Development of a low-cost meteorological station to measure Essential Climate Variables
- Paper ID
20347
- author
- company
Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya (UPC BarcelonaTech)
- country
Spain
- year
2014
- abstract
This work presents the preliminary research on a low-cost, robust mini-meteorological station for measuring in situ some Essential Climate Variables (ECV). Important benefits can be obtained: 1) estimation of evotranspiration and dew temperature would be possible, enabling optimization of irrigation systems and water input into the crops, leading to a breakthrough in agricultural production in developing countries lacking proper meteorological infrastructure; 2) the proposed station could play an essential role in climate change monitoring. Availability of time series of satellite, airborne and in situ observation data, covering at least several decades, is necessary to validate climate models, which provide essential information for supporting decision-making processes relating to climate change. The proposed station would bridge some of the existing gaps in acquisition of ECV data, a problem that affects all countries (and particularly developing countries), and would allow for calibration and validation of satellite data and derived products. While in situ measurements are essential, Earth Observation satellites are the only realistic means to obtain the necessary global coverage. With well-calibrated space-based measurements thanks to data provided by the proposed station, space-based sensors would become a key tool for climate monitoring. 3) Availability of land surface wind speed/direction data measured during extended periods of time is essential for installation/optimization of wind turbines and for the construction of an aerodrome in a given location. The proposed station would facilitate extensive wind data acquisition, and thus the diffusion of wind energy. The users of the proposed station would be governments, public administrations and institutions, public and private companies, NGOs, farmers, and transnational or intergovernmental organizations. Summarizing, widespread implementation of the proposed station in areas of the Earth lacking proper meteorological infrastructures would bring more well-being to large groups of people, and foster a more sustainable development of society. The preliminary objective is to establish the best design for the station shelter using CFD and thermal analysis software. The criterion is the accuracy with which the outside ambient temperature is reproduced inside the shelter, in extreme temperature conditions in steady atmosphere and under moderately strong winds. We analysed a design based on recommendations by the WMO and another design identical in shape but smaller size. The performance of the smaller shelter was better. Thus, three more designs with similar small dimensions were analysed in three different materials (PVC, rubber and wood) with and without white paint coating.