In the summer of 2016, Shannon Hicks and other Stroud Water Research Center (SWRC) staff kept busy deploying dozens of sensor stations based on our new EnviroDIY Mayfly Data Logger. Most recently, we collaborated with The Nature Conservancy, to install EnviroDIY Mayfly automated sensor stations on streams located in Delaware’s First State National Historic Park (FSNHP). Sensor stations were installed in September at three sites — on Ramsey Creek, on Rocky Creek, and on Beaver Creek — which are all tributaries to Brandywine Creek. Each of the sensor stations were equipped with a
Decagon Devices CTD-10 sensor to measure electrical conductivity, temperature, depth and with a Campbell Scientific OBS-3+ sensor to measure turbidity. Every 5 minutes, the Mayfly logger collects data from the sensors and transmits the data to our web servers using a GPRSbee rev.6 cell wireless module that neatly fits into the XBee radio socket on the Mayfly board. These GPRS radios make it easy to send sensor data over our local cell phone networks, especially when paired with inexpensive SIM cards from Hologram.
Under the guidance of Stroud Water Research Center staff, the sensor stations at FSNHP and associated data will be managed by Kim Hachadoorian, the Delaware Nature Conservancy’s Stream Stewards Project Manager and her Stream Stewards volunteer crew. The stations were strategically positioned to support monitoring of current and planned conservation practices in and around the national park. Results are intended to assist The Nature Conservancy of Delaware in working with FSNHP to manage park resources and the local landscape.
In addition to these sensor stations, we upgraded most of our existing sensor stations to the Mayfly board from the previous generation of rugged datalogger based on the Seeeduino Stalker, and we deployed two *remote* stations in the north woods of Minnesota in collaborations with our colleagues at the University of Minnesota, Diana Karwan (former SWRC Post Doc!) and Lucy Rose.
Live data from these stations can be viewed at our prototype data portal. Stay tuned for news on our new EnviroDIY Data Sharing Portal what we’ll be unveiling this winter!
— Thanks to David Bressler, Shannon Hicks, and Steve Kerlin for helping prepare this post!