SAN JOAQUIN EXPERIMENTAL RANGE
PROJECT REQUEST FORM
Project Director/Principal Investigator (include contact information):
Roger Bales, UC Merced (rbales@ucmerced.edu 209-228-4348)
Mike Goulden, UC Irvine (mgoulden@uci.edu 949-350-4769)
Collaborators:
Sierra Nevada Research Institute
Critical Zone Observatory
NEON, Inc.
Matt Meadows, UC Merced
Greg Winston, UC Irvine
Project Title:
SJER Eddy Covariance Flux Tower
Project Proposal:
The Critical Zone Observatory members at University of California Merced and
Irvine would like to install micro-meteorological instrumentation in the San Joaquin
Experimental Range (SJER). The site selection has been proposed by NEON. The
instrumentation would include a one-kilowatt solar array on scaffolding and a 95 foot
telescoping tower (see provided PowerPoint slides). The equipment on the tower would
be standard eddy-covariance monitoring sensors that include 3-D windspeed/direction,
net radiation sensors, temperature/RH, and CO2 flux monitoring. Among other things,
data from this tower will be useful in climate change models and weather forecasting.
Data from this tower will provide information on vegetation-atmospheric interactions,
specifically ecosystem carbon flux and photosynthetic processes.
Under the Forest Service special use permit #KGR135 we constructed an eddycovariance flux tower in the Kings River Experimental Watershed at approximately 6,500
foot elevation. We planning on installing three additional towers to compliment the
climate data that we are currently receiving. These towers would form an elevation
transect of the southern Sierra Nevada, which will range from rain dominated to snow
dominated hydrologic regimes. Our current tower (P301) is at the rain/snow transition
zone. The three proposed towers would be located at Soaproot Saddle (near Bretz Mill),
near Courtright Reservoir, and at the SJER. The site locations are 37° 1'51.85"N,
119°15'23.15"W; 37° 3'59.75"N, 118°59'18.51"W; and 37° 6'31.3992"N, 119°
43'53.6196", respectively.
The P301 tower is a 160 foot tower made of steel, with a concrete base and
concrete guy footings. This tower is a planned long term installation that was required for
the height of the tower. The required heights for eddy-flux towers are dependant on
vegetation height. The proposed tower at SJER has a height requirement of ~95 feet,
which is considerably shorter than at P301. The proposed tower will use a temporary base
plate that sits on the soil surface and hand-installed auger-type anchors for the guys,
which will allow us to avoid pouring concrete. The towers will be aluminum telescoping
towers that require no heavy equipment for installation. Site impact will be minimal for
construction and maintenance. The power supply will be similar to the solar panel array
installed at P301, consisting of 10 panels on a short scaffold tower.
The instrumentation on the tower will collect data at quarter-second intervals.
This will require monthly visits to the site by a technician. The monthly visits will
include data download, change of air intake filters (for the gas analyzer), and a system
check to ensure that everything is running properly. Data is processed at UC Irvine and
posted for registered users on the Sierra Nevada Research Institutes Digital Library. The
main budget requirement for this project is for infrastructure, which is mainly provided
by the Goulden Lab at UC Irvine. This instrumentation has been purchased and used on
other projects that have been completed. The remaining instrumentation will be
purchased through the Bales Lab at UC Merced. We would like to begin construction ad
data monitoring as soon as possible. The proposed project will continue until the larger
scale NEON project is initiated. This baseline data will provide an increase to the record
length for the NEON project, which will help capture the natural variability in the system.
There may be a need to install fencing around the base of the towers to avoid any
damage to the instruments by cattle. Total loss of cattle range will be less than 0.1 acres.
No SJER or CSUF facilities will be needed for this project. Results from this project will
b e published in a timely manner and acknowledgement of CSUF and/or PSW will be in
published materials. This project does not include use of humans or animals as
experimental subjects, radiation, or biological or toxic chemicals.
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I will provide annual progress reports, two copies of all published reports, and a final
report at the end of the study. In addition, I agree to remove all study markers at the end
of the study.
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Project Director/Principle Investigator
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Date
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APPROVAL SIGNATURES
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Carl L. Pherson
Director of Agricultural Operations
California State University, Fresno
385 E. Barstow, AG85
Fresno, CA 93740-8004
559-278-2011
carlp@csufresno.edu
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Date
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Kathryn Purcell
USDA Forest Service
Pacific Southwest Research Station
Forestry Sciences Lab
2081 E. Sierra Avenue
Fresno, CA 93710
559-868-6233
kpurcell@fs.fed.us
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Date
SUBMIT THIS FORM TO D R. KATHRYN PURCELL OR CARL PHERSON
Distribution: C. Pherson, R. Perry, D. Jones, B. Laudenslayer, K. Purcell, R. Denton, P. Stine