Fisher Meteorological Station (since 2001)

• Investigators: Emery Boose
• Contact: Emery Boose
• Start date: 2001-02-11
• End date: ongoing
• Location: Propect Hill Tract (Harvard Forest)
• Latitude: +42.533
• Longitude: -72.190
• Elevation: 340 meters
• Taxa:
• Keywords: barometric pressure, climate, humidity, precipitation, radiation, soil temperature, temperature, wind
• Abstract:

  The Fisher Meteorological Station became operational on 11 Feb 2001. The new Station is located in an open field 200 m north of the Shaler Station, in a site chosen to minimize the angle of surrounding trees above the horizon (currently 15-25 degrees from the station at breast height). The Fisher Station records air temperature, relative humidity, dew point, precipitation (water equivalent of snow), global solar radiation, PAR radiation, net radiation, barometric pressure, scalar wind speed, vector wind speed, peak gust speed (1-second), vector wind direction, standard deviation of wind direction (wind measurements at 10 m height), and soil temperature (10 cm depth). Instruments are scanned once per second, and 15-minute (hourly before 2005) and daily values are calculated and stored by a datalogger. Current and recent data are available online, updated every 15 minutes, with out-of-range values replaced by -99 but values not otherwise checked. Earlier data are checked and posted with missing, questionable, or estimated values flagged (following methods of the LTER ClimbDB project). A log of events affecting station measurements (e.g., instrument repair and recalibration, ice storms, lightning) and selected monthly and annual values are also posted.

• Methods:

  Observation periods

  15-minute: 15 minutes, ending with given time. Hourly: 1 hour, ending with given time. Daily: 1 day, midnight to midnight. All times are Eastern Standard Time.

  Instruments

  Air temperature and relative humidity: Vaisala HMP45C (2.2m above ground). Precipitation: Met One 385 heated rain gage (top of gage 1.6m above ground). Global solar radiation: Licor LI200X pyranometer (2.7m above ground). PAR radiation: Licor LI190SB quantum sensor (2.7m above ground). Net radiation: Kipp and Zonen NR-LITE net radiometer (5.0m above ground). Barometric pressure: Vaisala CS105 barometer. Wind speed and direction: R.M. Young 05103 wind monitor (10m above ground). Soil temperature: Campbell 107 temperature probe (10cm below ground). Data logger: Campbell Scientific CR10X.

  Instrument and flag notes

  Air temperature. Daily air temperature is estimated from other stations as needed to complete record.

  Precipitation. Whenever possible, total amounts after precipitation events are checked against a manual rain gage. Daily precipitation is estimated from other stations as needed to complete record. Delayed melting of snow and ice (caused by problems with rain gage heater or heavy precipitation) is noted in log - daily values are corrected if necessary but hourly values are not. Measured precipitation is often less than manual rain gage under cold conditions, presumably because of evaporation from heated gage.

  Radiation. Whenever possible, snow and ice are removed from radiation instruments after precipitation events. Depth of snow or ice on instruments and time of removal are noted in log, but values are not corrected or flagged.

  Wind speed and direction. During ice storms, values are flagged as questionable when there is evidence (from direct observation or the hourly record) that ice accumulation may have affected the instrument's operation.

• Related datasets: Current data HF000