Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Nfes 2140 Part2a
Nfes 2140 Part2a
11
station ite ms 5, 6, and 7. Eva pora tion stations an d fin - Table 7.1-5e1ec1ion01 psychrometric tables according 10
we a~he r stations may thus also serve as climatological elevabon above sea level'
stabons. In recent years, a digital therm omete r inside a
small radiation shield has repl aced ite ms 5 an d 6 a t many e.vslkln sbo". s . level Ps ychro melrlc: t.ble
or the NWS stations. A more complete climatological
AI.... AJI Olher St.t.. Pr ... ur.
statio~ will include observations of wind, hu midity, an d
su nshine (or solar radiation).
-··· ·· · ·· ··- Feet --· · · · · ···- Inches of mtJTaJrY
13
PORTABLE SHELTERS
Va riou s portable instrument shelters can be u8e'd for
fire- weather and other purposes. Some a re small wooden
shelte rs; oth ers a re alumin um or plastic shelters. All
should be painted wh ite. Th e adequacy of these shelters
depends to a large extent on shelter design , the ins tru -
ments used, and the r eq uired acc uracy of the data to be
collected. They are not meant for use at pennanent sta-
tion. but rather serve as alternatives to the cotton region
sh elte r at temporary field locations .
14
7.4 Liquid-in-Glass Thermometers
~. Liquid-in-glass thermometers indicate temperatu re by
the difference in expansion between the liquid (mercury
t. or alcohol) and the glass bore in which the liquid is en-
r (, (, dosed. The bulb at the bottom of the glass bore acts as a
10 n (I to reservoir for the liquid, which rises or falls as the tem -
•, " 0
(
(J
(
CI
0
(
Q perature changes.
Mercury-filled thermometers are designed to measure
tempe ratures above -38 "F (the freezing point of mer-
" cury ). Alcoh ol- or spirit-filled thermometers can measure
much lower temperatures, well below -100 "F.
Liquid-in-glass thermometers vary in length of stem
and shape of bulb. As a general rule, long-stemmed ther-
mometers can be read more precisely than those with
Figure 7.5-Portable aluminum instrument shell er.
short stems. Everything else being equal, a thermometer
knod<.ed down lor e asy transport . with a relatively na rr ow, cylindrical bulb (lig. 7.7C) will
indicate changes in air temperature faster (will have less
time lag ) than one with a spherical bulb (lig. 7.7A).
overhang but leaves the thermometer (mounted horizon. LIQUID- IN - GLASS THERMOMETERS
tally) unshielded in forward, side war d. and downward
directions. The shelter shoul d be moun ted on a post or
tree. with the thermom ete r facing slightly east of north.
When exposed in full sunshine, this shelter is less effi-
cient than th e standard cotton region sh elter in curtailing
radiation errors; the errors are often 1 to 3 of greater.
Nighttime err ors r esulting from r adiational cooling may
also be gre ater, by about 1 OF.
With this shelter, the sun's rays can fall on a nort h-
facin g thermometer early an d la te in the day duri ng
spring and sum mer. Shelter orientation somewhat east
of north will r ed uce this sun shi ne intrusion late in the
day, when it would more likely effect maximum tem pera-
ture r ea dings. Na tural or artificial shading may also be
helpful during these times of day. Shelter placemen t
sho uld avoid nearby light-colored, reflective ground (soil
or rock) surfaces, which can reflect solar radiation upwar d
to the shelter inte rior and th ermome ter bulb. rai sing tem -
per ature readings by more th an a few degree s (see A B c
MacHattie 1965). Like wise, the shelte r is not suitable for Figu re 7.7-Liquid-in-glass lhem1omelers: A, merClJry-
use during months of snow cover, which presents a highl y filled muimum !tIermomeler ; B, alcohol-filled minimum
reflective surface. lhermometer; C, standard mercury dry-bul b lhermometer.
15
Agl,l re 7.l--$tandard maximum and mlntrnum ltIermome"'"" mounted in a Townsend wpport; in the
lower and upper damps. respeclively ,
thermometer islowered to a reading positi on, the top of applications where great preci sion is not essential. A
the mercury column indi cates the highest temperature special model is employed to obtain maximum and mini-
attained. mum water temperatu re s at evaporation stations
AfUor the maximum temperature is read, the thermome- (cha pte r 12).
ter is rese t by spinning it, fastened in its mounting d amp. A metal, dumbbell-shaped index rod is enclosed above
Thi s forces the mercury downward through th e constric- the merc ury column in each arm of the U-tube (fig. 7.9).
tion and beck into the bulb . When reset, the indexes rest against th e ends (or tops) of
the- mereury columns. The scale a long the right ann of
~linimum Thermometer-The standard minimum
the U.tube indica tes maximum temperature; the left
thermometer is alcohol-filled and has a small glass index
scalf'. which is Inverted. indicates minimum temperature.
rod immersed in the a lcohol (fig. 7.7B); thi s in dex can
The top of the mercury column in either ann always indi-
move freely through the bore. Whe n the temperature
cate s th e current tempera ture.
falls, the retreating alcohol column drags the index with
The index rods a re pushed up ward in th e tu be by the
it by means of surface tension at the top of the column .
mercury column, which ri1M"S up the right or left arm as
When the temperature again rises, the alcohol column
the temperature ri ses or falls . The rods remain tn place
moves past the index, which remains a t its lowest tem-
at their extreme positions when the mf'TCury column re-
pera tu re position.
tre ats. The rods do not slide downward even th ough th e
The thermometer is reset by in verting it, faste ned in
Six's therm ometer is normall y eXJl'OSE'd in a vertical
its mounting dam p, un til the index re turns to res t
positio n.
agai nst the top of th e alcohol column.
The maximum a nd minimum temperature values a re
Townsend Support- The Townse nd su pport, with its read at the lower e n d. of the re spective index rods . Af-
spin ning a nd rotating d amps, facilitau-s readi ng and ter each observation. the the-rmometer is reset with a
set ting of the maximum and minimum thermometers. small magnet, drawing the metal index rods down to the
This support is designed for mounting on the crossboo.rd tops of the mercury columns . In some models, the in dex
inside an instrument shelter. rods are reset with a push -button device .
The Six's maximum-minimum thermometer most com-
SIX'S ( co~m Thl"E D) MAXL\IUM·MJ1IrHMUM monly has temperature scales ma rked only on its backing ,
TnERM O~IETER with 2· eF greduarione, but higher priced models have the
The Six's, or combi ned maximum-minimum thermome- scales etched on the glass. The model used for weter
ter is distinguished by its U-shaped tube. This is a spiri t- temperatures at evaporation stations has l _eF gradu-
filled (creosote) thermometer e mploying an im bedde-d a tions on the glass. Six's thermometers should be pericdi-
mercury column as a n indica tor. It is a lese expensive, cally che<:kPd against a standard dry bulb thermometer
but gene ral ly less accurate, alternative to the sta nda rd (section 7.6). \\"here errors are not due to colum n separa-
maximum and minimum thermometers. It may serve tions (section 30.2), corrections may be e pphed. Alteme-
(with calibration checks ) in temporary field use or in other tively, the thermometer's scale plates may be shi fted
16
A gur . 7.1o--D;a1 type maQmU'T\-mirlimU'T\
thermometer, employing a mercury..... seool
sensing element WIth dlred-d'ive Bourdon
spring . (Photo courtesy 01 Palmer
InslJU'Tlenls, Inc.)
