Blog from July, 2011

NCAR 1-4 visit

Russ, Jimmy, and Dan visited the CWEX stations on July 29 to install some bug shields on the inlet bells of the 2m TRH sensors. 

The shields consist of gray colored fiberglass screen cut in about 18 X 18 in square.  

The corners of the square were grabbed together as the middle of the screen was positioned over the inlet and one thick rubber band was adequate to secure the screen corners around the outside wall of the inlets.

Here is a time-line of the visits (all times in CDT).

ncar2  10:40-10:50  (extra time to make the prototype and cut extra screens)

ncar1  11:26-11:28

ncar3  11:43-11:44

ncar4  11:48-11:49

Daily summary, July 30

July 30, 14:05 CDT

Dan Rajewski (in Ames)

Summary: Stations 1-4 operational, no ISFS staff on site
overnight fog and dew; daytime partly cloudy warm and humid with light to moderate winds,
Few sensors with anomalous readings during very wet periods at night and early morning

Vdsm: 13.5-13.7 V during day, down to 12.4 at night
P: ok, pressure rising 3mb during the night, falling around 3mb during the afternoon

T.2m: night: stn 4 has some spikes during the overnight; otherwise stn 1 & 4 about 0.7-1.0 degree C cooler than stns 2 & 3 from 23:00-3:00; from 22:00-23:00 and 3:00-6:00 stn 2 & 3 about 0.5-0.7 C cooler than stns 1 & 4
     
RH.2m: stn 2 & 4 few% RH higher than other sites during the night, daytime after the fog breakup: stn 4 about 5% RH higher than other sites
H2O.2m: similar pattern at T.2m, during night 23:00-3:00 period stn 2 & 3 1.0 g/m^3 more wet than stns 1 & 4, daytime: stn 4 about 0.7 g/m^3 more moist than other sites

Wetness: heavy dew event from 20:00 to 7:00, sensor dry by 9:45

T.10m: all stns mostly within +/- 0.5 degrees C of each other
RH.10m: most of night and early morning: stn 2 about 10 %RH lower than the other sites
H2O.10m: night: stn 2 about 1.0 g/m^3 drier than other sites; daytime during fog break up stn 2 about 0.7-1.5 g/m^3 drier than other sites, stn 1 & 2 delayed agreement with other sites 10:00, stns 3 & 4 agree by 8:00

Spd.10m: ok, few periods with stn 2 about 0.7-1.0 m/s lower than other sites from 23:00 to 2:00

Dir.10m: ok, mostly SE to S wind at night, E wind around sunrise veering to S by 11:00

T.10m - T.2m: night all stns within a 0.5 degrees of other except during 0:30-3:00 stn 1 & 3 about 1.0 degree C warmer at 10 m vs. 2 m than for stn 2, early-mid morning stns 1-3 about 0.5 degrees C warmer at 10 m vs. 2m than site 4
H2O.10m - H2O.2m: from 23:00-9:00 stn 2 about 1.0 g/m^3 more vapor at 2m than 10 m, other stns about 1.0 g/m^3 more vapor at 10 m than 2m, day: stn 4 about 1.0 g/m^3 less vapor at 10 m than 2m vs. other sites

spd.4.5m: ok, similar for Spd.10m, but not exactly the same pattern from 2:00-4:00
dir.4.5m: ok, see comments for Dir.10m, more E to SE wind during the night than at 10m
w.4.5m: ok, stns 1, 2 & 3 more positive velocity at night vs. stn 4 slightly negative, stn 2 has slight switch from positive to negative around 2:00-3:00 and back to w>0 after that
tc.4.5m: ok, night: several short periods where one stn is about 1.0 degrees C warmer than other sites
 
ldiag: ok, less than 100 samples missing at a few sites during the overnight
kh2oV: stns 2 & 4 above 100mV before fog/dew dropping to 50mV, recovering to above 120-150mV after the inversion breakup
kh2o: stn 2 & 4 about 2.0-2.5 g/m^3 more moist than stns 1 & 3 during night, several spikes and high anomalous values during fog/dew; closer agreement at stn 2 in the daytime after the fog breakup, stn 4 about 3.0 g/m^3 more vapor than stns 1 &3
h2o(licor): ok, good nighttime agreement, few spikes caused by dew/fog, afternoon: stn 1 & stn 3 in good agreement
lidiag (licor): ok, few spikes corresponding to effect with dew/fog; no fictitious response in the afternoon

