R. D.Brazee, R. C.Derksen, C. R.Krause, K.A. Williams, M. G.Klein, M.Reding, R. D.Fox (Collaborator), Application Technology Research Unit, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Wooster, Ohio; D.Herms, Department of Entomology, The Ohio State University, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, Wooster, Ohio; D.Lohnes, Communications and Technology, The Ohio State University, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, Wooster, Ohio; R.Lyons, Owner, Sunleaf Nursery, Madison, Ohio; W.Hendricks, Owner, Klyn Nursery, Perry, Ohio; and R.Zondag, Ohio State University Extension, Lake County, Painesville, Ohio.
Development of the permanent components of the weather network was begun in 2001 with installation of a station at Sunleaf Nursery, Madison, Ohio. Construction of a second station was undertaken in 2002 at Klyn Nursery near Perry, Ohio.
These locations were selected as representative of commercial nursery locations, and of known or expected differences due to terrain and distance from nearby Lake Erie. Space for each station was donated by the host nursery as a contribution to the industry and to cooperative research programs.
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Figure 1. The weather station at Sunleaf Nursery, Madison, Ohio. The station near Perry, Ohio, at Klyn Nursery is similar. The shielded temperature and humidity sensor can be seen on the support arm at the left side of the tower, with the solar pyranometer appearing on the support arm opposite, at the right. The rain-snow gauge is in the near background just beyond the tower. |
The towers and instrumentation employed are basically adapted UT-30 systems as available from Campbell Scientific, Inc.(Logan,Utah). Instrumentation is deployed in accordance with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) standards. Data as currently available are accessible at a web site discussed later.