17
mereury-ee tueted lWnlring bulb togeth er with a direct- Instruments: such 8 S the Rodco Computemp (fig. 7.11)
drive Bourdon spring. Dial thennometers can be mounted a nd th e more expensive Sen sor Nimbus have a memory
on the crouboard inside a cotton region instrument that stores the maximum and minimum temperatures,
shelter. which can be ",trieved by pressing a button (or membrane
coveri ng). (The Nimbus elec stonos hourly temperatures,
ELECTRICAUELECTRO:-OIC THER."O~RS for up to 35 days.) The standard Computemp eutomati -
R.mote-Readinc Digital Thennomet.r-Modem cally resets at midnight and thus will erase maximum
electrical thennometers suitable for use at basically man. temperatures that may occur after an afternoon obsPrva-
ual type weather stations operate in cot\iundi.on with a tion time. A. an option, the ins trument can be or dered
miere prcceeeoe to produce a digital, remote reedcct. The with a manual r ese t. Specified accuracy of these instru-
sensor is usually a r esistance thermometer, thermisto r, men ts ill within 1 of over most ~the operati ng range;
thennocouple, or diode junction IFri techen and Gay 1979; calibr ation can be a djusted where necessary.
Sceiez 1975), enclosed within a metal probe that is typi-
cally exposed in a solar radiation shield. The probe can 7.6 Psychrometers
a lso be exposed in a standar d cotton re gion shelter, par-
ticula rly when the shelter is required for a dditional in- The psychrometer ill the most widely used type of in-
struments. Th e readout unit and its enclosed electronics strument for current re lative h umidity measuremen ts
can be located in an office up to 100 n or more distant. at manual weather stations. Another type of humidity
The most accurate (a nd expe nsive) re sistance ther- instru ment is the hair hygrome ter, which finds use in the
momete n utilize plati nu m wire , but th ose using nickel hygrothennograph (lWction 7.7). Th e psychrom eter con-
wire are quite sa tisfactory . The electrical r esistance of sista basically of't wo matched, mercury -in -glass ther-
the wire is proportional to ambient temperature. Ther- mcmetera mounted side -by-side on a commo n fram e. The
mistors, which are small beads of a semiconductor, also bulb of one thermometer, termed the · wet bulb," is cov-
measure temperature through its t'ffect on resistance. ered by a thin, closely woven cotton (muslin) wick, which
Thermocouples, in principle, consist of two junctions of is wetted with wa ter when me esuremente are taken. The
dissimilar metals (usual ly copper a nd constantan) that oth er thermometer , not covered, ill termed the -dry bulb.·
generate a voltage proportional to the temperature differ- During an observation, evaporation from the wet bulb
e nce between the junctions, one of which is a reference ....'ill cause its: temperature to fan below that of the dry
junction kept a t a constant, known temperature (typi call y bulb. The amount of evaporational cooling, at a given
32 OF, in an ice bath). Modern thennoc:ouples uti lize elec- te mpera t ure (a nd aunospheric pre ssure), varies inverse ly
trical compE'nsation instead or the reference junction. with the rela tive humidity ofthe ai r. Thus. the lower the
Diode junctions measure temperature through its effect rela tive h umidity, the greater is the sprea d betwHn the
on voltage drop acT068 a junction. wh a tever type of sen- dry-bulb an d wet -bulb temperatures.
sor is used, t he resulting electrical current or voltage that From the dry- and wet-bulb readings, both relative
reach es the microprocessor is converted to a temperature humidity and dewpoi nt are easily determined from stan-
in digital display. dard psychrometric tables. These tables assume that
there ill ade-quate ventilation of the wet bulb. For this
reason, artificially ventilated (force-ventila ted) psy-
chrometers a re generally more reliable than those that
depend on natural air movement. The dry and wet bulb
thermometers a re norm ally reed to the nearest I of for
fire -weather observations, but where desirable and pos_
sible they may be read to the nearest 0.5 or 0.1 OF.
The electric fan psychrometer, described below, ill the
sta ndar d instrument recomme nded at permanent ma nual
fire-weathe r stations . Other psychrometers, employed at
som e stations or for temporary field use, are also de -
scribed. Most a re designed to cool the wet bulb by forced
ven tila tion .
18
R gur. 7.12- EIectric tan psychrometer. Forest sevee 1ype; ~ tor use
at pem1a'1en1 manu allype fir&..wealhef stations.
19
foem-pedded secti on for thf' psychrometer and a separate
eern pertmen t for aceeeeoriee and spare parts. Other fee-
tun. include the following:
1. The fa n i. powered by D·size flashligh t batteries .
2. The thermometers are n>(:eSSE!d and shock mou nted
with rubber fittings.
3. A built-in light facilitates nighttime readings .
4. A water bottle is stored in th e psych romete r housing.
5. The thermometer IlSSf'mbly am hi! removed and use-d
as a sli ng psyeh reeneter if ba ttery failure should occur.
SLING PSYClmOMETER
The sling psychrometer, recommended primarily for
spot observations or temporary field stations, is ventilated
by whirling it in a vertical eirele around the observer's
hand. Sling psyc:hrometers are available in various mod-
els (fig. 7.15), differing in the silt' and preci sion of their
thermometers and also in the ecnstructicn of their handle
and sli ng eeeerebly. Moo an su pplied with prcteeeve
storage or tarrying aLSeS . The standard model most ofte n
used at manual weather stations has 9 1h _inch thermome-
te rs with I -OF graduations from - 20 to ...120 OF; the th er-
mometers are identical to those in t he standard electric
fa n psychrometer . It has a comfortable, easily gri pped
wooden handle. Another standard model has 9-inch ,
some what more protected thermometers with l.O-°F
graduations over a range ...2 0 to 120 OF, together with a
small er handle .
Thf' easily portable pocket type usually has 5 112_inch
thermometers with I -OF graduations from ...30 to 110 OF.
Th is peychrcmeter is pr ovided in the "belt wea ther kit-
(USDA FS 19 59 ); see section 8.4, un der heading of Dwyer
hand-held wind meter .
Agure 7.14-8eodix (Beltcwt) "F'sychron" pottable electric fan psyc:tvornet&r. This instrument enables accurate
measuremen l 01relatiYe humidity in both open and cramped \\ekllocations.
20
-,!
,
1
1
~
r
•
,,
I •
Rgur. 7.1s---5 ing psyctv0me"8r'S. The standard 9' /H'dl psychro me_
(second from
lett) is often used tor calibration cheeks 01 olher Iemperal1Jre and
humidtyinslJ'Uments.
