Specifications

TEAM Climate Monitoring Protocol 3.0
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4.3 Level 2 Siting
Since the requirements of the solar radiation sensor are difficult to meet in many tropical forest
sites, an alternate strategy is proposed here to locate the station based on the siting requirements
of the temperature/RH and precipitation sensors (Table 2). In order to minimize the effects of
wind turbulence and eddies produced by the obstacles located in the vicinity of the sensor, the
temperature/RH sensor should be located at least a distance of 4 H units away from an obstacle
of height H (Figure 1A). Similarly, the precipitation gauge should be located at least 2 H units
away from an obstacle of height H (Figure 2B). A process to locate the radiation sensor is
described below in section 4.3.2.)
Figure 2. Siting requirements for a climatic base tower with a temperature/RH sensor (A) and a precipitation
gage (B). Distances are not shown to scale. In this example, the base tower with the temperature/RH sensor
needs to be at a distance from the trees at least four times their height (4H1). It also needs to be at a distance
from the house at least four times its height (4H2). The precipitation gauge needs to be 1) at least 30 cm from
the ground, 2) at least 6 m away from the 3 m base tower, and 3) at a distance from the house twice its height
(2H2) away from it. Guidelines from WMO (2008) and EPA (1995).
4.3.1 Choosing a location
Refer to Figure 3 for a complete workflow describing the process of choosing an appropriate
location for the climate station. It is assumed here that a clearing (a relatively open area) is
available at the site or near it that could be used for installing the climate station.