Evaporometer Upgrades | Enclosure and Sensor Redesign for Improved Weatherproofing and Accuracy in Real-Time Environmental Data Gathering

The Evaporometer was designed by the Openly Published Environmental Sensing (OPEnS) Lab at Oregon State University to remotely collect near real-time environmental data, including temperature, humidity, luminosity, and amount of precipitation, and transmit it to a LoRa receiver hub, where it can be viewed online by researchers worldwide. This eliminates costly and time-consuming site visits. Deployed during the summer of 2017 in OSU's HJ Andrew's Experimental Forest, the prototype failed after three months due to excess moisture entering the enclosure; this project details the upgrades that have been made to the design and a field test of eight Evaporometers placed in the field in August of 2018. The enclosure was redesigned to improve weatherproofing, include additional sensors, and improve the accuracy of data readings. The new enclosure features a stacked design that shades the metal strain gauge, protecting it from increases in heat that alter the resistance of the gauge, causing fluctuations in the recorded mass of precipitation. Conformal coating was added to all electrical connections and a cork gasket lining was added to the seals to protect the hardware from moisture. The enclosure includes an attachment for a second light sensor that is directed at the ground to measure albedo, the amount of incident light that is reflected from a surface. The load cell amplifier used in the original prototype was replaced with a more accurate version. These improvements will extend the Evaporometer's field life, allowing it to reliably gather and transmit data for longer periods of time while the ability to gather albedo measurement expands the device's sensing capabilities. The upgraded Evaporometer provides researchers with a reliable, low-cost, and open-sourced method of collecting environmental data in locations that may not have previously been feasible.