Hot, clear with light variable winds, mostly from the west.
The main events today involved lidars, networking and Helium (and lots of forklift work). We unpacked and installed our own wind lidar (the Windcube 200S) on a small platform about 20 meters SSW of MISS (and west of the UVA Halo and CL61 ceilometer). This lidar will be mainly doing PPI scans for VAD wind profiles. We then installed the Metek Halo lidar on an elevated platform on top of the MISS container. It will be mainly staring along the ISFS array to the east. After some more network work, we started up the Windcube and CL61, both appeared to be working well and see up to about 2km altitude. We haven't started up the Metek Halo yet. Isabel also got the plotting working in the ISS1 data manager so we can view plots from the Modular Profiler, surface met, windcube and CL61.
We are currently using a cell modem to connect to the outside world. A technician from Tonopah worked on getting us a broadband connection via a wireless link to the airport, although there is still some configuration work to do so we are not connected yet. We shutdown the Modular Profiler for a few hours this afternoon while running network cables through the compound.
A pallet of 12 Helium cylinders were delivered along with two small cylinders of gases for the REAL system. The cylinders were shipped from Airgas in Chico, having been stored there since January (we had ordered them early through Chico State University because of the worldwide shortage of Helium) but with the move of the campaign to Nevada, had to get them shipped to our new site in Tonopah.
Will, Chris, and I met with Chenning and his students this morning, gave a safety briefing, and discussed their work setting up poles for a fiber optic line to measure temperature.
Installing NCAR's Vaisala/Leosphere Windcube scanning lidar (left) and the Halo-Photonics Streamline lidar (leased from Metek) on the right.
Josh unloading a pallet of Helium cylinders.