TKE.4.5m: ok, mostly in agreement few night periods where stn 2 is about 0.1 m^2/s^2 more than other sites; similar values at all sites during and after the inversion breakup
w'w': ok, similar to TKE.4.5m, also in u'u' and somewhat in v'v'
u*: ok, similar to TKE4.5m, similar pattern also somewhat in u'w' and v'w'

w'tc': ok, higher TKE at stn 1 corresponds to somewhat more negative heat flux, close agreement in morning and afternoon, stn 3 peak flux a bit higher than other sites
tc'tc': ok, night: stn 1 has most periods with the least variance except for 4:00-5:00 period; good agreement among sites in daytime

w'h2o': ok, overnight: several spikes at all sites noted, negative flux at stns 2 & 4 seems anomalous behavior; afternoon less flux (~0.1 g/m^2/s) at stns 2 & 4 vs. stns 1 & 3
h2o'h2o' (licor): ok, during night but otherwise stn 1 & 3 in close agreement at these sites
h2o'kh2o': stn 2 & 4 more anomalous high variances (in between 'spike' events) also these sites are 0.7 (g^m^3)^2 lower than other stations in late morning/early afternoon
w'co2': ok, no real difference between sites
co2'co2': ok, several spikes in overnight, stns 1 & 3 mostly the same but few periods where stn 1 has 0.005 units more than at stn 3; good daytime agreement

Daily summary, July 29

July 29, 20:20 CDT

Dan Rajewski (in Ames)

Summary: Stations 1-4 operational, Dan, Russ, and Jimmy serviced the wind cubes and the NCAR flux stations
Mixture of clouds and sun with warm and humid conditions with very light winds, reduction in horizontal visibility from 8:30 to 10:15 (fog-break up process)
Several sensors with anomalous readings during very wet periods (night and early morning)
Bug screens were placed on the 2mTRH inlets between 10:30 and 11:50 (see upcoming blog post)

Vdsm: 13.5-13.7 V during day, down to 12.4 at night
P: ok, pressure rising 5mb throughout the period, somewhat steady by noon

T.2m: night: stn 1 about 0.7-1.0 degree C warmer than stn 2 from 21:00-22:00, and from 2:00-4:00, periodic sensor spikes from dew/fog between 5:00-10:30; day: after the fog breakup stn 4 slightly cooler than other sites
RH.2m: similar spikes as in T.2m during overnight and early morning; after fog dissipation stn 4 5%RH higher than other sites
H2O.2m: stn 4 about 0.7-1.0 g/m^3 more vapor than stns 1 & 3 during the night, dew/fog problems part of the overnight and morning; after inversion breakup stn 4 about 1.0-1.5 g/m^3 more vapor than Sites 1-3 during the day

Wetness: heavy dew event from 20:30 to 6:30, sensor dry by 10:00

T.10m: stn 1 about 1.0 degree warmer than stn 2 for 20:00-21:00, otherwise sensors in close agreement during night and day (spikes also evident in hours before and after sunrise and at stn 3 during the inversion breakup
RH.10m: night: similar to T.10M but with stn 2  5%RH higher than stn 1, daytime stn 1 about 5%RH lower than sites 3 & 4 much of daytime after the fog breakup
H2O.10m: night: sites within +/- 0.5 g/m^3 of each other, sensor spikes also evident after 1:00 through 11:30; daytime: stn 1 & 4 about 1.0 g/m^3 less vapor than at stns 3 & 4

Spd.10m: ok, few period with stn 1 0.7-1.0 m/s lower than other sites from 2:00 to 4:00, also before sunrise and after stns 2 & 3 about 0.5 m/s less speed than at Sites 1 &4, daytime: stn 4 0.5 m/s lower than other sites

Dir.10m: ok, mostly NW to NE wind at night (few SW to S winds though), switching to ENE around sunrise and during fog breakup event, E to SE by afternoon

T.10m - T.2m: stn 2 warmer by 0.7-1.0 degrees at 10 m than 2 m from 2:00-4:00, close agreement in daytime thermal gradient after inversion breakup
H2O.10m - H2O.2m: stn 4 least moist at 10m vs. 2m during night, stn 2 & 3 about 1.0 g/m^3 wetter at 10 m vs. 2m. than for stn 4;  noon and later, stn 4 about 1.5 g/m^3 more vapor at 2m than 10m vs. the other sites

spd.4.5m: ok, similar for Spd.10m, but not exactly the same pattern from 2:00-4:00
dir.4.5m: ok, see comments for Dir.10m
w.4.5m: ok, stns 2 & 3 more positive velocity and stn 4 more w<0 most of the night up through sunrise, stn 1 starts in w>0 mode and switches to w<0 by 3:00
tc.4.5m: ok, night: several short periods where stn 1 is ~1.0 degrees C warmer than stn 2, stns 3 &4 in between the others; day: close agreement before and during fog breakup, afterward stn 1 & 2 about 0.5 degree cooler than sites 3 & 4
 
