Specifications

TEAM Climate Monitoring Protocol 3.1
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The goal of the TEAM Climate Monitoring Protocol is to provide a standardized methodology to
generate high-quality reliable measurements of climatic variables in tropical forests. This document
describes a g
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protocol where all the instrumentation is installed in a 3 m tower located
in an adequate-size clearing. Although the basic methods can be applied to a climate station located
on the top of a canopy tower, the protocol assumes this infrastructure will not be available at most
sites. This ground-based version of the TEAM Climate Monitoring Protocol implements measurements
for four climatic variables: air temperature, relative humidity, precipitation and global solar radiation.
The sensors used, are mid-price ranged, but sensitive and reliable enough to handle the rough
conditions encountered in tropical environments. The climate station operates automatically; the sensor
data feeds into a data logger, powered by a solar panel and a rechargeable battery (for night
operation). The data- logger collects information from the sensors every 5 seconds and produces
summaries every 5 minutes (see Box 1 for a quick description of the protocol).
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In order to be an adequate tool for monitoring climate, the sensors and equipment used in the Climate
Protocol must comply with minimum standards of quality and accuracy required by other standard
climate monitoring efforts (e.g. United States Climate Reference Network at the National Oceanic
Atmospheric Administration). The following section describes briefly each of the components required
to implement the TEAM Climate Protocol. A list of the equipment with providers and model numbers
can be found in Appendix A.1. The range, resolution, required uncertainty, and other technical
specifications for the variables measured in the TEAM Climate Protocol are summarized in Section 3.3
on page 8.
BOX 1. TEAM Climate protocol in a nutshell
 Climate station is ground-based (most equipment mounted on a 3 m tower)
 Climate station is autonomous and self powered (solar panel, battery)
 Four variables measured: Air Temperature, Relative Humidity, Global Solar Radiation,
and Precipitation
 Sensors for temperature/relative humidity and solar radiation are run in duplicate
 Temperature/RH sensors housed inside an aspirated radiation shield
 Measurements are logged every 5 seconds and reported every 5 minutes in a data
logger
 Automated standardized computer program for data collection
 Detailed maintenance and sensor calibration schedules that are incorporated into the
metadata