1.  Research Objective:

The CENS Terrestrial Ecology Observing Systems (TEOS) field laboratory has substantially increased the usage of the James Reserve's local and wide-area network system, increased our data processing and storage requirements, and created increased demands on our locally generated electrical power.  Much of the CENS Terrestrial Sensing equipment is fabricated, assembled, and/or maintained at the Reserve and has increased the demands on our electronics lab. Our objective is to make sure that these critical infrastructure elements are in place to support the requirements of the Terrestrial field laboratory

2.  Approaches, Experiments and Systems:

• Infrastructure Maintenance and Expansion: Maintained the James Reserve's local and wide-area network system (wired and wireless), data storage and processing systems, and our locally generated electrical power distribution systems. Excluding regularly scheduled maintenance, several weeks of our time was spent making systems more resistant to damage from lightning strikes.  We were able to extended power, video and Ethernet connectivity to 12 sites around the Reserve. This work required direct burial and overhead placement of cable with minimal disturbance to both areas under study and sensitive habitat locations.

Figure 29 - Combinations of hand and power tools were used for trenching to various locations throughout the Reserve.   Because almost all of the sites were located in remote and shaded areas, solar power and wireless video were not a cost effective option.)

• New Construction: Erected three new 10 meter fiberglass towers at key observation points around the Reserve and installed the suspension cable and related systems to the NIMS2 transect.  Foundations for each of the towers required a hole with a depth of two meters, a diameter of 500mm and approximately 900kg of concrete.  Transportation of the tower to each site required multiple people.  A device was engineered and built which allows the tower to be lowered and raised for maintenance. The 200-meter NIMS2 suspension cable and corresponding power, Ethernet and video were installed over a several month period.  Potential areas had to be surveyed from both an engineering and scientific interest perspective.  The eventual transect location was able to meet several research objectives including soil, plant phenology, wildlife observation and microclimate studies.  While some tree trimming was necessary to compensate for cable sag when the NIMS robot is deployed, the majority of the deployment was done with minimal environmental impact.

Figure 30 - Foundation forms being removed and wires being run between the tower and power/Ethernet source.  Each tower weighs approximately 70kg and is difficult to transport to its site without several helpers.

Figure 31 - Here, one of the towers is shown in its maintenance position.  This allows us to add or service equipment at the top of the tower to meet changing experimental objectives.  The round object is the camera housing and the box next to it is the wireless Ethernet link back to the lab.  To allow the tower to be easily raised and lowered by two people, we engineered a portable winching device that can be moved between towers as needed.

Figure 32 -The Northwest tower and solar powered equipment shed from two perspectives.  The tower is in the highlighted area to the upper left of the photo on the right -- that's Lolomi Lodge in the bottom left corner.

Figure 33 - A bird's-eye-view of the NIMS2 suspension cable. The 200M long cable averages about 20M in height above ground and is back-guyed with 1,000Kg of concrete.  Prior to deploying the NIMS2 robot, trees near the center of the cable path had to be trimmed from above by one of us (Wimbrow) to allow it to pass.

• Geographical Information Systems Support: Completed hi-resolution (10cm per pixel) aerial photography of the James Reserve to support multi-scale mapping projects, geospatial analysis, and research into tree mortality caused by bark beetles and drought.

Figure 34 - The photovoltaic panels on the roof of Lolomi Lodge are quite visible in this image.  The diagonal red line at the bottom of the picture was added to show the North anchor of the NIMS2 transect.

• Experimental System Support: Supported three deployments of experimental wireless sensor systems to evaluate RF communication hardware, communication protocols, sensor interface hardware, and user interfaces (including ESS2).  A significant amount of work has also gone into the maintenance of the CMS system.  Extending deployment well beyond the original design specifications has allowed us to gather significant, additional habitat data and to better study the technical challenges associated with long-term field operation.

Figure 35 - ESS2 deployment near Trailfinder Lodge is a good example of how the James Reserve provides a unique combination of infrastructure and a wilderness setting.  Ethernet, power, lab space and overnight accommodations are just a few steps away.  When one of the CMS motes (Weather4) stopped working due to a transmission power issue with its radio, an external antenna was fabricated on site that allowed it to once again connect to the network.

3.  Problems Encountered:

A severe electrical storm disrupted power, network and video distribution systems and rodent issues affected our reference weather station.  While nearly impossible to prevent, these types problems are anticipated at all remote, field stations.  All systems were repaired or replaced resulting in minimal loss to productivity and data.  No other unanticipated significant problems have been encountered. Experimental equipment failures and protracted software development are normally expected for these types of engineering applications. This information helps to improve design and ultimately expand functionality of our various systems.

Figure 36 - Three of these pictures are indicative of typical lightning damage.  The picture on the top left is one of 10 next box cameras destroyed.  Some components in the camera were completely destroyed while others were untouched, making repair uneconomical.  On the top right is one of the RF modulators used to carry video signals over longer distances.  In this example, some of the circuit traces were completely vaporized. On the lower left is a DSL modem (used to carry data from CMS) with all of its protective circuitry burned out.  Despite the cable to our reference weather station anemometer being placed in conduit in all but the junction box, this gopher found and chewed through it multiple times before being caught.)

4.  Major Accomplishments:

Recovered from a severe electrical storm with minimal loss of data and productivity.  CMS has continued to operate well beyond its initial life expectancy providing us with additional system and environmental data.  Added 13 new environmental observation systems and extended power, Ethernet and video to 12 new locations.  Installed the NIMS2 infrastructure: suspension cable, power, Ethernet and video. 

5.  Future Goals and Directions:

Along with regular maintenance and repair of existing systems, additional infrastructure will be required as research continues to expand.  With fuel prices rising and energy consumption increasing at the Reserve, our 25 year-old photovoltaic panels need to be replaced and augmented to increase our solar energy harvesting capacity instead of relying on propane to run the generator for electricity.  Laboratory space is also at capacity due to staffing increases.  Additional facilities will be required to accommodate researchers utilizing the data gathering made possible through the use of CENS based programs like CMS, ESS, the automated mini-rhizotron, carbon flux towers and other, planned and unplanned experiments

PEOPLE

Faculty:

Michael Hamilton
John Rotenberry
Mike Allen
Bill Kaiser

Staff:

Kevin Browne
Jodi Ross
Mike Taggart
Mike Wimbrow