Weather & Stream Monitoring - Abernathy Field StationProject Overview
Located just five miles from Washington & Jefferson College near Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, the Abernathy Field Station (AFS) serves as a unique outdoor ecology classroom for students, faculty, and researchers.
The AFS encompasses many different ecosystems, including mixed deciduous forest, a stand of conifers, several spring seeps, two larger perennial streams, a wetland, and a mowed field. A diverse assemblage of birds, salamanders, fish, small mammals, and white-tailed deer find shelter throughout the 57 acre plot of land.
To help enhance the classroom learning experience and provide background data for environmental researchers, a NexSens real-time weather station and stream monitoring system was installed.
System Description
At a stream site along Jefferson Run, researchers installed a YSI 600LS Sonde to collect temperature, conductivity, and stream level data and send it to a Radio iSIC Data Logger.
Nearby, a Vaisala WXT510 weather transmitter collects weather data and sends it a Radio-Phone Data Logger. All environmental data is then transmitted via landline phone to a computer running iChart software at the college's Biology Department. Using the WQData web hosting service, all data is made available in real-time on the Biology Department website.
With this new system in place, the AFS allows both faculty and students to study the structure and function of the ecosystems through both coursework and independent research projects. | NexSens 1001 | iChart software | NexSens WQData-6 | Annual data hosting package for up to 6 field sites, additional site expansion available | NexSens 4100-BASE | Spread spectrum radio base station | NexSens A41 | Omni antenna, radio frequency, 890-970 MHz | NexSens A31 | RF cable, low-loss, 10' | NexSens 4100-iSIC | iSIC data logger with spread spectrum radio telemetry | NexSens A55 | Pole/wall mounting kit | NexSens A38 | Ground kit | NexSens A22 | Solar power kit, 20-watt | NexSens A44 | High gain antenna, radio frequency, 3 dB | NexSens A36 | RF cable, micro-loss, 6' | YSI 600-12 | YSI 600LS Sonde with temperature/conductivity & shallow vented level sensor | YSI 6191 | Vented field cable, 25 ft. | Vaisala WXT510AAA0AA00B0 | Multi-parameter weather sensor, SDI-12 |
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