign. We used the Smart Chamber and plumbed it to both analyzers at the same time. We just had to switch the ethernet cable on the Smart Chamber to switch between the analyzers. We saved the data using the 7810/7820 “Remarks” as well as saving the Smart Chamber runs. Team B did not take any dissolved gas samples or water quality parameters because all of our chambers were over soil.

Most people’s waders were already wet when they put them on. The downside of sampling on the third day.

It was a sunny day but with an occasional cold gust of wind. After the soil sampling wrapped up, I serviced the tower around 13:10 PST while the other cleaned up and packed the car.

I downloaded met, cam, USB GHG, and miniDOT data. I did not swap the miniDOT desiccant. SWout looks better now after fussing with the wiring last time.

The HMP155 sn T2820180 had died after a mere two years on the tower. I tested its physical connections and power cycling it, but it seems the sensor is dead. I brought just the sensor back to the lab because we have an extra HMP + cable in the lab to test. I unplugged the power from the HMP cable in the field. In terms of spare RH/Temp sensors, Joe said there are extra HMP45’s from the advection experiment with long cables in the lab.

The water level sensor here broke at the end of October. Today I installed a HYDROS21 sn H21G200002263. There’s not much water at the base of the tower, so I installed it as low as I could while still keeping the sensor out of the mud. It’s about 10cm below the water surface. The staff gauge read 16cm. I uploaded a new program to save all outputs from the HYDROS21 (depth, temp, conductivity); the old water level sensor only had two outputs (depth, temp). I also removed the instructions and data columns for the water radiometers (Rnet, reflected PAR) and for the NDVI sensors. We decided to remove the water radiometer data because we never used that data and because the area under the radiometers has been filling in with tules. The NDVI sensors were removed earlier this year, and we will remove the water radiometers another time.

The reservoir was ½ full; I refilled it. I cleaned flux and rad sensors. I checked the Campbell conductivity sensor as part of its routine check every 3 months and confirmed that the orifice was clean.

I attempted to sample the porewater sippers for conductivity, but the water level continues to decrease so there isn’t much water to sample. I sampled the surface water under the tower, but there’s only about 10cm of water there. Hopefully we can get some more water into this wetland soon.

Depth, Temperature-compensated conductivity, Temperature
Yellow, no sample able to be collected
Green, 10.70mS, 13.6C
Bare, no sample able to be collected
Blue, did not try collecting sample b/c it’s been dry the last few times
Red, tubing is chewed and needs to be trimmed next time (did not try collecting since we couldn’t pull up any water last time)
Surface, 4.72mS, 11.2C

The 7500 read: 418ppm CO2, 314 mmol/m3 H2O, 14.2C, 101.7kPa, 105SS – 106 after cleaning
The 7700 read: 2.02ppm CH4, 53RSSI -- 71 after cleaning

We all left around 14:30 PST to head back to campus.

5 photos found

20231208MB_EddieKoongKuno.jpg ( 2023-12-08 09:55:31 ) Full size: 1920x1440
Eddie, Koong, and Kuno walking around with two Licor analyzers and a homemade floating chamber to measure CH4/CO2 fluxes during Kuno's chamber/soil sampling campaign

20231208MB_FloatingAnalyzer.jpg ( 2023-12-08 09:55:05 ) Full size: 1920x1440
Floating a LI-7820 N20 analyzer in a plastic tote box. The box constantly wanted to tip over and dump the k analyzer in the water. Koong, Eddie, and Kuno are starting their first sample. Robert is wearing a LI-7810 CH4/CO2 analyzer in a backpack and making his way to our first collar.

20231208MB_KunoRobert.jpg ( 2023-12-08 14:16:12 ) Full size: 1440x1920
Kuno and Robert finishing up soil and dissolved gas samples and collecting all of the soil collars