General Information: Page 2 of 4
Instrumentation Strategy:
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The three platforms on which the instruments and support equipment are mounted are aligned north to south. Upward looking radiometers rest on a long rectangular platform (~0.3 m by 3 m) that is made of an off-white fiberglass grating. It is elevated about 1.5 to 2 m off of the ground by two steel posts that are set in concrete (below the frost line). The data logging, power distribution, and communication equipment are fastened to these posts. A smaller platform about 3-4 m south of the main platform supports an automatic sun tracker that holds the pyrheliometer, shaded pyrgeometer and shaded pyranometer. About 15 m north of the main platform is a 10-m tower with downward looking radiometers and meteorological instruments. A crossarm supporting the downward looking radiometers is also aligned north to south. This station layout ensures that the tower, and the instruments mounted on it, will never shade the upward looking radiometers on the main platform. Electrical power for the station is conditioned by a 1.15 KVA uninterruptable power supply that has the capability to supply power through battery backup for a short period (~2 hours) if the line power fails.