21
The model in figu r e 7.16 has a built-in plastic wa ter
rese rvoir , but an other utili !t's a glass jar placed benea th
the wt't bulb . A thi n plastic oilcan with the spout cut
short has been recommended as the most desirable wa ter
container (William s 1964 ), beca use (1) the wa ter level can
be eeen at a glan ce, (2) evaporation is reduced to a mini .
mum , and (3) there is little chance of bursting during a
light freeze .
Rela tive humidity a nd dewpoint values obtained with
t he Maso n hygrometer generally do not have the accuracy
of those from othe r psychrometers, because of th e follow-
ing reasons;
1. Thermometers with 2-· F graduations, marked on t he
backing, may not have a Icll -ecel e eeeurecybeuer than
±2 · F. Some thermometers will be better than others, as
was found in a test of a recen t Taylor un it; the uncovered
thermometer bulbs were im mersed in wa ter at differe nt
temperat ures . Over t he ra nge from +32 to 120 · F, error
of the wet bulb thermometer va ried bet ween 0 and
-0.7 "F, while th e dry bu lb error ran ged from - 1.6 to
+ 1.6 · F. Agreem ent between th e two thermometers was
within ::t1.0 · F from about +40 to 105 "P.
2. Therm ometers with spherical bu lbs are relatively
sluggish in response to tempera ture changes. As previ-
ously noted. however, the thermometers in some cu rre nt
in stru ments have cylindrical bulbs .
3. Natural ven tilation of the thermometers may be
inadeq uate. This shortcoming becomes pa rticularly im-
portant with the am bient wind l@ss than 5 miIh. when the
a fff'Cted wet bulb readings can give rela tive humidity
val ues mere than 5 percent too high _
During light wind conditi ons, to achieve greater a ccu-
racy. th e thermometers should be fan ned wit h a piece of
cardboard {eectien 23.4 ).
Agur. 7.16-Mason hygrometer; a stationary.
naturally ven tilated type 01 psychromeler. Tail 01
wei bu lb wick is continuously immersed in reser . MORTARBOARD PSYClmO~IETER
voir filled with water. The mortarboard psychrometer (fig. 7.17) was devel-
oped at the Southern Fore st Fire Laboratory to provid e a
simple, accurate, and yet inexpensi ve mean s of obtaining
dry. a nd wet-bulb tempera tu re re adings (Taylor 1963).
:MAS ON (OR MASON'S) HYGROMETER Used mainl y in Georgia, it consists of a n u ppe r a nd lower
The Ma son hygrometer (or Mason's hygrometer ), e ctu - ra dia tion shield. natura lly ventilated thermomete rs , an d
ally a psychrometer, is designed fOl'" use in a n instrument su pports. The r adia tion shields cons ist of three sheets of
shelter. Unlike the preceding psychrometers, however, polished al uminum, supported horizontally. The t wo
venti lation depends upon natural ai r movement or fan- inner su rfaces facing the thermomE.'ters are painted flat
ning with a piPee of cardboard. black to re duce possible intern al reflections. The ther-
The ins trumen t (fig. 7.16) consists of two easily read- mometers are mounted in a fixed horizontal position .
abl e mercury thermometers, usually with 2_eF gradu- Wa ter is conti nuously supplied to the w et bulb by a wick
ations; these a re ma rked on th e thermom@te rbacking ru nning from a capped plas tic cup mounte d on th e lower
ratber than ce th e glass tubes. In the ill ustration, the r adiation shield. In light winds, th e thermometers a re
thermom@ters have spherical bulbs, but thermometers ordinarily fanned ....i th a piece of cardboard (as advised for
with more desirable cylindrical bulbs a re provided in t he Ma son hygrometer ). Alternativ ely, an electric fan ca n
some eurrently produced ins truments such a s those by be installed.
Taylor . The wet bulb is covered by a long wick that ex-
te nds in to a wa te r container, wh@re itremain swhiletM
instru ment is in service; the contain@r must be refilled a t
regular intervals. The Maso n hygrometer is not su ited for
use in below-freezing te mpera tu res.
22
Agur. 7.t8-Hygrothermograph, Bene'" rT'IOdEri. as
Flgur. 7.17- The mortarboard psyehrome l9l'. with normally exposed WIth case dosed . The upper pen
sell-Q)ntained alum inum radallOl'l sNeld . used in
reco«ts temperature ; the lower pen , relative humid-
sou1tleasl em area 01Un ited States ,
ity , Calibration aqustrnerll screws are al righl
23
Flgur. 7.19-Open yjew of hy!iJl'Otnermograph, Bettort model , em ployng (A) banjo-5pread hair'
elemenl lol' relative h~idity and IB) Bourdon tube for temperature. Cahbration adjlJ5tmenl
5aews are on me base plal8 .
24
I
u
, / Q' I
•,
, / , .. ' ~
•i.: ,
/ i / 51 :
..
..
'
..,
••
~
/ 1-
,-i Jo, · I / JU t
/ ''O .
~~
..:. i ;
~
'.M...........
.. , .f.
I t
~
"' j
/
" ~."' .. '/
I
J. oi '
~:i ;
:;: in; ••
I·
m
I
\
\
" ,,
•
I
\
\
\
j
n,
,
, ~
I
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\
\ \" .
('HJ. ':.:
~
i \ I. I .\
•
C'
'-+
~ ~ _...b
M: -+-' -.- =
~, -
1- ,. ~
"-. f--: - ,
Figu re 7.21- Weekly cha n record from a hygrothermograph. Ternpera tare trace is on upper portion 01 chart;
relalive humidity nece . on lower portion.
25
RELlABll.ITY 8. 1 Windspeed Instruments
The re lia bility ofhygrothermograph data depends
gre atly on the instrument's calibration and maintenance. Mt'asureme nts of wtndepeed are most often obtained
With careful calibration and proper maintenance, an from cup anemometers . At standard wea ther stations in
acceptable level of accuracy (within plus or minus 3 to 5 this country. the anemometers all' exposed at a height of
percent relative humidity and 1 of temperature) can gen- 20 ft above open, level ground (fig. 8.1). Particularly at
erally be maintained. This is particularly true for te rn- fire-weather stations, it is often necessary to adjust this
perature data. Relative humidity readings tend to be less height to compensate for the height of ground cover. su r-
reliable because of calibration difficulties and certain face irrt'gula ritit"S. and nearby obstructions (section 17.1).
inherent characteristics of human hai r. Cup enemcmetere are calibrated to rotate at a rate
A test by Meeks (1968) with carefully eaJibrated hy- proportional to the actual windspeed. Most common ly.
grothermographs showed that characteristic "hysteresis" this rotation is transferred by the main shaft to either a
errors occurred. The errors varied. depending on whether contacting mechanism or a generator, dependi ng on the
the relative humidity was increasing or decreasing. The type of anemometer. The windspeed reading is, thus,
recorded values Wt'no typieaJly too high at low rela ti ve provided by either the number of contacts made or the
h umidi ties and too low at hight'r relative humidities. voltagt' gt'nt'Tated. The readout devlce. wired to the ane-
Often the greatest lou in reliability of data cceurs with mometer, can be located either a t the weather station or
calibration shifts (or '"tero shifts ; aerompanying marked in a nt'arby office.
weather changt"S. Shin.. of 10 to 15 pecent relative hu- Contacting anemomt'ters are the most widely used type
midity have been observed <Hayes 1942; MacHa ttie 1958). at fire-wea ther stations, enabling easy calculation of a
Persistent dry weather causes an upward shift in calibra- standard average windspeed. Generator anemometers
tion. Subsequent s torm s and saturation then bring a all' commonly used where instantaneous rea ding or con-
downward sh in to near the original calibration position . tinuous chart recording of windspeed is desired. Genera.
