Weather Data - Predictive E.coli ModelingProject Overview
The new Tom Ridge Environmental Center (TREC) is located at the entrance to Presque Isle State Park in Erie, Pennsylvania. TREC is open year-round, offering visitors an insight to what they can expect to experience at Presque Isle State Park and the surrounding Great Lakes Region.
TREC also serves as a center for research, contributing to conservation efforts and promoting environmental awareness, helping to preserve the unparalleled beauty of Presque Isle.
The Regional Science Consortium is one of the many educational and research organizations establishing residence in the Tom Ridge Environmental Center at Presque Isle. The Consortium is a collaborative, non-profit organization that focuses on and coordinates educational and research projects for Lake Erie and the upper Ohio River Basin.
The Consortium's objective is to have all branches of science working in collaboration to share expertise, equipment, and ideas while sharing researchers and students as well. One of the Consortium's most recent educational and research tools is a Vaisala WXT510 multi-parameter weather station network with NexSens Technology real-time radio telemetry. Systems are installed on the TREC Tower and near the Lake Erie shores at Presque Isle State Park.
System Description
Two site locations were selected within the Presque Isle State Park to monitor weather. The first weather station location was selected near Presque Isle's Lake Erie shoreline, while a second weather station location was selected on top of the TREC's 75 foot tall glass tower.
Researchers at the Consortium selected the Vaisala WXT510 multi-parameter weather transmitter to measure six important weather parameters at two locations in Presque Isle State Park. This unit simultaneously measures wind speed & direction, liquid precipitation, barometric pressure, temperature, and relative humidity. Complementing the Vaisala weather sensor is a global solar radiation sensor.
The weather data collected by the WXT510 is used to augment a Predictive Model for the determination of E. coli contamination on the beaches of Presque Isle. It is part of a complex system that provides information for making decisions regarding beach advisories and/or restrictions to swimming.
Both the Vaisala WXT510 weather transmitter and the pyranometer feature a plug-and-play interface to NexSens real-time data logging systems. Furthermore, the complete data logging and sensor system package is conveniently mounted to a 2" mast.
At user-specified intervals throughout the day, weather data is logged into the NexSens 4100-iSIC data loggers and sent via radio telemetry to a radio base station within the Center. There, iChart software collects the weather data and automatically posts it to NexSens' web datacenter, www.WQData.com. This allows virtually unlimited access to the weather data for Consortium members throughout the United States to use the data in their research or to remotely determine weather conditions for planning sampling trips at Presque Isle.
Looking ahead, the Regional Science Consortium is considering adding other real-time environmental monitoring venues that will complement the weather data logging system, including buoy-based water quality monitoring devices on Lake Erie. | 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 A44 | High gain antenna, radio frequency, 3 dB | NexSens A36 | RF cable, micro-loss, 6' | 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 A46 | Yagi antenna, radio frequency, 866-960 MHz | NexSens A36 | RF cable, micro-loss, 6' | NexSens A39 | Lightning protection, radio and cellular | NexSens A35 | RF cable, micro-loss, 2' | Vaisala WXT510AAA0AA00B0 | Multi-parameter weather sensor, SDI-12 | NexSens WXT510-M | Mounting kit for Vaisala WXT510 & WMT50 sensors, fits 2" male pipe thread | LI-COR LI-200SZ | Pyranometer for wideband energy & heat load, 10 ft. cable, cable ends in bare leads | LI-COR 2003S | Mounting & leveling fixture | NexSens M-ARM | LI-COR solar radiation sensor mounting arm, 3ft |
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