ldiag: ok
kh2oV: stns 2 & 4 above 100mV before fog/dew, dropping a few times to ~0mV, recovering to above 100mV after the inversion breakup
kh2o: stn 2 & 4 about 2.0-2.5 g/m^3 more moist than stns 1 & 3 during night, several spikes and high anomalous values during fog/dew; closer agreement at stn 2 in the daytime after the fog breakup, stn 4 about 3.0 g/m^3 more vapor than stns 1 &3
h2o(licor): ok, good nighttime agreement, several spikes caused by dew/fog, afternoon: stn 1 about 0.7-1.0 g/m^3 drier than stn 3
lidiag (licor): ok, few spikes corresponding to effect with dew/fog; no fictitious response in the afternoon

TKE.4.5m: ok, mostly in agreement few night periods where stn 1 is about 0.1-0.15 m^2/s^2 more than other sites; similar values at all sites during and after the inversion breakup
w'w': ok, similar to TKE.4.5m, also in u'u' and v'v'
u*: ok, similar to TKE4.5m, similar pattern also somewhat in u'w' and v'w'

w'tc': ok, higher TKE at stn 1 corresponds to somewhat more negative heat flux, close agreement in morning and afternoon
tc'tc': ok, all sites have overnight spikes at irregular intervals, good agreement in daytime

w'h2o': ok, overnight: several spikes at all sites noted (less severe at stn 1); morning and afternoon: slightly less flux (0.02 g/m^2/s) at stns 2 & 4 vs. stns 1 & 3
h2o'h2o' (licor): ok, several spikes during night but otherwise stn 1 & 3 in close agreement at these sites between periods of' spikes' and also during the day
kh2o'kh2o': stn 2 & 4 more anomalous high variances (in between 'spike' events) also these sites are 0.1 (g^m^3)^2 lower than other stations in early-mid afternoon
w'co2': ok, a bit more positive flux at stn 1 vs. stn 3 most of the night; close agreement during/after fog breakup
co2'co2': ok, several spikes in overnight,  good daytime agreement

Daily summary, July 28

July 28, 20:30 CDT

Dan Rajewski (in Ames)

Summary: Stations 1-4 operational, no ISFS staff on site
mixture of clouds and sun with warm and humid conditions with very light winds, heavy rain around 8:00-10:00
winds switching from Easterly overnight to SW and eventual Westerly by early afternoon

Vdsm: 13.5-13.7 V during day, down to 12.4 at night
P: ok, pressure rising 5mb throughout the period

T.2m: night: stn 4 about 0.7-1.0 degree C cooler than stn 1 from 1:00-2:00, other sites in between 1 & 4; day: stns mostly in agreement

RH.2m: stn 4 highest during day and night, 5-7% RH higher than other sites ; some night periods with stns 1 & 3 a few% RH lower than stn 2
H2O.2m: stn 4 about 0.7-1.0 g/m^3 more vapor than stns 1 & 3 during the night, stn 4 about 0.5 g/m^3 more vapor than Sites 1-3 during the day

Wetness: slight dew event from 22:00 to 6:00, sensor dry by 7:00, before extra rain from 8:00-10:00, sensor mostly dry by 12:30, sprinkles throughout the afternoon

T.10m: ok, mostly in agreement except for few hours before midnight stn 4 about 0.7-1.0 degrees C warmer than other stns
RH.10m: ok, night: stn 4 5-7%RH lower than other sites before midnight (before cloud cover comes?), within a few%RH of other sites rest of night and daytime
H2O.10m: ok, night: stn 1 & 4 about 0.5 g/m^3 less vapor than at stns 2 & 3; daytime stn 4 slightly lower vapor than at other sites

Spd.10m: ok, some separation of winds from 2:00-3:00 stn 2 & 3 about 0.7 m/s lower than stns 1 & 4
**max spd recorded during thunderstorm passage about 15m/s
Dir.10m: ok, mostly ENE to E during the night, after morning thunderstorm switching to SW and W by 13:00

T.10m - T.2m: stn 4 warmer by 0.5 degrees at 10 m than 2 m from 21:00-0:00, stn3 slightly warmer at 2m vs. 10 m also during this time
H2O.10m - H2O.2m: stn 4 most negative during night/day; difference of 1.0 g/m^3 more vapor at 2 m vs. 10 m than at other sites (is this real or fan-related behavior?)