If the humidity pen has been reset during the dry tor models that eleetremeelly accumulate the passage of
.....ea th er, the trace will later read too low. wind have r ecent ly been developed and also enable an
easy determination of average windspeed. Such models
may find increased use , as some of the contacting models
CHAPTER 8. WIND all' no longer avai lable (section 6.1) .
Wind is ai r in motion. Thi s motion, or velocity, has two
components: windspeed and wind direction . 8.2 Contacting Anemome ters; Readout
WincUfN!ed refers to the rate at which air paSSl?S a given
point . Fire-weather measurements ef' windspeed are Devices
expressed in statute miles per hou r (miJ'h). This differ s Contacti ng anemometers consist offour major parts:
from th e mee suremente at airport stations, which use (1) a th r ee- or four-cup rotor as sembly. (2) a main vertical
knots (na utica l miles per hou r ); one knot equ als 1.15 shaft or spi ndle. (3) a gea r mech a nism, a nd (4) an electri-
statute milh . cal contact . In addition. some contain a built -in dial or
Wind direction refers to th e direction fro m which the counter th at records and accu mulates tota l wind move-
ai r is moving. This is recorded, often in coded form . as a ment between settings.
compass poin t (N, NE, E, SE , etc .}; or, as a t airport sta-
tions, in azi mut h degrees from tr ue nor th (0· to 360·) .
26
Figure 8.1- Aoemometer and wind vane exposed at standard 200ftheight at a flr9-
weather station.
27
Figure 8.2-$maHAirways anemometer wilh '/IIOHTlile contacts, used at many fire-wealher stations.
28
FIgure 8.3-Mec:hanical counters in use at fire·weather stations: left and center, nonreset types; right
reset type .
Figure 8.4- Rese t type mechanical counter with timer; simplifies de lermination ollo-minule average
windspeed.
29
Agu,.a.5-TOIalizing anemometon 8CJIipped
with both '/to-m ie and l --mile contacts: D9 left.
insrrunenc with seIt..contained readouCdial; qJ
nght. wrh:lu1 self-contained readout; botlOm.
with seIt-<:ontained reacbu1 ccunllW.
A.''EMO~IETERS EQUIPPED WITII 1 -~Ill.E gives the windepeed in miles per hour. Special totalizing
• CO:r-.- rACfS eounte re are available for readout from th ese
Some ane mometers have L-mile contacts instead of, or in a nemometers.
additi on to, tf....mile contacts (fig. 8.5). ()pl?ration is similar Usually, the ninth an d tenth pins of the contact wheel
to that for the 'I..mile contacting a nemometers, except are bridged to give a longer contact for each 10 miles of
that one contact is made fo; each 1 mile of wind pas sing wind passage. One-mile contacts a re often use d to obtain
the cups. The number of contacts per hour, therefore, daily or longer chart records of wind movement, in I -mile
ste ps accentuated every 10 miles .
30
TIlE HYGROTIIER."I0AEROGRAPH The outer dial is graduated in miles and tenths of a mile
Anemometers with t- mtle contacts can be used in con- (fig. 8.7).
junction with a hygroth ennoaerograp h (HTAG) to obtain Because the counter or dial operates acc:umula tively
a chart r ecord of wind movement . The HTAG (fig. 8.6) is (until it reaches its limit and begins a nother cycle a t
sim ply a conventi onal hygro thennogra ph that has be-en zero), the observer mu st take a reading at the beginning
modified by the addition of a thi rd pen ann to record ea ch and end of any period for which data ar e r equ ired. To
mile of wind movement (Fi scher and others 1969). Tick - calcula te the a verage windspeed, the change in counter or
ma rks produced by each contact closure are recorded dial reading is divided by the elapsed time (in equ ivalent
along the top portion of the chart, above the temperature hours).
trace. See appendix 5 for construction and wiring details.
31
Figure 1.7--elosetJp ol l8lt-oontained A gur e 8.&--Gene rator anemometer wilh re-
readout dial. which aeeumlJlatu IOtal wind mOle reado ut dial is partiQjlarly uselul lor in -
movement past anemometer cup s stan taneous windspeed mea SlJremenlS.
32
8.4 Hand·Held Anemometers
Hand-held anemometers indica te windspeed directly on
the ins trument body, typically by means ofa pointer on a
dial or by a digital rea dout (figs. 8.11 and 8.12). Some of
these a re thr ee-cup generator-type a nemometers, bu t
oth ers operate on different principles. Anemometers with
a rotating dial (a nd fixed pointer ) employ a magnet on th e
rotating shaft. whi ch sets up eddy currents that rotate a
spring-loaded dru m assembly in proportion to th e wind.
speed. Lower pri ced genera tor an emometers m ay ha ve
somewhat high threshold winds peeds (the speed req uire d
to start the cups rotating}--a.s high as 5 milh.
33
The meter's slightly tapered plastic shell encloses a tube
containing a sm all, white pith ball. Win d enteri ng t wo
small holes ("dynamic" ports) near t he base of the shell
caUl(>lII a pressure diffe rence betwHn these ports a nd a
·static" port a t the top of th e tube . This ge nera te s an ai r
flow u p the tube. varyi ng with the windspeed, and the
frHly moving white ball r1I(>S and falls a.ceordingly. Its
posit ion is read on an a djac ent windspeed scale.
The meter indicates windspeeds up to 10 miJh. on its
low scale and up to 60 milh on its high scale. When prop.
erly maintained and held (fa cing the .....-ind), the meter is
accurate within 1 or 2 milh a t to w speeds. but elTON may
exceed 5 milh at h igher speeds (Snow and others 1989 ).
Belt Wea ther Ki t -The Dwyer wind meter is a co mpo-
nent of the belt weather kit (fig. 8.15). which also contai ns
a small sling psychromeu-r (section 7.6) and accessory
iu-m s fitt£>d in to a canvas carrying case . nus kit is the
si m ple st, least expensive, and most widely used portable
·,tation" un it.
