Article
 

Instrumenting Wildlife Water Developments to Collect Hydrometeorological Data in Remote Western U.S. Catchments

Public Deposited

Downloadable Content

Download PDF
https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/articles/gf06g4640

Descriptions

Attribute NameValues
Creator
Abstract
  • In the arid western United States, wildlife water developments, or ‘‘guzzlers,’’ are important water sources for wildlife, and consist of impermeable roof structures designed to intercept precipitation and small tanks for storing water. Guzzlers are typically installed in remote mid- to high-elevation basins, where precipitation data are often scarce. In this study, small-game guzzlers were examined for feasibility as potential sites for improving estimates of climatic parameters in remote Nevada catchments. Instruments measuring liquid precipitation and water level were installed at two guzzler field sites. Although one field site was vandalized during the study, field results indicated that water levels in the tank measured by Hobo pressure transducers corresponded well with precipitation events measured by the Texas Electronics tipping-bucket rain gauge, and that measured data were similar to Parameter–Elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM) estimates. Minimum temperatures from the guzzler sites were similar to PRISM; however, maximum temperatures were a few degrees higher, possibly because temperature sensors were unshielded. With over 1600 guzzlers in Nevada and thousands more throughout the western United States, this study initiates exploration of the feasibility of augmenting individual guzzler sites to enhance climatic monitoring at a relatively low cost to improve the quality and density of climate observations, benefiting hydrologists, climatologists, and wildlife managers.
Resource Type
DOI
Date Available
Date Issued
Citation
  • Grant, Nicholas, Laurel Saito, Mark Weltz, Mark Walker, Christopher Daly, Kelley Stewart, Christo Morris, 2013: Instrumenting Wildlife Water Developments to Collect Hydrometeorological Data in Remote Western U.S. Catchments. Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, 30, 1161–1170. doi:10.1175/JTECH-D-12-00065.1
Journal Title
Journal Volume
  • 30
Journal Issue/Number
  • 6
Rights Statement
Funding Statement (additional comments about funding)
  • Research was funded in part bythe Nevada Agricultural Experiment Station, the Bureauof Land Management, the United States Department ofAgriculture/Agriculture Research Service, the NevadaWater Resources Association, and the University ofNevada/ Reno Academy for the Environment.
Publisher
Peer Reviewed
Language
Replaces

Relationships

Parents:

This work has no parents.

Items

Thumbnail Title Date Uploaded Visibility Actions
file details DalyChristopherChemicalBiologicalEnvironmentalEngineeringInstrumentingWildlife.pdf 2017-07-27 Public Download