Blog from December, 2010

East slope Dec 31

Cleared off solar panels. Brushed off lightly pyranometer- pyrgeomter clear. 6 inches of snow on ground. Access to site now a long carry unless someone brings a shovel and clears snow berm far back in cemetery.

W Valley back on line

12/30/10 17:00:  John Horel found the West Valley station running.  He recycled power and I (TWH) was able to ping the station successfully.

John also cleaned snow off the solar panels.  The radiometers were still snow-free.

17:40: Vdsm = 11.8 V

          Vmote.rad = 12.5 V

          Vmote.soil = 12.8 V

Status Dec 29, 2010

Status evaluated from 36 hour plots on Dec 29 11:00-13:00
On site: no ISFS staff

Weather: no personal observations

Summary: no Tsoil at W Slope main
         anomolous P excursion at Playa
         * Playa TRH down since 14:00 Dec 28
         Riverton sonic spiking heavily (wet?)
         radiation mote not reporting at Riverton, but recording
         kh2o at Riverton wet(?);
         * Playa kh2o has low V since 12/19 06:20
         ABC Qsoil went walkabout 08:00 12/28 to 08:00 12/29

Vdsm: ok, 12-14.5 V, batteries appear to be fully charged yesterday
Vmote.rad: 12.5-18 V, Riverton not reporting
Vmote.soil(aux): ok, 12.3-14.5 V, Playa and W Valley spiking to 18.5 V

Current Conditions:

P: 820 to 850 mb, falling; anomolous 2 mb, 4 hour excursion at
                                                 Playa this morning
Tbaro: ok, 2 to 7 degC
T: 0 to 2 degC; Playa down since 14:00 Dec 28
RH: 60 to 100%; Playa down
Q: 4 to 5 gm/kg; Playa down
Rainr (3,4,6): ok,  3 to 15 mm/hr showers past 36 hours
Spd (1,6): ok, 12 m/s
Dir (1,6): ok, SSE

csat diag: large spiking at Riverton since 06:00 this morning
samples.sonic: losing samples at some sites since 17:00 Dec 28
spd: ok, 5 to 10 m/s
dir: ok, SSE to SSW
u'u': ok, 2 to 4 m^2/s^2
v'v': ok, 2 to 5 m^2/s^2
w'w': ok, 0.5 to 2 m^2/s^2
u*: ok, 0.4 to 1 m/s
sigma_w/u*: ok, ~1.3 at 1,2,5; 1.5 at 3,4; > 2 at 5

tc: ok, 0 to 5 degC
tc'tc': generally < 0.03 degC^2; E Slope high and variable
w'tc': ok, -0.03 to 0.01 m/s degC

kh2oV: 0.6 to 0.9 V at 2-6; 1 and 7 at a few mV
kh2o'kh2o': ok at 2-6; E Slope high and variable
w'kh2o': 0 to 0.03 m/s gm/m^3 at 2-6; 7 questionable

No radiation data transmission at Riverton

Rsw.in: ok, ~50 W/m^2 at 1-5; 100 W/m^2 at 6
Rsw.out: ok, < 10 W/m^2 at 1-4; 27 at 5; 72 at 6
albedo: ok, ~0.1 at 1-4; 0.5-0.7 at 5&6
Rsw.dfs (1,7): 40 W/m^2 at Playa
Rsw.global (1,7): 50 W/m^2 at Playa

Rlw.in: ok, ~320 W/m^2
Rpile.in: ok, -10 W/m2^
Tcase.in: ok, 0-3 degC
Tdome.in (1,2,5): ok, 2-3 degC

Rlw.out: ok, 315-330 W/m^2
Rpile.out: ok, -10 to 0 W/m^2
Tcase.out: ok, 0-3 degC
Tdome.out (1,2,5): ok, 2-3 degC

soil.aux at E & W Slope (5,6)
Tsoil: ok, -1 to 2 degC, coldest at surface, except ABC today
Gsoil: ok, -10 (abc) to 15 W/m^2 (playa)
Qsoil: 16 (Eslope) to 35 (Hiland) %vol,
       ABC went walkabout 08:00 12/28 to 08:00 12/29
Cvsoil: ok, 7e5 (Wvalley, Eslope) to 3e6 (abc) J/(m^3 degK)

Upon arrival at trailer this morning, pam and flux computers in the trailer were in the state that they were put into on 23 December when an error appears to have caused a failure in numerous parts of the data system.

pam, which is used for s-plus realtime analysis was operating, but flux had become unresponsive. The /usr/local mount on pam did not contain any updated netcdf files from the isfs sites, so realtime analysis was not working. It was advised to restart both pam and flux, starting with pam, and then flux.

