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Instrumentation

Instrumentation

UBC Rooftop Station. Photo credit: R. Stull

Instrumentation

UBC Rooftop Station. Photo credit: R. Stull

by R. Howard, T. Chui, and R. Stull

Our team maintains a network of 13 automated Davis weather stations in the Vancouver Lower Mainland. One of the stations is on the rooftop of the Earth Sciences Building at UBC and the data is used to correct systematic forecast errors. Five of the stations help to provide information to the Coast Mountain Bus Company for predicting frost on bus trolley lines, and snow on steep bus routes that large articulated buses need to climb. Most of the remaining stations are on firehall rooftops. Fire departments use them for temperature and winds and in return we can install our instruments in secure rooftop locations.

The WFRT has a variety of field equipment and expertise that allows us to participate in a variety of field programs. Here is a partial list of equipment.

Abbreviations: CS = Campbell Scientific

Full weather stations

  • Davis Vantage Pro (quantity = 13) (temperature, humidity, wind, precipitation, sunlight, pressure)
  • Kestral (hand held) (quantity = 4) (temperature, humidity, pressure, wind speed)
  • NetAtmo (2-D sonic anemometer, temperature, humidity, pressure, rain)

Precipitation

  • OTT Parsivel disdrometer
  • CS - SR-50 acoustic snow-depth sensor
  • Rain gauge (traditional)

Temperature

  • CS44212 temperature probe
  • CS HC-S3-XT temperature & humidity probe (quantity = 2)
  • Thermocouple wire spools Type E (for cold weather) (to make many thermocouples)
  • Thermocouple wire spools Type T (to make many thermocouples)
  • MET One temperature probe

IR Thermometers

  • FLIR handheld infrared cameras (quantity = 2)
  • IRR-P thermometer (quantity = 3)

Humidity

  • MET One humidity probe
  • HOBO temperature & humidity sensor/data loggers with radiation shields (quantity = 20)

Radiation

  • Kipp & Zonen CNR1 Net radiometer

Pressure

  • RM Young barometer
  • Eco-celli barometer

Winds and turbulence

  • Gill Windmaster 3-D sonic anemometer

Air Quality

  • Real-time, Affordable, Multi-Pollutant (RAMP) air quality monitor, measuring PM2.5, CO, NO2, SO2, and O3
  • Plantower PMS5003 sensors to measure PM2.5, deployed via radio or dropsonde (quantity = 5)

Special sensors

  • Denoth snow moisture meter (quantity = 2)
  • Snow density gauge
  • Closed circuit cameras with heated enclosure (quantity = 2)
  • Weather webcams on ESB rooftop (quantity = 4)
  • Lightning detector (blitzortung.org)
  • Laser rangefinder / hypsometer

Upper Air

  • Windsond rawinsonde system (quantity = 2 base stations, & 24 sondes with balloons & helium)
  • Drones:
    • Phantom 4 (quantity = 1)
    • RYZE Tello (quantity = 3)

Data loggers and field computers

  • Durabook computers (quantity = 5)
  • CS data loggers
    • CS CR1000 (quantity = 4)
    • CS CR3000
    • CS AM25T Multiplexer
    • several datalogger batteries with power supplies

Plus many instrument shields, shelters, enclosures, masts, electric generator, tools, etc.

Controlled Burning

Controlled Burning

Testing the ignition torch for a controlled burn in the Northwest Territories. Photo credit: C. Rodell

Controlled Burning

Testing the ignition torch for a controlled burn in the Northwest Territories. Photo credit: C. Rodell

by C. Rodell, N. Moisseeva, R. McKinney, R. Howard, and R. Stull

Our group participates in controlled burns to collect data and deepen our understanding of the coupled atmosphere-wildfire dynamics. Our primary focus is on smoke plume dynamics, specifically the vertical distribution of smoke concentrations. To capture this, our group has developed an expendable sensor measuring particulate matter. Each sensor is treated as a radiosonde or dropsonde to make in-situ observations of PM [1, 2.5, 10] concentrations within controlled burn smoke plumes. The sensor will be attached to a Windsond radiosonde instrument providing concurrent measurements of temperature, dew point, and wind speed and direction. Along with the smoke concentration measurements, this combined instrumentation will provide a much-needed dataset to evaluate smoke plume rise modeling.

Rockesonde Buoy System

In-situ weather observations over oceans to fill the Pacific Data Void and improve forecasts over BC

Test launch from Harrison Lake

Test launch from Harrison Lake

Field Work for Boundary Layer Research

Field Work for Boundary Layer Research

Photo credit: G. West

Learn more!

by D. Siuta, G. West, R. Howard, and R. Stull

This field campaign evaluated physical modeling approaches known as flux-profile relationships, which describe vertical wind and temperature profile shapes in the lowest levels of the atmosphere. Such relations are used by all weather models to parameterize vertical transport of momentum, heat, and moisture, and play a key role in correctly predicting wind speeds at wind-turbine hub heights (approximately 80 meters above ground level). The campaign evidenced here sampled wind and temperature profiles directly at wind farms in British Columbia’s mountainous terrain and found that commonly-accepted profiles like the Businger-Dyer relations do not apply along ridge tops under statically-stable conditions at the locations tested. A new flux-profile relationship valid along mountain ridge tops under statically-stable atmospheric conditions was devised using one year of data sampled at approximately 10 minute intervals using Onset HOBO Temperature and RH loggers. Such instrumentation provided a unique solution that allowed UBC researchers the ability to sample data at a high frequency in areas void of cellular and internet services.

Field Work for Boundary Layer Research

Photo credit: G. West

Olympics Field Work

Olympics Field Work

Photo credit: R. Howard

Learn more!

by R. Howard and R. Stull

As part of our 2010 Olympics research and operations project, we built and installed a weather station on Whistler Mountain located on the “Dave Murray” men’s downhill ski run, using research-grade instrumentation. The research goals are described here. Data from these instruments were used as input to a numerical snowpack model that simulates snow temperature and liquid water content. Most instruments were suspended directly over the ski run to “experience” similar conditions as the snowpack beneath a ski racer, in terms of the weather and radiation effects (from surrounding trees and other objects) that influence the variables being modelled.

Olympics Field Work

Photo credit: R. Howard