Ecology Stand-Alone Measurement Instruments

Our systems are used in a variety of ecology and natural resources applications including:

• Micro-, meso-scale climate monitoring
• Global warming/ecoindicators
• Reclamation/reforestation
• Soils research
• Animal behavior monitoring
• Carbon budget
• Pest and disease control
• Canopy research/sap flow
• Surface flux research
• Below ground/duff layer monitoring
• Habitat characterization
• Pollution monitoring

For example, our systems can help characterize and monitor aquatic systems by providing data on water level, flow, temperature, and a variety of water quality parameters. In animal behavior applications, our equipment has monitored the behavior and habitat of mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, amphibians, and even invertebrates such as insects and marine crustaceans. Parameters such as animal temperature, animal weight, movement patterns within confined spaces, food consumption, and gas exchange have been monitored. With large species, projects have included GPS and radiotelemetry devices to monitor animal movements.

Battery and solar power allow our systems to provide remote, unattended data collection over long periods of time. Our instrumentation has been proven in some of the harshest environments in the world.

Dataloggers

At the core of our systems is a programmable datalogger that measures the sensors, then processes, stores, and transmits the data. These dataloggers have programmable execution intervals, wide operating temperature ranges, and on-board instructions for commonly used sensors. If needed, channel capacity can be expanded using multiplexers.

Data are typically displayed and stored in the units of your choice (e.g., wind speed in kph, m/s, mph, knots). Measurement processing and data storage are programmable, but measurements are typically made every minute then processed and stored at hourly and daily intervals (e.g., maximum, minimum, average). Data can be measured and stored more or less frequently (depending on the application and conditional sampling) based on events such as increased wind speeds, torrential rainfall, or diurnal cycle.

Battery power and solar power allow our dataloggers to provide remote, unattended data collection over long periods of time. Our instrumentation has been proven in some of the harshest environments in the world.

PC-based software is customized to simplify datalogger programming, data retrieval, and report generation. The datalogger program can be modified at any time to accommodate different sensor configurations or data processing requirements.

Sensors

Almost any sensor can be measured by our dataloggers, allowing monitoring systems to be customized for each site. Typical sensors used on our stations include, but are not limited to: wind speed, wind direction, solar radiation of various types, air temperature, water temperature, soil temperature, relative humidity, precipitation, snow depth, barometric pressure, soil moisture, soil electrical conductivity, and soil heat flux. Our systems interface to a variety of sensors that measure water level and water flow, as well as water quality parameters such as pH, conductivity, and dissolved oxygen. Our dataloggers can interface directly to most air flow sensors, opacity meters, particle samplers, and gas analyzers.

Communications

We offer multiple communications options for data retrieval, allowing monitoring systems to meet specific application requirements. Our communications overview describes communications options in greater detail. On-site data retrieval options include storage module, laptop computer, PDA, and datalogger keyboard/display. Telecommunication options include short-haul, voice synthesized telephone, cellular telephone, radio frequency, multidrop, and satellite. Options can be mixed within the same network. Robust error-checking and low power-use ensure your data arrives uncorrupted and as scheduled. You can even automate the process of putting your data on the Internet.