This was done, and pam restarted fine, but when remounting, the files did not appear. Then flux was restarted (using the power button due to unresponsiveness) which came back and I was able to start up cockpit and observe that data was flowing properly.

However, when flux was restarted, pam crashed, and became unresponsive. It is apparent that pam mounts flux, and when flux dissapears, pam does not work. The result was a need to restart using the power button. This operation resulted in pam not remounting flux on startup, and therefore does not have access to netcdf data or s-plus. 

For future situations where flux is down, it is advised to shut down pam using the computer controls, then reboot flux, and then restart pam, so that it proceeds in mounting, as well as allows flux to reboot.

pam will need to be addressed in the near future, as it is not particularly useful at this time. 

Restarting flux has allowed Tom Horst to have access to base computers again, and netcdfs have resumed coming into the computer. Realtime analysis can be done on flux for now, and cockpit is working just fine. It is reported that Tom can no longer access flux. This will be addressed in the morning of the 28th.

Spare Battery Status

An update to the status of spare batteries:

There are 6 batteries in the mountain met building. as of 27/12/2010 5:30pm

1 is charged to 12.77 volts, another is charging overnight. The others will be charged tomorrow and wednesday. 

Impending precipitation events and cloudiness mean the ISFS stations will be likely under cloudy conditions from midday tomorrow for up to 84 hours, or more. Spare batteries are being charged to be available for replacement.

The charger that was bought by the Semmer/Stumpy crew indicated that the first battery charged was 'bad' and it is holding a charge of 12.77 volts, so hopefully the charger is incorrect.

12/27/2010 4:10pm MST

Mote power cycling from yesterday did not result in rad mote at river7 functioning.

river7 site was visited to test the sensors/mote and replace the mote if necessary.

Sensors were tested and the mote was found to not be operating. The problem was tentatively identified as a cracked solder on the oscillator for the real-time clock/calendar chip. This results in the 1 second green 'heartbeat' led not lighting. The mote in question is mote 17.

Thus the spare mote: 08 (Channel: B) was connected to the battery/sensors, and turned on, and its LEDs indicated that it was working normally. Mote 8 has been installed, and is locally collecting the data on it's microSD card. It is possible that we can transfer the xbee radio from mote 17 to mote 8, allowing it to communicate with the tower and transmit it's data. But for now, the station radio would have to be reprogramed to receive data from mote 8. Thus it is working in local storage mode only. The transfer of radios may take place tomorrow, and requires disassembly of both motes 17 and 8. 

John Militzer has also indicated that he can send a new mote and pre-programed radio from Boulder so that the radiation stand can be communicated with. This is another option.

It has been discussed that the priority is collecting the rad data, and it is not vital that this data be immediately available to project scientists. Though in the interest of ensuring data quality, it makes sense to have the data accessible.

Status, Dec 27, 2010

Status evaluated from 36 hour plots on Dec 27 15:30 - 17:00 MST
On site: no ISFS staff

Weather: precip, likely snow (T < 0 degC), yesterday afternoon and last night
         partly cloudy today (Rsw.global > Rsw.dfs)

Summary: no Tsoil at W Slope main
         radiation mote down at Riverton
         kh2o at Playa, Highland still wet

Vdsm: ok, 13.5-14.5 V
Vmote.rad: 13-13.5 V, Riverton down
Vmote.soil: ok, 12.7-13.7 V

Current Conditions:

P: ok, 848 to 877 mb, rising
Tbaro: ok, 5 to 7 degC
T: ok, 1 to 3 degC; below freezing last night; playa spiking
RH: ok, 73 to 90%; playa spiking last night and this morning
Q: ok, 3.5 to 4.5 gm/kg; playa spiking
Rainr (3,4,6): ok,  3 to 12 mm/hr; 13:30 MST 12/26 to 04:30 12/27
Spd (1,6): ok, W Slope calm, Playa 2 m/s
Dir (1,6): ok,

csat diag: ok, high spiking at Playa until 10 am today
spd: ok, up to 3 m/s, Riverton high
dir: ok, W-NW at most sites, S at Riverton, ABC, E at W Slope
u'u': ok, up to 1.5 m^2/s^2
v'v': ok, up to 1.5 m^2/s^2
w'w': ok, up to 0.6 m^2/s^2
u*: ok, up to 0.5 m/s
sigma_w/u*: ok, ~1.5

tc: ok, -5 to 5 degC
tc'tc': generally < 0.5 degC^2
w'tc': ok, up to +/- 0.05 m/s degC

kh2oV: 2,4,5,6,7 > 0.5V; 1,3 ~ 0.5 mV
kh2o'kh2o': questionable
w'kh2o': less than 0.01 m/s g/m^3, some questionable