W1l'iD VA.'"ES
1be wind vane usually consists of an arrow assembly
mounted on a vertical shan or spindle that rotates freely
on bea rings (figs . 8.1 an d 8.9). The a rrowhea d, pointing
into the wind, is weighted sufficiently to counterbala nce
the larger tail SKtion of th e a rro w. Th e tail. offering the
greater air resistence. turns to the lee ward. In another,
generally higher priced design. a propeller serves &8 both
an emometer and wind direction pointer.
Wind vanes at some manual .....esther stations are read
directly through visual observation of the arrow. Other
vanes transmit their indications by electrical contacts or
resistance eireu its to a readout device. The rea dout may
employ B series of eight lam ps (fig. 8.16). each represent-
ing B point of the compass (N. NE, E, SE, etc.), or a dial
indica tor (figs. 8.8 and 8.9). More-e xpensive chart record -
en can also be used, for a continuous record of wind dir ec-
tion . The rea dout devius are usually pa rt of a system
that also shows windspeed.
i;
36
Agure i.2-large-<:apacity standard 8-inch rain galJ9O, National Weather Service type .
may be required to wt"ta previously dry funne l before gauge. The can and scales are also used for detennining
wate r will flow into the measuring tu be. the'total water conte nt of snow on the ground. from snow
Gauge ~lount.-1lle large-eepeeiey a-inch gauges a re cores (section 25.1), at loca tions with snow depths Ie.
mounted in eithn a stoPel or aluminum tripod stand or in than 2 n. A sm aIl hole is usually dri lled near the rim
a wooden stand. The wooden stand, less common in of the overflow can for suspending it from a hook on the
newer installations, was in the past constructed from a scale. The scale in figure 9.3, with graduations in
box in which the gauge was shipped (fig. 9.2). The a.OS-inch increments, can measure 11 inches water (or
shorte r, Forest Service rain gauge is usually mounted in water plus antifrHu) content in one re volution of the
a specially-constructed wooden stand (section 18.2). pointer; 22 inches in two reveluticne.
Weighing Scales-Spri ng.typf' weighing scales (fig. SMALL- ORIFICE RAIN GAUGES
9.3) provide' a convenie nt means of measuring the water Rain gauges designed with email collection a reas
content of snowfall collected in the standard, large- (ori fices) and reduced ca pacities are often used to obtain
capacity a-inch gauge overflow can-s-en alternative to the supplemental rainfall data at locations away from the
meth od described in eecticn 25.1. The scale is particu- mai n or pennanent weather station. Most of these gauges
larly euited where the a-inch can, charged with antifrHle are constructed of durable plastic and ha ve the ad vantage
solution (section 9.3 ). is used as a storage precipitation onower cost and easy portability. A survey ofliterature
37
••
\
Figure 9.4--Severa l type s 01direct -reading , small-
ensce rain gaug~ .
38
ofmn ; the overflow cylinder holds an additional 10 recordi ng ga uge in use at ma nual fire-weather stations
inches. The gauge is supplied with a stainless steel a nd at th e NWS primary (ai rport) stations. But the
bracket for mounting on a post or other suitable support punch ed-tape gauge, described below, has replaced the
that dot's not block precipitation . Universal gauge in the NWS cooperative recording-gau ge
network .
Wedge.sha pc-d (FencepolJt) Ga uge-This flat-aided,
The Universal gauge's operating principle is relatively
one-piece plastic gauge consists of a wedge-9ha~ well on
simple. In the standard model, the collector has an 8-inch
which a seale is embossed (fig. 9.4 ). Rectangular m cross (inside diameter) orifice and ·chimney," together with a
eeeticn, ita knife-edge orifice measures 2.5 by 2.3 inches. removable funnel. As precipitation enters the chimney, it
The gauge has a capacity of 7.00 inches, with the scale
is funneled or directly deposited into a 12-quart bucket
graduated in unita of 0.01 inch for rainfall up to 0.30 inch;
resting on a spring-scale weighing platfonn. The funne l is
0.02 inch for rainfall between 0.30 inch and 1.00 inch; removed during the snow eeason, when, also, a charge of
O.os inch for rainfall above 1.00 inch. Measure ment is by antifreeze i. added to the bucket. A high-capacity model
direct obeervation of the wate r level. 1be gauge is sup- is also available. To inhibit snow bridging across the
plied with a mounting bracket. orifice, its collector measures 11.3 inches in diameter an d
Evaporation 10Mcan be quite high in this gauge . Con-
is eeeted with tenon.
tributing to this loss is the open top and also the tendency The weight of precipitation in the bucket, converted to
for small amounts of water to cling to the sidee; the small
inches, is transmitted through a linkage system to the
gauge and ita contents can also heat up rapidly in the pen arm and onto the rotating chart (fig. 9.7). A dash pot
sun, providing enugy for the evaporation ProcE'SS. The is provided in the linkage system to dampen pen ann
gauge must be read VE'ry soon afte r rainfall has ended. oecillations caused by wind or other sources of vibration.
The standa r d model can be supplied calibrated to r ee-
9.2 Recording P recipitation G au ges ord, on appropriate charts, a total of either 2.4 inches,
4.8 inches, 6 inches, 12 inches, or 20 inches precipitation.
Recording gauges provide a chart record or other Some of these ranges include dual traverses ofthE' pen
readout that can be used to determine the time, duration, ann. The high-<apacity model will record 30 inch es , dual-
intensity, and amount of precip itation for each occur- traverse (including antifreeze charge>. Standard range is
rence. They aleo show the attUmulation during a speei- 12 inches. In this case, a L inch vertical spacing on th e
fied time period . chart equals 1 inch of precipitation. The first 6 inches are
Two basic typE'S of I'KOrding gauges are in common use : recorded on the ordinary upward traverse of the pen ; the
the weighing type and thE' tipping bucket type. The tradi- second 6 inches , on a downward traverse.
tional ("Uni verser type) weighing gauge USE"S an ink rrece The chart drivE'S are similar to those available for th e
on a rotating chart. A newer, digital type weighing gauge Belfort-type hygrothennograph~pring-wound or
employs punched tape. ba ttery-opt>rated (Sf'Ctions 3.1 and 7.7). Likewise, the
Recording gauges consist of four basic parts: a ec lleetor, chart rotation period can be varied by gear selection.
measuring mechanism, recording mechanism (or Daily, weekly, and monthly cha rts are avai lable.
transmitting device ), and housing. The housing encloses the entire operating mechanism
and the collector -funnel assembly serves as the top. A
lJrI,'1VE RSAL WEIGHING GAUGE vertically sliding door is provided at the bottom of the
The Universal weighing gauge (fig. 9.6), also known as housing for Recess to the chart, chart drive , and pen arm
the Fergusson weighing gauge , continues as the standard assembly.
39
Figure 9.6-llnMtrsaJ weighing-type precipitation gauge: left. assembled gauge; right weighing and
recording mecharisms.
40
i ~,
,
~ ,
9
j .-
!,
A gu re 9.7- Weighing gauge chart record . The firs16 inches 01precipllation are recorded on lhe upper
eaveoe 01 pen.
