HR: 0800h
AN: IN11A-0097    [Abstracts]
TI: Supporting Ecological Research With a Flexible Satellite Sensornet Gateway
AU: * Silva, F
EM: fabio@isi.edu
AF: USC, Information Sciences Institute, 4676 Admiralty Way Suite 1001, Marina del Rey, CA 90292, United States
AU: Rundel, P W
EM: rundel@ucla.edu
AF: UCLA, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, Warren Hall Rm 23-116, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States
AU: Graham, E A
EM: egraham@cens.ucla.edu
AF: UCLA, Center for Embedded Networked Sensing, University of California Los Angeles 3563 Boelter Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States
AU: Falk, A
EM: falk@isi.edu
AF: USC, Information Sciences Institute, 4676 Admiralty Way Suite 1001, Marina del Rey, CA 90292, United States
AU: Ye, W
EM: weiye@isi.edu
AF: USC, Information Sciences Institute, 4676 Admiralty Way Suite 1001, Marina del Rey, CA 90292, United States
AU: Pradkin, Y
EM: yuri@isi.edu
AF: USC, Information Sciences Institute, 4676 Admiralty Way Suite 1001, Marina del Rey, CA 90292, United States
AU: DeSchon, A
EM: deschon@isi.edu
AF: USC, Information Sciences Institute, 4676 Admiralty Way Suite 1001, Marina del Rey, CA 90292, United States
AU: Bhatt, S
EM: spundun@isi.edu
AF: USC, Information Sciences Institute, 4676 Admiralty Way Suite 1001, Marina del Rey, CA 90292, United States
AU: McHenry, T
EM: smchenry@isi.edu
AF: USC, Information Sciences Institute, 4676 Admiralty Way Suite 1001, Marina del Rey, CA 90292, United States
AB: Wireless sensor networks are a promising technology for ecological research due to their capability to make continuous and in-situ measurements. However, there are some challenges for the wide adoption of this technology by scientists, who may have various research focuses. First, the observation system needs to be rapidly and easily deployable at different remote locations. Second, the system needs to be flexible enough to meet the requirements of different applications and easily reconfigurable by scientists, who may not always be technology experts. To address these challenges, we designed and implemented a flexible satellite gateway for using sensor networks. Our first prototype is being deployed at Stunt Ranch in the Santa Monica Mountains to support biological research at UCLA. In this joint USC/ISI-UCLA deployment, scientists are interested in a long-term investigation of the influence of the 2006-07 southern California drought conditions on the water relations of important chaparral shrub and tree species that differ in their depth of rooting. Rainfall over this past hydrologic year in southern California has been less than 25% of normal, making it the driest year on record. In addition to core measurements of air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, solar irradiance, rainfall, and soil moisture, we use constant-heating sap flow sensors to continuously monitor the flow of water through the xylem of replicated stems of four species to compare their access to soil moisture with plant water stress. Our gateway consists of a front-end data acquisition system and a back-end data storage system, connected by a long-haul satellite communication link. At the front-end, all environmental sensors are connected to a Compact RIO, a rugged data acquisition platform developed by National Instruments. Sap flow sensors are deployed in several locations that are 20 to 50 meters away from the Compact RIO. At each plant, a Hobo datalogger is used to collect sap flow sensor readings. A Crossbow mote interfaces with the Hobo datalogger to collect data from it and send the data to the Compact RIO through wireless communication. The Compact RIO relays the sensor data to the back- end system over the satellite link. The back-end system stores the data in a database and provides interfaces for easy data retrieval and system reconfiguration. We have developed data exchange and management protocols for reliable data transfer and storage. We have also developed tools to support remote operation, such as system health monitoring and user reconfiguration. Our design emphasizes a modular software architecture that is flexible, to support various scientific applications. This poster illustrates our system design and describes our first deployment at Stunt Ranch. Stunt Ranch is a 310-acre reserve in the Santa Monica Mountains, located within the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area of the National Park Service. The reserve includes mixed communities of chaparral, live oak woodland, and riparian habitats. Stunt Ranch is managed by UCLA as part of the University of California Natural Reserve System.
DE: 0452 Instruments and techniques
DE: 9805 Instruments useful in three or more fields
DE: 9820 Techniques applicable in three or more fields
SC: Earth and Space Science Informatics [IN]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting