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Harvard Forest REU Symposium Abstract 2013
- Title: Estimating Net Energy Absorption of Vegetation Using an Aerial Tram
- Author: Lake Boddicker (Lake Forest Academy)
- Abstract:
Estimating Net Energy Absorption of Vegetation Using an Aerial Tram
Lake Boddicker, Devin Caroll, Faith Neff, Mark Vanscoy, Paul Siqueira
With the rise of the Internet and the decrease in cost of sensors, high-resolution measurements have become more prevalent. Such high-resolution measurements allow scientists and researchers to observe minuscule phenomenon that would otherwise go unobserved. Furthermore, high-resolution measurements can illuminate subtle trends over a long period of time. Our research team is developing an aerial tram that will take high-resolution measurements along a transect. A prototype of the tram and the two supporting towers were designed in SolidWorks and constructed at a pseudo site. The tram as well as the eight sensors mounted on it are controlled using a combination of LabView and CRBasic. A Campbell Scientific CR1000 data logger takes measurements from the sensors while a LabView code, running on the tram’s onboard computer, controls movement and operation scheduling. The tram’s eight sensors measure upwelling and downwelling long and short wave radiation, NDVI, PRI, and height of the canopy in addition to taking images of the foliage underneath. Using data from sensors such as the four channel net radiometer as well as from the hyper spectral camera will allow us to calculate the net radiation absorption of the vegetation across the transect. At present not enough data has been collected to determine how the net energy absorption varies across the transect, however we expect net energy absorption to vary throughout the length of the transect depending on vegetation type. - Research Category: Ecological Informatics and Modelling
