Reflections on the weather station installation from an EFTEON intern  

Loyiso Giqwa, an EFTEON intern based at SAEON’s National Office, travelled from Pretoria to Kimberley to assist with the installation of the AWS. Here is Loyiso’s account of the installation:

As part of my internship with EFTEON I had the pleasure of travelling to Kimberley to assist with a weather station installation at Mokala National Park. On my previous visit to Kimberley, I had the opportunity to familiarise myself with some of the sensors that would be used on the AWS, as I got to be on the ground when we calibrated two eddy covariance flux towers at another EFTEON site.

From an intern’s point of view, this exercise was daunting as I had only read up on the instrumentation during my induction process, and in a book given to me by my mentor. It was a bit of a tough read at first, because I either had to use my imagination or look things up on the internet.

Being at the site and seeing all the equipment that needed to be installed excited me, as it felt like I was being prepared for this moment from the minute I started my induction. My exposure to the instruments up to this point was limited to some inventory in the storeroom at the National Office over which I’d been liaising with EFTEON’s chief instrumentation technician. I did not have a clear idea of how everything would be synchronised into a weather station or flux tower.

The first step I was involved with was identifying the location in Mosu Camp where the weather station was to be installed. I expected it to be a scenic placement, or a matter of convenience, but I was surprised by all the parameters that needed to be considered when identifying a site to install an AWS (such as the distance from sources of dust or heat, distance from nearest tallest structure or obstruction such as trees, and in a relatively open area).

A potential hazard that I had not considered was the presence of animals. It was important to keep in mind that, although we were installing the AWS in a fenced camp, wildlife like porcupines and birds could still enter the camp and cause damage to the equipment and instruments. We therefore had to take precautionary measures like securing the wires inside protective ducting, installing bird spikes on the rain gauge and burying some of the cables in conduit.

On the day of the installation, we needed to wake up at the crack of dawn to escape the harsh temperatures in Kimberley, which was experiencing a heat wave at the time. Proverbially, the early bird catches the worm, but we ran into some technical issues in the morning with our vehicle. Fortunately we managed to avert a crisis and were soon on our way. This was an important lesson in how preparation negates any issues we may face because of the unpredictability of our work, and how being organised makes workflow easier.

At the park we were welcomed warmly by the staff we had met during a prior visit. Collaborating with South African National Parks (SANParks) can benefit both organisations. SAEON–EFTEON gains access to natural ecosystems where researchers from both organisations can answer relevant and important research questions and study environmental change. EFTEON provides, installs and maintains instrumentation, establishing long-term infrastructure in the park for the collection of long-term environmental data, which can be used freely by citizen scientists and researchers. EFTEON infrastructure also becomes a hub for collaboration among staff of both organisations working towards a common goal, thus reducing costs.

The installation process was very technical, but EFTEON’s chief instrumentation technician, Abri de Buys, explained the purpose of all the sensors and how the pieces of the mosaic came together when assembling a weather station. EFTEON Landscape Scientist Dr Helga Knoetze and I were instructed how to assemble the components of the instrumentation as we worked alongside Abri and Sylvester Selala, applying our minds and asking a great deal of questions along the way.

Instruments and sensors that were installed included a sonic anemometer, temperature and humidity sensors, a short-wave radiation sensor, an ultraviolet radiation sensor, a leaf wetness sensor, a ground level temperature sensor and a rain gauge. Gone are the days when I just opened my smartphone and checked the weather forecast. Having participated in the process of providing this useful tool to other people helped me appreciate its convenience and usefulness.

The sun was beating down on us and the hot weather conditions were challenging, but thankfully some of the parts had already been assembled and the wiring pre-set. We managed to install all the components on the first day before the sun hit its apex at midday and proceeded back to the office.