41
TJPPC\"G BUCKET GAC GE
Tipping bucket rain gauges are used for remote record .
ing or read out ofpnocipitation amou nts, as in an office at
ma nual stations . Such gauges a re also widely used in
a uto matiC' weather sta tion syste ms _ Both 8- a nd 12-inch-
diamete r modele art' av ailable (figs. 9.9 and 9.10).
In th ese gauges, precipitation is funneled from the col-
lector through a small spout to a tipping-bucket meeha-
nism. Th is mecheniam consists ofa pivoted rontainer, or
bucket, divided into two compartments, each having a
capacity of 0.01 inch preci pita ti on. Th e ecm pertmen t
under the spout fills to ca pacity, overbalances the other
compartment , a nd tips the bucket. The tipping action
closes a mercury or reed switch, sending an electrical
im pulse representing 0.01 inch precipitation to the record-
ing un it. As the bucket tips, the second compartment is
positioned under the spout, rea dy to fill and rftpE!atthe
eyele.
In some modele, wate-r from the ti pping buckf't is emp-
t ied into a reservoir for late-r drainage and stick measure-
ment. In oth er model s, the water drains imme dia tely,
giving unlim ited recording c:apacity. As usually supplied,
th e ti pping bucket gauge will not func tion in the case of
snowfall and freftZing temperatures. But heated, insu-
la u-d models (fig. 9.11), with either electric or propane
hea ters, may be operated down to about - 10 to -20 OF.
Se veral types of recorders can be used with ti pping
bu cket gauges. The most commonly used is the spring-
wound or battery-operated, clock-driven eve nt recorder.
The ch art record sho ws precipitation by a stepped trace,
ea ch step representing 0.01 inch (one tip of the bucket).
After 1.00 inch of precipitatio n has been recorded , the pen
returns to the bottom of the chart and sta rts a new up -
FIgu re 9.9-Tlpplng bucket rain gauge c:ontainng
ward cycle. Some event recorders are equipped ...."ith a
mservoir. WIth tube tor slICk mea.SUrem&nls; slan -
digital counte r, which shows total accu mulated precipita-
da-d NWS desig n ....."" 12-inch-dlameter ontlO8.
tion at a glance. ( Photo rourtesty of Be/lror1 lnstrument Company.)
42
I,r
I
---
Flgurell.l1 - Tipping budo.el gauge. as WI 6gure 910. wi!h propane heatel'lor measlont-
menl of both rain and snow (water content). (PholOcounesy of SiefT.M.sco. Inc.)
9.3 Storage Precipitation Gauges
Storage precipitation gauges an employed in remcee ,
usually mountai nous areas, where freque nt atte ndance by
a n observer il impractical; acct>Ss is commonly limi te d by
deep snow eover, Many such gauge s are read only once or
t wice per year. Storage gauges at Soil Conservat ion Serv-
ice (USDA SCS) s now survey courses. however , are now
part of a SNOl'EL (s now telemetry) syl te m that provides
data on a dai ly bosi.. via radio transmissions bounced off
ionized traill al meteors (Ba rto n 1977).
Storage gauges are usually mounted on 8 platfonn or
to wer , or are in the form al a standpipe, at a height that
mai ntains the gauge orifice above the location's maximum
expected snowpeck depth. Clea rance of a t least 2 ft above
the snow surface is advisabl e. Except at wen-sheltered
sites, wind shie lds (section 9.4) are usually installed.
Many gauges employ a coll~tor that is tapered toward
the top to prevent wet snow from adhering to the in side
walls and clogging the orifice. The rflC'Omme nded storage-
gaugt' t~ and capacity (or dimensions) depend la rgely
on the depth of snow that may accumulate be tween
visits-not on the equivalent water depth-and on the
Figur. liU2-Electronic rain ;auge. set!· eherecteri etie t~ of s now that falls (dry snow versus
draining bpping-buck8t type . WIth dig'la l heavy wet snow ) (USDA SCS 1972).
counter. (?hole court esty 01 RainWise Inc.) Storage gaUgel are charged with an an tifreeze solution .
Glycometh-a solution of.Opercent ethylene glycol a nd
60 perunt methyl alcohol--is now preferred ever ethylene
Re mote-oReadin e Electroni c Rain G.ug~An inex- glycd or calcium chloride (USDA SCS 1972); ethylene
pens ive tippin g-bucket gauge rnanafectured by RainWiSol' glycol has been recommended over calcium chloride (Kidd
(fig. 9.12) provide s a digital readout on a battery-operated 1960). Only glyeometh , with a specific gravity between
indica tor. The gauge, usable only for rain or melting that of ice and wate r, is self-mixing, preve ntin g a n ice
snow. ha s a standard Bdnch-diameter collector and is 8E'!f· laye r from forming at the top of the solution (diluted by
emptying. The indicator will accumu late rainfall up to melted s now). When such a layer fceme, in other solu-
99.99 inch" or can be reset for dai ly readings. tions, snow builds up on the ice and, if the gauge has
inadequa te ca pacity, the gauge caps over; excess snow
RELIABILITY OF RECORDING RAlS GAUG ES may blow away. Particular caution ie req uired, however.
Observe rs may orun encounter difference s in catch in preparing glycometh, as methyl alcohol. (methan ol) is
between a rerording rain gauge and a nearby nonrecord- toxic and nammable; avoid ski n contact and inhalation.
ing gauge . Such differences are, in fact., typical. taking care to protect the eyes with goggles.
Stu dies by Jones (1969) showed that reeceding gauges The antifreeze charge is covered with a film of light oil
with sloping shoulders below the orifice-such as the such as transformer oil, mineral oil, or re frigerant oil, at
Universal gau ge-c-cclleeted 2 to 6 percent less rain than leas t 0.3 inch thic k, to prevent I08S of wa ter by evapcra-
standard nonrecording gauges, which have a straight tion. Light motor oil such as SAE 10 has been found un-
profile. The slope can induce upward wind eurrente that satisfactory at low temperatures (Fa rn es 19S8).
carry away eome of the raindrops. Larger erron typically Gauges with an orifice 12 inches in diameter are recom-
occur with snowfall. mended over those with an 8-inch orifice in areas where
In addition, the tipping bucke t gauge has characteris- heavy wet snow ie Iikely to bri dge the smaller orifice.
tics that can produce errors in recorded prKipitation. Heat absorption for melting snow bui ldups can be in-
During light rai ns in wann wea ther, water can aecumu- creased by painti ng the outsi de of the ga uge with nat
la te in the buck et slowly e nough to allow losaes from black or brown paint.
evaporation before the bucket is ti pped. Duri ng intense
rainfall, some error will result as wa ter eontinuee to pour TYPES OF STORAGE GAUGES
into the already fined compartments during the tipping Storage gauges most commonly used in the United
motion . With an actual rainfall raw of 5 inlh, the re- States fall into two general categories, having either con-
corded rate in gaUgH with a mercury switc::h may be 5 stant diameter or vari able diameter, and these comprise
percent too low (parBOns 1941). The error should be about four basic designs: the Sacramento gauge (which has a
one-half this in models employing a magnetic reed switch. truncated cone sha pe), the Itraight-si ded can, the can -
cone (strai ght.sided can with truncated cone top). and the
standpipe. The first th ree gau ges a re mounted on towers
(USDA SCS 1972), while the standpipe gauge rieee from
its base at the groun d. Most of the gau ges are equi pped
44
tank of 12-gau ge or heavie-r steel, togethe r with a tru n-
~atfodcone to p eeerion, mounted on a single 3 o/l-inch sup-
port pipe. Thi s gauge was recommended as a ru gged,
va ndal proof gauge- suitable for eitee receiving 60 inches or
less preci pitation du ring th e storage season. Stand pipe
ga uges may alec be fas hionf'd from PVC pipe use-d in
eewer lines (Fa m e s 1988).
46
Snow Stake.-5now stakes provide the simplest
means of measuring snow depth in a reas of deep snow
accumulation. Recommended stakes (U.S. Department
of Commerce 1972) are made from wood PI. inches
square, of appropriate length, a nd pai nted white to mini-
mize undue melting of the immediately surrounding
snow. The entire length is graduated at t-tneb intervals.
using small black edge markings and num erals. Stakes
are usually anchored against the ground surface with
angle iron supports. Location should be at a carefully
selected, representative site that allows easy reading from
a distance if necessary. \\'1lere a single snow stake is not
consistently representa tive, several stakes should be
installed and an a verage depth taken.
Snow Samplin g Tubeec-Snowpeck depth and water
content may also be measured with sampli ng tubes and a
spring scale . The federal snow sampler, widely used in
the Western United Sta tes, consists of30-inch section s of
duraluminum tube with an inside diameter of l l l li.
inches. A steel cutter bit is fitted to the bottom section.
Measurements , usually taken monthly or semimonthly
along marked snow courses for water supply forecasts, are
outside the scope of this handbook. Th ese measurements
are described in detail by the USDA Soil Conservation
Service (1972). Snow pillows. which automatically record
the snowpack wate r content, are also described.
Rgu r. 1I. 17-Snow buildup that may occur ee- KIND OF PRECIPITATION
tween Alter shield and sloping wall of saaamento The kind of precipitation specifies whether it was rain,
slOfage gauge , particularly with shield of previ- drizzle, snow, ice pellets (sleet ), or hail . Further distinc-
ously used configu ration (see text). (Photo from
tions include freezing rain and drizzle (glaze), a nd also
National Weather Service .)
snow pellets and snow grains (U.S. Department of Com-
merce 1972). This information is oft.e n entered in coded
fonn .
47
CHAPTER 10. FUEL MOISTURE
10.1 Fuel Moislure Slicks
Since Gisbome (1933) first deve loped the idea in 1924,
fuel moisture indicator sticks have been widely used to
e.tima~ th e moisture conte nt of small-dia meter (lO-hour
I
timelag) fore st fuels. A fuel moist ure indicator stick is
-. •. a specially prepa re d sti ck or !K"t of sticks of known
dry .....eight continuously exposed to t he wea ther and peri -
odically weighed to dete rm ine changes in moist ur e con -
tent as an indica tion of moisture changes in fores t fuels·
(Society of American For ester s 1958).
Unlike conventional wea ther in struments, indicator
sticks do not measur e any single wea th er variable but,
rather, they -, .. mea su re the net effect of climatic facton
affKting flammability in terms of th e most si gnificant
ite m, the fuel itsf'l i (Davis 1959). For this reason, the
practice of using fue l moisture indicator sticks is com mon
at fire-weather sta tions, both in conjunction with fire-
danger rating systems and prescri bed burning operations .
Also, in some ar eas th e fuel moisture stick readings dur-
ing criticall y dry peri ods serve as a basi s for initiating fire
protection measures, such as restrictions on logging op-
erations, ca mping, an d open burning. II
STAJ'"DARD FUEL MOI STURE STICK
A standa rd fuel moistu re indica tor stick consist s of four
F1gur.10.1-Stanclarcl fuel moisture stick. consisting
'/:dnch ponderosa pine sap wood dowels space one-fourth ot 'll-inch ponderosa pine dowels. and Wit S mounting
inch apart on t wo ·/,..inch -diameter ha rd wood pin s. The rad\ (two raclo; sections are requi red lor instaftatlOr'l).
dowels a TE" held in pla ce on th e pin s by wire brads a t each
intersection, The r esulti ng stick (fig. t o.l) i. 2'/. inches
wide, about 20 inches long, a nd has an c vendry weight of
t OO grams. A screw hook is inserted in the- end of one of now adjusted. based on t-o'FDRS clima tf' class. For ex-
the dowels. and th eo notation, "This end NORm. this side ample (Harrington 1983). th e wea thering rate (aver age
up," is stam ped on the dowel surfa ce just below the screw monthl y weight loss ) of fuel moisture sti cks in a dry
hook (Hard)' 1953). South west climate is about one-ha lf th a t in a wet clima te .
The- wooden fue l moisture stic k has seve ral short-
comings as a fuel moistur e analog (Fosberg 1971).
Specifically: 10.2 Fuel Moislure Scales
1. The response cha racteristics of wood a re highly Using a properly exposed stick, analog fuel moistu re is
variable. Dowels cut from the same board will sometimes measured by weighing the stick on a suitable scale. The
give different fue-l moisture values whe n exposed side by fuel moisture is re presented by the stic k weigh t in e xcess
side in the same environment. of ovendry weight (100 grams for a set of 'll·inch ponder -
2. Exposure and aging will change both the response osa pine dowelsl. Seve ral scal es in common use at fire -
characte ristics and the calibration of a wooden stick . Dis- weather stations are deoscribeod belo w. These include
colora tio n wi th age changes the radiation characteristics scales designe-d epecifieally to weoigh fuel moisture sticks.
ofthe stick. lfthe dowel. check and split, as they often either at permanent stations or in the- field. Such Kales
will , more su rface area i. exposed to the air a nd th e cali- are recomme nde d over th e labora tory balances.
bration of the stic k is cha nged. The actual weight or mass
of the stick can be reduced if splitting and checking are TIIE FORESTE R FUE L MOISTURE SCALE
severe. This ecele (fig_ 10.2), traditionally known as the Appa la -
Efforts to develop an impro ved. more consi sten t a nal og chian Fuel Moistur e Scale , is r ecommended as the stan-
for indicating fuel moisture. utilizing inorganic material, dard scale a t permanent stations. It was designed by
he ve, at pre sent, been un successful. Thus, th e NFDRS Byram (l940)--originally for weighing basswood sla ts.