spd.4.5m: ok, see comments for Spd.10m
dir.4.5m: ok, see comments for Dir.10m
w.4.5m: ok, stns 1 & 2 more positive velocity and stns 3 & 4 more w<0 from 20:00-1:30, during ENE to E flow, but pattern is less seen from 2:00-before rainfall
tc.4.5m: ok, night: stn 4 is about 0.7-1.0 degrees C warmer than other sites from 21:00-0:30; day mostly in agreement few hrs after rain
**right after rain we see response of sonic wick 'drying out', stns 2-4 only drop 0.5 C by rain, onto recovery by 1hr later, stn 1 is cooled 3.5 C by rain and takes 2.5 hrs to reach temp similar to other sites
possible influence of turbine movement from SE to WSW during the 2-3 hour period of wick dry-off?

ldiag: several spikes at stn 4 during rain (800 samples missing), other sites mostly ok

kh2oV: stns 2 & 4 about 80-40 mV for night/day behavior, after rain fall recovering to near 100-120 mV
**check tomorrow morning to see if kryptons should be cleaned
kh2o: stn 2 & 4 about 2.0-2.5 g/m^3 more moist than stns 1 & 3 during night, closer agreement (+/- 1.0 g/m^3) in the daytime after the morning storm
h2o(licor): ok, stn 1 about 0.7-1.0 g/m^3 drier than stn 3 for much of night and daytime
lidiag (licor): ok

TKE.4.5m: ok, mostly in agreement slightly more TKE at stn 4 from 23:00-0:00 and in stn 1 vs. other sites from 1:30-2:30
w'w': ok, similar to TKE.4.5m, also in u'u' and v'v'
**rain spike of 1.0 m^2/s^2 in w'w' and in u'u' of 6.5 units, and 4.0 units for v'v'
u*: ok, similar to TKE4.5m, (0.05 m/s higher u* at stn 4 23:00-0:00) also in v'w'

w'tc': ok, much of night before midnight 0.01 C m/s larger negative flux at stn4 than other sites, day peak positive flux slightly higher at stn3
tc'tc': ok, similar to w'tc', stn 4 with higher variance at night (by 0.05 C^2), variance is poor after rain passage until 11:00

w'h2o': ok, other than during/after period of rain stns are in close agreement
h2o'h2o' (licor): ok, 1 nighttime spike at stn1, several spikes during morning thunderstorm passage
kh2o'kh2o': stn 2 & 4 close to 1 & 3 at night, high anomalous readings during and a few hrs after rainfall, recovery by 13:30
w'co2': ok, no clear differences among site during night or day, expected spikes during/few hrs after storm
co2'co2': ok, expected spike in variance during/after rainfall

Daily summary, July 27

July 27, 18:45 CDT

Dan Rajewski (in Ames)

Summary: Stations 1-4 operational, no ISFS staff on site,
possible LLJ occurrence before clouds from overnight storms in MN/SD/NE spread over the area
mixture of clouds and sun with hot and humid temperatures with light winds, slight shower around 17:30
north of a warm front; which is progged to push north overnight and give heavy rain

Vdsm: 13.5-13.8 V during day, down to 12.4 at night
P: ok, pressure generally falling 3mb throughout the period; stn 3 & 4 slightly lower pressure than at stns 1-2

T.2m: night: stn 4 0.7-1.0 degree C cooler than other sites from 20:00-22:30 [July 26], also stn 1 about 0.5-0.7 degrees C lower than other stns during 1:00-2:00, day: sites are in agreement

RH.2m: stn 4 highest during day and night, 5-7% RH higher than other sites ; some night periods with stn3 few%RH lower than stns 1-2
H2O.2m: stn 4 about 0.7-1.0 g/m^3 more vapor than other sites during the night, stn 4 about 0.5 g/m^3 more vapor during the daytime

Wetness: slight dew event from 2:00 to 6:30, sensor dry by 8:00; sprinkles detected around 17:30

T.10m: ok, see T.2m
RH.10m: ok, night: similar to T.10m, daytime: close agreement
H2O.10m: ok, night: stn 1 & 4 about 0.5 g/m^3 less vapor than at stns 2 & 3; daytime stn 4 slightly lower vapor than at other sites

Spd.10m: ok, stn 1 about 0.7-1.0 m/s lower than other sites from 1:00-2:00 and from 4:00-5:00 (presence of a jet?)

