Field Notes

Gilbert Tract: 2024-06-03 09:15:00 (DOY 155)
Author: Daphne Szutu
Others: Arman

Summary: dfPAR motor dying and needs replacement, cattail/fule flowers, warm and breezy, low tide

2024-06-03
Gilbert Tract

Arman and I arrived at 9:15 PST (10:15 PDT). It was mostly sunny, warm and breezy with fog covering the tops of Mt. Diablo and its nearby foothills. The tules are flowering and the cattails' male flower spikes are fluffy with pollen.

The staff gauge read 31cm around 9:40 PST.

I downloaded met, cam, and USB GHG data. Arman cleaned flux and rad sensors and topped off the wash reservoir. The rotating shadowband was not spinning. It will start again when tugging on the wires, but I checked all of the connections thoroughly and I don’t think it’s a connection issue. It was spinning when we left, but we probably need a new motor.

Arman measured the surface water conductivity.
Sample, temperature-compensated conductivity, temperature
Surface, 271.8 uS, 20.8 C

The 7500 read: 418ppm CO2, 776mol/m3 H2O, 22.3C, 101.4kPa, 98SS – 99 after cleaning
The 7700 read: 1.94ppm CH4, 60RSSI – 85 after cleaning

We got to the channel at 9:47 PST. It was low tide. The bristly oxtongue are in bloom. The phragmites has grown in so much that we can’t walk along the channel to our enclosure, but have to cut inland a bit. There’s a spiky dandelion-like plant by the enclosure that we should bring a shovel next time to remove.

I showed Arman how to download data, reset the clock, and restart data collection.

We left at 9:55 PST (10:55 PDT).

2 photos found

20240603GT_Arman.jpg ( 2024-06-03 10:29:34 ) Full size: 1920x1440
Arman measuring surface water during low tide

20240603GT_CattailPollen.jpg ( 2024-06-03 10:34:12 ) Full size: 1440x1920
Cattail male flower full of fluffy pollen. The female flower below is the one that develops into the familiar brown hot dog (catkin).