AMS Short Course on Setting up a modern day mesonet – A TexMesonet example
Texas statewide mesonet (TexMesonet) is a state financed program administered by the Texas Water Development Board. There exists widespread knowledge gap in how new innovations in technology and design can be applied to real-world observational platforms cheaply without compromising structural integrity and data quality, while improving ease-of-use and maintenance. Observational platforms include an enclosure, usually of NEMA4 standard that houses the electronics. They can be small to large depending on the observational needs. The standard requirements are ease of use, accessibility, and maintenance. Given the size and scope of the program, TexMesonet instituted innovative approaches to installation, wiring, and setup to reduce field installation to 2-days, improve maintenance, and ease-of-use. This course will provide participants with the ability to replicate TexMesonet procedures with measurable results.
The primary goal of this course is to expose participants through hands-on exercises to modern approaches in mesonets, related to installation, ease-of-use, and maintenance. The course will provide an overview of TexMesonet and its challenges. Illustrate TexMesonet improvements to standard observational equipment; a modern enclosure with new wiring schema; and installation designs and procedures to improve installation times, ease-of-use and maintenance. The afternoon session will provide hands-on exercises on TexMesonet sensor wiring, and coding with CR1000 and Sutron dataloggers. Practices exercises illustrating example issues associated with wiring, installation, and maintenance. The overarching goal is to introduce users to techniques and applications to implement or improve their mesonet given the often-financial constraints associated with observational networks.
Instructors include subject matter experts from the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), Campbell Scientific, and OTT Hydromet. Participants are expected to bring their own laptops to be able to participate in the hands-on exercises.
For more information please contact Dr. Leyon Greene ([email protected]).
All short course/workshop attendees must register and wear a badge/ribbon. Short course/workshop registration is not included in the 99th Annual Meeting registration, and short course/workshop registration does not include registration for the 99th AMS Annual Meeting.