Dir.10m: ok, SE to S overnight, SW back to S much of morning and afternoon; ENE with occurrence of light rain in late afternoon

T.10m - T.2m: stn 4 warmer by 0.7 degrees at 10 m than 2 m from 22:00-3:00, stn3 slightly warmer at 2m vs. 10 m
H2O.10m - H2O.2m: stn 4 most negative during night/day; difference of 1.0 g/m^3 more vapor at 2 m vs. 10 m than at other sites

spd.4.5m: ok, see comments for Spd.10m
dir.4.5m: ok, see comments for Dir.10m
w.4.5m: ok,
tc.4.5m: ok, night: stns 1 & 2 are about 0.7-1.0 degrees C cooler than other sites from 1:30-3:00; day: all sites agree within +/- 0.5 degrees C, stn2 slightly lower
ldiag: several spikes at stn 2 in the overnight hours, about 300 samples missing for much of the period;

kh2oV: stns 2 & 4 about 100-80 mV for night/day behavior, mid-morning peak of about 140 mV
kh2o: stn 2 & 4 about 3.0-3.5 g/m^3 more moist than stns 1 & 3, closer agreement (+/- 1.0 g/m^3) in the daytime
h2o(licor): ok, stn 1 about 0.7-1.0 g/m^3 drier than stn 3 for much of night and daytime
lidiag (licor): ok

TKE.4.5m: ok, stn 1 about 0.15 units less TKE than stns 2 & 3 from 1:30-2:30, 4:00-5:00; stn 4 during this period about 0.1 units greater TKE than stns 2 & 3; other periods around and after sunrise with less TKE at stn 1 vs. other sites
w'w': ok, similar to TKE.4.5m, also in u'u' and v'v'
u*: ok, similar to TKE4.5m, also in v'w'

w'tc': ok, much of night larger flux <0 at stn3 and 4 than other sites, daytime peak positive flux largest at stn3
tc'tc': ok, similar to w'tc', stn 4 with highest variance at night and stn 3 higher during the day

w'h2o': ok, stns 1 & somewhat stn 3 slightly higher afternoon flux than Sites 2 & 4, max value difference of 0.04 g/m^2/s
h2o'h2o' (licor): ok, 1 nighttime spike at stn3, daytime variances are close together
kh2o'kh2o': stn 2 & 4 0.4-0.6 (g/m^3)^2 less than other sites for daytime
w'co2': ok, no clear differences among sites
co2'co2': ok, stn1 slightly higher variance during 1:00-4:30, close daytime agreement

Steve Oncley measured the power draw of a station with a Licor 7500 (1) and with a krypton (2):

stn

log entry

volts

amps

watts

1

https://wiki.ucar.edu/x/HY2gB

13.6

1.44

19.6

2

https://wiki.ucar.edu/x/H42gB

13.8

0.98

13.5

A CWEX station consists of:

  • Viper CPU, compact flash, usb flash drive
  • 1 8 port Diamond Emerald serial card
  • Diamond pc104 power supply
  • 1 CSAT3, reporting at 20Hz, non-oversampled mode (Ac)
  • either
    • Licor 7500, reporting at 20Hz
    • Serializer in CSAT3 electronics, with CSI Krypton
  • Vaisala barometer
  • GPS
  • two TRH's with fans
  • 1 RMY prop
  • Wisard base mote
  • Cradlepoint CTR350 router, with wifi disabled
  • Verizon USB760 cellular modem

The stations are transmitting continuously over the cellular modem.

Daily summary, July 26

July 26, 16:15 CDT

Dan Rajewski (in Ames)

Summary: Stations 1-4 operational, Steve O., Gene, Dan, and REU students visited stn 2 from 14:30-14:45
very light wind speed SSE to S, partly cloudy skies with hot and humid conditions
***anomalous ldiag readings much of overnight and morning at stns 2 & 4 (dew effects?), continuing in afternoon at stn 2

Vdsm: 13.5-13.8 V during day, down to 12.4 at night
P: ok, pressure mostly steady overnight but dropping in the afternoon; nighttime: stn 3 & 4 slightly lower pressure than at stns 1-2

T.2m: night: few periods where stn 1, 2 or 3 are about 1 degree C warmer than other sites; good daytime agreement

RH.2m: stn 4 highest during day and night; stns 1 & 3 few%RH lower than stn 2, 5%RH lower than stn 4
H2O.2m: ok, similar nighttime pattern to T.2m, daytime: stn 4 highest vapor content stns 2 &3 are close, stn 1 about 1.0-1.5 g/m^3 less than stn 4

Wetness: dew event from 20:30 to 7:30, sensor dry by 10:00

T.10m: ok, few periods at night when some stations are 0.5-0.7 degrees C lower/higher than the others; good daytime agreement
RH.10m: ok, night: similar to T.10m, daty: stn 4 slightly lower vapor concentration than other sites
H2O.10m: ok, night:

Spd.10m: stn 4 has no wind recorded from 11:30 to 14:30, but other sites are ~ 2m/s, was there a bird on the sensor; some missing data; or more likely lack of wind at that site?
Dir.10m: ok, variable directions: WSW to S around midnight, back to W around late morning than back to SSE by mid afternoon