Rsw.in: ok, up to 650 W/m^2 on 12/27, no radiation data at Riverton
Rsw.out: ok, up to 300 W/m^2 on 12/27
albedo: ok, 0.1 to 0.8; E Slope & Highland highest
Rsw.dfs (1,7): ok, up to 300 W/m^2 at Playa
Rsw.global (1,7): ok, up to 600 W/m^2 at Playa

Rlw.in: ok, ~290 W/m^2
Rpile.in: ok, -45 W/m2^
Tcase.in: ok, -8 to 9 deg C
Tdome.in (1,2,5): ok, appears to be some gradients at Playa

Rlw.out: ok, ~320 W/m^2
Rpile.out: ok, -10 W/m^2
Tcase.out: ok, -8  to 10 deg C
Tdome.out (1,2,5): ok, appears to be some gradients at Playa

soil.aux at E & W Slope (5,6)
Tsoil: ok, 0 to 8 C, coldest at surface, mostly above 0 deg C
Qsoil: 14 to 35 %vol, E Slope driest
Gsoil: -20 to 30 W/m^2, mostly > 0
Cvsoil: 6e5 to 2e6 J/(m^3 degK); Playa, ABC, W Slope high, W Valley low

RIVER 7 Rad Mote

26 Dec 2010 6:36-6:45pm MST

Visited Riverton 7 radiation mote after it failed to return values several days ago. Data resumed flowing on 26 Dec between 9Z and 20Z, without any manual input. 

Upon opening the mote, there were no status lights blinking. I power cycled the mote with the on/off switch, and the status lights indicated that it was restarting itself:
all 3 lights flashing rapidly, then off. 

Following restarting the yellow GPS light remained on constantly. I tried recycling again, and clearing off all snow and ice from the GPS antenna, but the result was the same.

The reset button was pressed, and the same outcome. 

Rad battery level was measured at 12.84V, so this does not appear to be a low battery issue. 

The station has been left in this status, with radiation data not reporting. This will be addressed in greater detail during daylight on Monday the 27th.

WSLOPE 6 Rad Mote

6:00 - 6:18pm MST 

Visited WSLOPE 6 to reset radiation stand mote, after data dropped out several days ago.

Upon arrival the mote was opened, and status lights appeared normal (green/red flashing indicating data collection and flow). Rad mote power cycled via on/off switch, lights returned to normal status pattern. Rad data flow appears to have resumed as of power cycle of rad mote. Station radio was not restarted, internally or manually. Mote battery measured at 12.58 volts upon visit. 

Station solar panels were covered with snow and ice, and were cleared. As well, upward facing rads had 1/3 inch of snow and ice built up on the domes. Loose snow removed, ice was not removed due to delicacy of instrument domes, and in order to avoid scratching.

Station reporting normally in online plots.

Highland at around 7:30 AM, East Slope a little after 8 AM.

Highland bare ground; East Slope 2 inches of crusty snow left.

Highland power cycle

Went out at 2 PM and cycled power at Highland site. While that solved the immediate comms problem, it is apparent that the battery voltage is dropping and likely not going to make it through the night. Will check in the morning and swap batteries if necessary. East Slope battery also dropping at a high rate tonight.

John Horel

Status Dec 23, 2010

Status evaluated from 36 hour plots on Dec 23 12:30-15:15
On site: no ISFS staff

Weather: precip last night, Rsw.in = 500 W/m^2 at W Slope

Summary: no Tsoil at W Slope main
         data gap last night from Playa, Highland, W Valley, E & W Slope
         no data from Highland; has not recovered from low power last night
         14:20 MST: John Horel resurrected Highland

Vdsm: ok, 12.9-13.8 V
Vmote.rad: 12.4-13.3V, E Slope lowest
Vmote.soil: 12.1-13.7V, Eslope struggling

Current Conditions:

P: ok, 845 to 875 mb
Tbaro: ok, 5 to 10 degC
T: ok, 1 to 4 degC; above freezing last night
RH: ok, 95 to 100%, E Slope > 100%
Q: ok, 5 to 5.4 gm/kg
Rainr (3,4,6): ok,  3 to 10 mm/hr yesterday evening
Spd (1,6): ok, W Slope calm, Playa 4 m/s
Dir (1,6): ok,

csat diag: ok, some spiking yesterday afternoon and evening
spd: ok, up to 4 m/s
dir: ok, NW at most sites, NE at Riverton
u'u': ok, generally < 0.5 (m/s)2
v'v': ok, generally < 0.7 (m/s)2
w'w': ok, generally < 0.2 (m/s)2
u*: ok, up to 0.4 m/s
sigma_w/u*: ok, ~1.3

tc: ok, 2-5 degC
tc'tc': generally < .2 degC2
w'tc': ok, up to 0.07 m/s degC, E Slope very small

kh2oV: down to a few mV's
kh2o'kh2o': unrealistic
w'kh2o': less than 0.03 m/s g/m^3, but mostly positive

