# introduction
Two micro-meteorological measurement stations have been installed in the
Central Arizona-Phoenix area. The first station is located at the Lost Dutchman
State Park (LDP) near Goldfield, Arizona. This station used an existing tower and
was instrumented with new sensors, datalogger, and power system in May 2006.
The second station is located at the Desert Botanical Garden (DBG) in Phoenix,
Arizona. A new tower was mounted on a concrete pad south of the DBG trails and
new sensors were installed in October 2006. These stations have been used to
collect meteorological measurements that are inputs to gas and particle dry
deposition models.
# site descriptions
The Lost Dutchman State Park (LDP) meteorological station is approximately 55
km east of downtown Phoenix, Arizona, at the base of the Superstition Mountains
to the north and east, and bordered by desert and low density residential land
to the south and west.
The Desert Botanical Garden (DBG) meteorological station is approximately 12 km
east of downtown Phoenix, within the city of Phoenix and surrounded by urban
industrial, residential, and recreational land. The vegetation canopy at both
sites consists of patchy coverage of desert shrubs and trees.
# measurement sensors
The towers are equipped with sensors to measure wind speed, wind direction,
incoming solar radiation, air temperature, relative humidity, and precipitation.
A timestamp and record number saved by the datalogger for each measurement. Each
variable is measured every 5 seconds and the average (or total for precipitation
and total solar radiation) is saved to the datalogger every ten minutes.
# maintenance
Proper maintenance of the weather station is essential to obtaining valid data.
A regular program of inspection and maintenance ensures that equipment is in
good operating condition. Calibration, sensor testing, and sensor repairs are
done by Campbell Scientific. The maintenance and calibration schedule for the
towers and sensors is as follows: tower, enclosure, wiring, and mounting
hardware: check for damage during each site visit; replace sensor cables as
necessary. Pyranometer: check the level and clean the sensor head at each visit
(weekly is recommended by Campbell); calibrate annually. Rain gage: clean the
funnel and level the gage monthly; calibrate annually. Anemometer: visually
inspect the propeller and wind vane for smooth motion monthly. Temperature/RH
Probe: check the filter and radiation shield for contamination monthly; clean
semiannually; calibrate annually. Solar Panel: clean the glass semi-annually (or
more frequently if it becomes dirty).
# data collection
Data are downloaded manually at approximately monthly intervals.