T.10m - T.2m: all stns with similar temp gradients, some separation during overnight hours
H2O.10m - H2O.2m: stn 4 most negative during night/day; stns 2 & 3 slightly more vapor at 10m vs. 2 m than for other sites

spd.4.5m: ok, no clear differences among sites
dir.4.5m: ok, see comments for Dir.10m
w.4.5m: ok, stns 2 and 3 greater variability than other sites for nighttime
tc.4.5m: ok, night: stn 2 is about 0.7-1.0 degrees C cooler than other sites; day: all sites agree within +/- 0.5 degrees C
ldiag: several spikes at stn 4 during midnight to before-sunrise hours; stn 4 has spikes from 2:00-to present

kh2oV: stns 2 & 4 about 50-150 mV for night/day behavior
kh2o: stn 2 & 4 very high during night (dew effects) but stns 1 & 3 vapor decline during the night, daytime close agreement
h2o(licor): ok
lidiag (licor): few spikes in sample during 1:00-2:00

TKE.4.5m: ok, most night periods with stn 3 & 4 slightly lower TKE than other sites
w'w': ok, similar to TKE.4.5m, also in u'u' and v'v'
u*: ok, not as clear as in TKE4.5m

w'tc': ok, stn 3 slightly higher afternoon heat flux than other sites
tc'tc': ok, slightly higher variances at stn 1 & 2 for nighttime; daytime similar to w'tc'

w'h2o': ok, stns 1 & 3 slightly higher afternoon flux than other sites by 0.06-0.08 g/m^2/s
h2o'h2o' (licor): ok, similar agreement  but stn 1 variance lightly lower than at stn 3 from 4:00-6:00, and for mid afternoon hours
kh2o'kh2o': stn 2 & 4 high nighttime anomalous readings, close agreement during daytime generally 1.0 (g/m^3)^2 less than other sites
w'co2': ok, somewhat larger flux>0 at stn 1 vs. stn 3 at night; daytime: stations in close agreement except from mid-morning to early afternoon
co2'co2': ok

Mast down events

7/26/11

From plots of vertical velocity (mostly), wind direction, and pressure, I deduced the following times at which the masts were lowered and raised.  I entered these times into the sonic qc files (in order to delete data while the mast was down), adding 5 minutes to the raising time to allow for attaching and adjusting the back guy wire.

Date

Stn

lowered

raised

July 5

4

15:20

16:45

July 8

2

14:07

?14:14

 

4

15:08

15:14

July 15

2

11:11

11:20

 

4

13:23

13:33

July 22

2

10:28

10:44

 

4

12:15

12:25

July 25

1

09:51

10:55

 

2

11:35

12:08

 

4

13:11

13:33

Aug 2

2

10:17

10:29

 

4

11:22

11:31

July 24-25, [July 26 9:05 CDT]

Dan Rajewski (in Ames)

Summary: Stations 1-4 operational, Steve O. , Russ, and Dan serviced the towers morning and afternoon of July 25
slightly cooler air on July 24, north of very warm air, light wind speed, northerly on July 24, variable directions on July 25

**replaced the fan for the 2m temp/RH at stn 2, cleaned the fan for the 2m temp/RH at stn 1, replaced the fan for the 10 m temp/RH at stn 1
(see Steve O. blog entries on the station visits)
Vdsm: 13.5-13.8 V during day, down to 12.5 at night
P: ok, pressure mostly steady on July 24, dropping 5mb the morning/afternoon of July 25

T.2m: stn 2 reading 0.5-1.0 degrees C warmer than other before the fan repair on July 25

RH.2m: stn 4 highest during day and night; before fan repair: stn 2 lowest during late morning and afternoon, stns 1-3 few%RH within each other
H2O.2m: stn 4 high during day and night (0.7-1.0 g/m^3 moister than other sites), stn 1 slightly lower than stns 2 & 3 both day and night

Wetness: slight shower at 6:00 and 11:00 on July 24, dew accumulation from 0:30-6:30 [July 25] sensor dry by 8:30

T.10m: before fan repair: stn1 slightly warmer than others during the daytime, at stn 1 fan quit (blown fuse) around 5:00 [July 25], after repair fields are ok
RH.10m: before fan repair: stn 1 few%RH drier than other sites for afternoon of July 24, sites close in agreement after the repair
H2O.10m: ok, night: stn 2 about 0.5 g/m^3 moister than stn 4, stn 1 & 3 close together, day: stns about 0.3 g/m^3 of each other; not much change after fan repair

Spd.10m: ok, post midnight hours of July 25, stn 2 lower than other sites by 0.5 m/s, stn 4 also a bit lower than other stns during late morning-mid afternoon
Dir.10m: ok, winds from all directions on July 24, mostly Easterly the after midnight on July 25, Southerly by late morning

