Research in geoscience often requires transmission of significant amounts of data from remote locations. The emergence of microcontrollers and open-source sensors are allowing connectivity to affordable, distributed in-situ monitoring. This report describes the OPEnS Hub, a modular data hub orders of magnitude cheaper than commercial dataloggers when scaled to multiple...
Fibre optic distributed temperature sensing (DTS) is widely applied in Earth sciences. Many applications require a spatial resolution higher than that provided by the DTS instrument. Measurements at these higher resolutions can be achieved with a fibre optic cable helically wrapped on a cylinder. The effect of the probe construction,...
We present a novel technique to simultaneously measure wind speed (U) at thousands of locations continuously in time based on measurement of velocity-dependent heat transfer from a heated surface. Measuring temperature differences between paired passive and actively heated fiber-optic (AHFO) cables with a distributed temperature sensing system allowed estimation of...
The Willamette valley has grown to be an important source of high quality grapes for the production of wine. These grapes are a very high value crop that has proven to be profitable in this region. Irrigation of this crop has been limited largely to the establishment stage, with most...
Vineyard managers must decide on the timing and amount of irrigation. In Oregon the need for irrigation differs greatly year to year and field to field based on micro climate, soil, root development, plant health, and root stock. We suggest the use of leaf water potential as a useful management...
Spatial resolution fiber-optic cables allow for detailed observation of thermally complex heterogeneous hydrologic systems. A commercially produced high spatial resolution helically wound optic fiber sensing cable is employed in the Dead Sea, in order to study the dynamics of thermal stratification of the hypersaline lake. Structured spatial artifacts were found...
Test taking is a humiliating experience for many students, with no perceived direct educational benefit. That need not be so. When circumstances allow, I use a two-pen method of collaborative testing. Students have told me that they leave the exam having figured out what they didn’t understand, filled in the...
The Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Sciences, Inc. (CUAHSI) began the Hydrologic Measurement Facility (HMF) program in June 2005 to advance hydrologic measurement capability within the research community. To provide guidance for this effort, a recent survey assessed the level of need among the hydrological sciences community...