Specifications

TEAM Climate Monitoring Protocol 3.1
15
The climate equipment itself requires an area of 60-65 m
2
, where the tower and sensors will be
installed. However an area of this size is not enough to sit the station appropriately. As described in the
section above, different sensors need to comply with specific distance requirements to nearest
obstacles such as trees, houses and roads (WMO 2008, EPA 1995). Following the guidelines
described above, the first step consists of determining whether the clearing is large enough to house
the station. This will depend on the location of the clearing and what is around it. Refer to Figure 4 on
the following page for a complete workflow describing the process of choosing an appropriate location
for the climate station.
E
Ennssuurree tthhee cclleeaarriinngg hhaass tthhee rriigghhtt cchhaarraacctteerriissttiiccss.. Following the guidelines above, make sure
the clear
ing is on level ground (not on sloping ground), not located in a valley or hollow, and not
located in a swamp or in other low areas that hold water after rain. If the clearing is near a road, make
sure it is at least 30 m from it.
M
Meeaassuurree tthhee hheeiigghhtt ooff tthhee ttaalllleesstt oobbssttaaccllee nneexxtt ttoo tthhee cclleeaarriinngg.. Use a suitable rangefinder
(see list
of equipment in Appendix A.1) to estimate the height of the tallest object you can see next to
the clearing, for example the tallest tree (see http://www.edb.ups-tlse.fr/equipe1/chave/tree-height-
protocol.pdf for a suitable protocol). The height of the closest object can also be estimated by using a
cOLQRPHWHU and measuring tape if a rangefinder is unavailable (see
http://www.tiem.utk.edu/ÙJURVVbioed/bealsmodules/triangle.html for information on how to do this). If the
width of the clearing is not at least 4 times the height of this obstacle then the clearing is too small.
Unless this obstacle can be removed or the clearing expanded, a new clearing needs to be located. If
no other clearings are available then go to Section 4.4 (Level 3 siting).
T
Teennttaattiivveellyy llooccaattee tthhee bbaassee ttoowweerr.. Position yourself in the approximate center of the clearing,
locate th
e tallest object of height H (Figure 5 A) and:
a) Mark your location. This is the tentative location for the base tower.
b) Measure the distance from this location to the tallest obstacle using the recommended
rangefinder or a measuring tape.
c) If the distance is larger than or equal to 4 times the height of the obstacle (4H in Figure 5 A),
then proceed to step e), otherwise,
d) Go back to the tentative location and move away from the obstacle until you are at least 4H
meters away from the obstacle.
e) Mark this as your new tentative location for the climate station.
L
Looccaattee tthhee nneexxtt ttaalllleesstt oobbssttaaccllee.. From the tentative location where you are, l
ocate the next tallest
obstacle in the clearing with height T (Figure 5 B). Go through steps b) to e) as required until your
location is 4T meters away from the obstacle (Figure 5 B, C). Ensure that you are still at least 4H
meters away from the first obstacle.
R
Reeppeeaatt tthhiiss pprroocceessss uunnttiill yyoouu hhaavvee nnoo mmoorree oobbssttaacclleess.. (Figure 5 D, E) A
lways ensure that
you are keeping appropriate distances to all obstacles. Mark the final location; this will be the location
of the base tower (see Figure 5 D, E).