T.10m - T.2m: before fan repair: stn 2 most negative during day; stn 1 somewhat more positive at 10m vs. 2 m.; after fan repairs little difference in vertical gradient among all sites
H2O.10m - H2O.2m: before and after repair: stn 4 most negative during night/day; see H20.2m, other stations in close agreement for night and day

spd.4.5m: ok, see comments for Spd.10m, less variability among sites for afternoon of July 25
dir.4.5m: ok, see comments for Dir.10m
w.4.5m: ok, stn 4 slight w>0 for afternoon/evening of July 24 (northerly winds?)
tc.4.5m: ok, night: stn 2 is about 0.5 degrees C cooler than other sites; day: all sites agree within +/- 0.5 degrees C
ldiag: ok

kh2oV: stn2 2 & 4 about 50-150 mV for day/night behavior before the kryptons were replaced; after switching sensors about 220 to 150 mV
kh2o: before sensor krypton replacement: stns 2 & 4 about 2-3 g/m^3 lower than stns 1 & 3; after sensor swap water content within 0.5-0.7 g/m^3 of stns 1 & 3
h2o(licor): ok
lidiag (licor): spike during late morning rain shower on July 24, high moisture spike also at stn 3 before midnight

TKE.4.5m: ok, stn 2 has slightly more TKE than other sites around midnight of July 24, but less TKE than other stns from 2:00-5:00 on July 25
w'w': ok, similar to TKE.4.5m, also in u'u' and v'v'
u*: ok, similar to TKE.4.5m, also in v'w' and u'w' for July 25 event

w'tc': ok, stn 3 slightly higher daytime heat flux than other sites for July 25
tc'tc': ok

w'h2o': ok, stn 2 significantly low during day before replacement, after repair: better agreement for stn 2 & 4 with the other sites, stn 3 slightly higher daytime flux than other sites on July 25
h2o'h2o' (licor): ok
kh2o'kh2o': before replacement: stn 4 close to stns 1 & 3 daytime value, stn 2 a bit lower, after sensor swap stn 2 closer to stn 4, both about 0.2 units less variable than sites 1 & 3
w'co2': ok, close day and night agreement, slightly more flux <0 at stn 1 for early afternoon of July 24
co2'co2': ok

ncar4 visit

1307: Purpose: change out krypton

1313: Mast lowered

Replaced 1390(?) by 1394.  Voltage almost 0.3V.

1337: Mast raised

P.S. Gordon updated the cal_file for this site.

ncar3 site visit

Just a quicky for me to look at station, since no known problems.

1245: briefly turned off power on 2m TRH to be able to hear 10m TRH.  Then turned its power off as well.  All okay, turned back on.

1300: left site

ncar2 site visit

1130: Lower mast

Replace krypton (1393?) with 1525 (that had been set to 1cm pathlength by CG/SRS last week).  Now read about 0.25V.

2m TRH fan totally stuck by bug body glue.  Was able to scrape out and get fan running again, but brought back to lab for better cleaning (left on Dan's desk).  Instead, used the second fan I brought with me for this unit.  Note that this fan has a bit of bearing noise and may need to be replaced itself before the end of the project.  (Hence, put at 2m.)

10m TRH fan had just a fine coating of what looked like soil dust.  Wiped a bit of this off, but otherwise left unchanged.  Note that the bug problem is with the sensor closer to the ground/canopy, which makes sense.

1218: Raise mast

Power check: (again requiring DSM power cycling twice)

13.8V @ 0.94-0.98A (varies)

1230: left site

P.S. Gordon updated the cal_file for this site later in the afternoon.

ncar1 site visit

Purpose: Thought we were just visiting!

People: (for this and next 3 visits): Dan, Russ, SteveO

On site at 0845, discovered that 10m TRH wasn't working at all.

0928: Power test: (requires shutdown of DSM; restart with blue box; shutdown again)

13.6V @ 1.4A (varies a bit) -- note only 1 TRH

13.6V @ 1.36A (with only one TRH, add this back in for a total station consumption of 1.44A)

[I note that on my lab bench a fan took about 12V@0.03A.]

0950: lower mast

Had several TRH problems: 10m completely dead, 2m fan dirty.  At one point, swapped TRHs to find that both wouldn't work.  Ended up deciding to put "best" TRH (formerly at 2m) with "best" fan (the better of the 2 fans I brought out with me) at 10m.  Had to replace fuse on Diamond interface panel (tested that it was dead).  Used interface panel channel 11 (not being used) for "spare" fuse.