Rsw.in: ok, up to 500 W/m2 on 12/23
Rsw.out: ok, up to 270 W/m2 on 12/22
albedo: ok, 0.1 to 0.4; E & W Slope highest
Rsw.dfs (1,7): ok, up to 270 W/m2 at Playa; 170 W/m^2 at Riverton
Rsw.global (1,7): ok, up to 300 W/m^2 at Playa, 100 W/m^2 at Riverton

Rlw.in: ok, 270 to 330 W/m^2
Rpile.in: ok, -50 to 0 W/m2
Tcase.in: ok, 2 to 7 deg C
Tdome.in (1,2,5): ok, appears to be some gradients at Playa

Rlw.out: ok, 320 to 360 W/m2
Rpile.out: ok, -20 to 20 W/m2
Tcase.out: ok, 2 to 6 deg C
Tdome.out (1,2,5): ok, appears to be some gradients at Playa

soil.aux at E & W Slope (5,6)
Tsoil: ok, 0 to 8 C,
Qsoil: 15 to 36 %vol
Gsoil: -60 to 8 W/m^2, Eslope > 0, others < 0 today
Cvsoil: 8e5 to 3e6 J/(m^3 degK)

STATUS Dec 22, 2010

Status evaluated from 36 hour plots on Dec 22 15:00-16:00 MST
On site: Steve S and Chris

Weather: wet snow/rain this morning

Summary: no Tsoil at W Slope main
station 3 & 5 down this morning, repaired
sonic heights completed today

Vdsm: ok, 11 - 13.7v battery problem at 2 resolved yesterday
Vmote.rad: ok, 12.3-13.4v
Vmote.soil: 12.0-13.4V

P: ok, 836 to 870 mb
Tbaro: ok, 0 to 11 degC
T: ok, -2 to 4 degC
RH: ok, 88 to 100%
Q: ok, 3.6 to 5.8 gm/kg
Rainr (3,4,6): ok,  snow/rain this morning
Spd (1,6): ok, up to 7 m/s
Dir (1,6): ok, currently N(site 1) and S (site 6)

csat diag: ok, some spiking
spd: ok, up to 5 m/s
dir: ok
u'u': ok, generally < 1 (m/s)^2
v'v': ok, generally < 1 (m/s)^2
w'w': ok, generally < 1 (m/s)^2
u*: ok, up to 0.5 m/s
sigma_w/u*: ok, ~1.3

tc: ok, -8 to 10 deg C, spiking today
tc'tc': generally < .5 degC^2, ditto on spikes
w'tc': ok, -0.1 to 0.05 m/s degC

kh2oV: ok, 0 to 1.5, all at zero thsi morning, cleaned 2 this afternoon
kh2o'kh2o': ok, generally < .01, spikes throughout the period
w'kh2o': ok, -.02 to .02, jumps >-.2 to >.2 (m/s g/m^3)

Rsw.in: ok, up to 230 W/m^2 on 12/22
Rsw.out: ok, up to 170 W/m^2 on 12/22, site 2 reading lower than others, this is a water site!
albedo: ok, .1 to 1, snow cover on sensors
Rsw.dfs (1,7): ok, up to 200 W/m^2 on 12/22
Rsw.global (1,7): ok, up to 210 W/m^2 on 12/22

Rlw.in: ok, 270 to 330 W/m^2
Rpile.in: ok, -50 to 0 W/m^2
Tcase.in: ok, -2 to 5 deg C
Tdome.in (1,2,5): ok, -1.5 to 4.8 deg C

Rlw.out: ok, 290 to 340 W/m^2
Rpile.out: ok, -25 to 5 W/m^2
Tcase.out: ok, -2 to 5 deg C
Tdome.out (1,2,5): ok, -1.5 to 4.5 deg C

soil.aux at E & W Slope (5,6)
Tsoil: ok, 0 to 5 C,
Qsoil: 15 to 36 %vol
Gsoil: -35 to 18 W/m^2, low value from site 2 which is turing into a lake!
Cvsoil: 8e5 to 3.4e6

ABC2 Sonic height

14:00 - 14:15 Dec 22

sonic height measurement from pivot point to top of boom - 8.79m

Cleaned krypton

   twh (3/2/11): high-rate data indicate kh2o cleaned at 14:17(!)

                           high-rate T-tc suggest mast down 14:07 - 14:19

                           high-rate u,w do not clearly show mast down, but u close to zero 14:09 - 14:19

13:38 - 13:50

sonic height - 3.26m

sonic boom 79.9 magnetic (boom pointing west)