The old 10m had a destroyed fan (brass shavings everywhere; blade disconnected from shaft).  I'm bringing this back to Boulder, though probably should be thrown out.  The SHT module worked in the 2m housing, so left unchanged.  However, with "new" fan (stolen from old 2m TRH), it still would not work.  I opened up the Bulgin connector side but saw no obvious problems with the 232 converter board.  Reassembled and then this sensor worked -- very mysterious.  Decided it was good to leave this at 2m to make servicing easier in case it fails again.  Would be a good idea to have a spare TRH housing here.

1100: mast up (all that TRH stuff took a while to diagnose/fix)

Initially, Licor didn't work due to me removing its ribbon connector on the interface panel to access the port 7 fuse.  Reconnected about 1105.

Jul 24, 8 am MDT.

Using the documented Licor 7500 sensor lag of 0.186 seconds, the 5 minute statistics were recomputed last night for the entire project, and the webplots regenerated. Per Tom's suggestion, 1/2 hour smoothing is now being applied to the plots of turbulence variables.

Daily summary, July 23

July 23, 14:30 CDT

Dan Rajewski (in Ames)

Summary: Stations 1-4 operational, no ISFS staff on site 
partly to mostly cloudy skies with late evening showers and early afternoon showers; within storm track north of stationary front (very warm and humid air to south)

**2m Temp stn 2 remains warmer in daytime, stn 4 cooler at nighttime

Vdsm: 13.5-13.8 V during day, down to 12.5 at night
P: ok, stn 1 & 2 pressure slightly higher than at sites 3 & 4, rising from 970 to 973 mb

T.2m: stn 2 warmer than others during the day (fan??), about comparable to other sites during the night (0.5 degree warmer at stns 1 -3 vs. 4)

RH.2m: stn 4 high during day; stn 2 lowest during late morning and afternoon, stns 1-3 few%RH within each other
H2O.2m: stn 4 high during day and night (0.7-1.0 g/m^3 moister than other sites), stn 1 slightly lower than stns 2 & 3 both day and night

Wetness: slight wet from shower at 20:30, dry by 21:30, wet again with shower at 10:00 and again early afternoon

T.10m: stn1 slightly warmer than others during the late morning before rain showers; night all stns within 0.5 degree C of each other
RH.10m: ok, mostly in agreement , night; stns 1 & 3 close together, stns 2 & 4 about few%RH drier; daytime stn 1 5%RH lower than stn 2 & 3, few%RH lower than stn 4
H2O.10m: ok, night: stn 2 about 0.5 g/m^3 moister than stn 4, stn 1 & 3 close together, day: stns about 0.3 g/m^3 of each other

Spd.10m: ok, no long period of one site a few 0.5 m/s different than the other sites
Dir.10m: ok, Easterly wind before sunrise, SE to SSE by 13:00 before contamination from afternoon thunderstorms

T.10m - T.2m: stn 2 most negative during day; see T.2m, stn 3 & 4 less negative than stn 4, stn 1 least negative during day; close agreement at night
H2O.10m - H2O.2m: stn 4 most negative during night/day; see H20.2m, other stations in close agreement for night and day

spd.4.5m: ok, see comments for Spd.10m
dir.4.5m: ok, see comments for Dir.10m
w.4.5m: ok, all sites have larger w<0 as night and morning progresses, stns 1 & 2 least negative  in daytime, 3 & 4 more negative
tc.4.5m: ok, night: stn 2 is about 0.5 degrees C cooler than other sites; day: all sites agree within +/- 0.5 degrees C
ldiag: stn 4 has anomalous readings much of overnight 19:30-3:30

kh2oV: anomalous increase at stn 2 & 4 night, daytime about 60 mV
kh2o: stns 2 & 4 about 2-3 g/m^3 lower than stns 1 & 3 during night, poor readings during rain showers
h2o(licor): ok, stn 1 & 3 in very good agreement except during rainfall
lidiag (licor): overnight spike at stn 3 also during morning/ early afternoon showers

TKE.4.5m: ok, mostly in agreement (clouds and rain with some wind keep turbulence uniform night/day?)
w'w': ok, similar to TKE.4.5m and v'v'; slightly more u'u' at stn 1 & 3 from 3:00-5:00,
u*: ok, similar to TKE.4.5m, also in v'w'; u'w' similar to v'v'

w'tc': ok
tc'tc': ok

w'h2o': ok, stn 2 significantly low during day, stn 1-4 about the same night: all sites flux low and > 0
h2o'h2o' (licor): ok, spikes during rain fall events
kh2o'kh2o': stn 4 close to stns 1 & 3 daytime value, stn 2 a bit lower, spikes also during rainy periods
w'co2': ok, close day and night agreement, slightly more flux <0 at stn 3 during mid morning-early afternoon before rain
co2'co2': ok, expected spikes during periods of rainfall