10-hour fuel moisture cont inues to be estimated with the which were simila r in purpose to th e pre sen t fuel mois-
wooden sticks at manual fir e-weather stations. Correc- t ure stick bu t ha d variabl e ovendry weights. The sca le
tions for aging cha nge-s in th ese sticks (Haines and Frost consists of a pivoted balance ann mounted on a 10- by
1978) ere, however, incorpora ted in theo NFDRS (Deemi ng lO·inch metal back . A slidi ng weoight on th e ann is
and othe rs 1977)_ k a further step, th ese corrections are used to adjust the scale for the ovendry weigh t of the
stick. Wh@n weighe-d. the stick is hung on a small hook
Agu,. 10.2-Fore SleJ (Appalachian) fuel moisture Ag ure l 0.3--f'ore ster (Chisholm) portab le fuel
scale mounlec! in Appalachian scale ,helter. moisture scale.
at the len en d of the bala nce ann. The poin ted right end easier to use when hu ng on a post, tree, truck, or similar
of the balance ann indicates the analog moisture content suppo rt. A l oo-gram tfost weight is provided with the
on a eurved scale graduated from 0 to 50 pereene, A stan- scale.
dard l oo.gram weight is provided to level an d zero the
scale . WILLIA.\ ts POCKET nRESTlCK ~tOISTURE
SCALE
Appalac h ia n Shelter- The Foreste r scale should be The Williams scale (fig. 10.4) is a portable, accurate,
mounted in a specially designed shelter known as the and durable scale. Measuri ng I V, inches in diameter and
Appal8l:hian sheltfor. This shelter (Barney 1962) facili- Jess than 5 inches long, it weighs only 14 ounces. Ita case
tates correct leveling of the scale a nd also the weighing weighs 100 grams an d doubles as a cal ibra tion weight.
process (affording protKtion from moisture an d wind). Micromete r gradua tions are read as dir ect percentages of
It provides leveling adjustment in t wo plan es, adequate the amount of moist ure in 100 grams of wood; the uppe r
space, and ample viewing th roug h a la rge window in the limit is 25 percent. Scale sensitivity is one-fourth gram .
door (fig. 10.2). Construction details are shown in
ap pendix 5. TRIPLE BEA.\! AIm HARVARD BALANCES
These a re standard laboratory balances. The trip le
FORESTE R PORTABLE FUEL MOISTURE SCALE beam balance (fig. 10.5) has a single pan; the Harvard
The Forester portable scale (fig. 10.3), also known as balance (fig. 10.6), a double pa n. Fue l stick weigh t is
the Chisholm Portable Fuel Moisture Seale, operates in read from the scales afte r bala nce has bee n achie ved.
the same manner as the previously descri bed Fores ter When used at fire-wea ther stations, tri ple beam and
(Appal achia n) scale, except tha t it has no adj ustme nt for Harva rd balances are installed in a scale shelter similar
a range of ovendry weights. It is calibrated for weighi ng to tha t shown in figure 10.7. It is important that the
the standard 1oo-gram ponderosa pine stick. Although shelter is wa terti ght, finnly moun ted, and exactly level
the Forester portable scale can be hand held, it is much an d plum b.
49
Agu re 1 0_4-W~lia m s pocket scale: left.
assembled lor storage ; right, assembled
',n.,.
50
Agur. 10.6-Harvard eereece.
51
CHAPTER 11. CLOUDS, SUNSHINE, 11.2 Sunshine and Solar Radiation
AND SOLAR RADIATION Instruments
The a mounts of eola r radiati on reaching the grou nd SUN"SHll'I.'E DURATION RECORDERS
or vegetative cover have an important in fluenc e on fuel Two main types of sunshine du ration recorders are in
moi stu re. Depending on the time of season and available use in the United States: (1 ) the Campbell-Stokes re-
moisture, sola r ene rgy can promote both growth and corder, which focuses radiation from the sun to bum a
dryi ng . The amount of cloud cover (or state of wea ther>, trace in a ca rd , and (2) the Foster photoelectric sunshi ne
as rou tinely obse-rvt>d at fin -weather stations. serves switch, a re mote recordi ng instrument used at primary
largely as an indica tor of solar radiation and related (airpo rt) stations of the National Wea ther Service. The
changes in fuel moisture. Fester sunsmne switch (Foste r and FOEIken 1953) is a
Relatively few weather stations in the United States successor to the Marvi n electrical sunshine recor der
routinely measure incoming solar radi a tion (or other ra- <Middleton and Sp ilhaus 1953; World Meteorological
diation parameters). Only a few hundred, mostl y Na- Organization 1911)_ The Foster instTument consists ofa
tional weather Service airport stations. measure sun- pair of electrically conneeud s@lenium photocells, one
shi ne duration, which is a better indicator of the radiation exposed to direct _un_mne and the other shielded; direc:t
received than is the amount of clou d cover. Observations radiation prod uces a signal that activates a recorde r or
a t fire -weather staticna do not disti nguish bEotwH n low, coun te r,
opaque douds and the highe r, thi n types through which Sensitivity differs between these tweinstruments and
greater solar radiation can pass. thus thei r recorded sunshine d ura tions are not ecmpa-
r able . Only the Foster s witch allows r eliable measure-
11.1 Clou ds ments when the aun is near the horizon (nea r sun rise end
su nset). The Campbell-Stokes recorder, however, may
Unlike the othE'r weather and environmental measure- more c1OSE'ly measure the du ra tion of~right- sunshi ne.
ments covered in this handbook, the cloud observations It is more commercially a vailable and is rela ti vely simple
a re visual, emplo)'ing no instru ments. in operation, acting as a sundial. A disadvantage of t he
Campbell-Stokes recorde r is the va riation of its se nsitivity
CLOUD FORMS th reshold (Mazzarella 1985). Sunshine recorders req uire
Di!tails eoneerning cloud types, or fonns, a re helpful for very careful ins tallation and adjustment to minimi ze
various purposes. This is particularly true with douds errors (cha pter 20).
that have vertical development, because of th eir impor-
tance as pote ntial light ning producers. These douds , a nd Ca m p beU.Stoke s S u nshi ne Recor der - The
·stmtifonn- types, also serve as in dicators of atmosphe ric Cam pbell-S tokes sunshi ne reecrder (fig. 11.1) consists
stability or instability . basically of a ·gla ss sphere abou t 4 inches in diameter
A eloud is a visible aggnogate of water or ice particles, mounted concentrically in a section of a spherical bowl,
or both, that is based above t he ground s urface (such an the diam eter of which is such that t he sun's rays are fo-
aggregate lying on the surface is kno wn as fog). Clouds, cuse d sha rp ly on a card held in grooves in the bowl-
varying greatly in th eir origi n and a ppea rance, ha ve been (World Meteorologica l Organizatio n 1983 ). Th ree differ-
classified into certain basic, chamcteristic fonns. The ent cards a re used during the yea r-for defined summer,
"International System- for doud classification lists 10 winte r, and equ inoct ial periods. Th e r adi a nt heat of t he
major cloud forms (genera ) within three height classes sun, concen tr a ted by the sphere, bums a tr ack in the
(fa milies), together with reccgn n ed species and aubspe - car d; the car ds ar e gradua te d in 'e-hc ur increme nts. The
cres . width an d dep th of the bu m depe nd on th e sun's bright-
A simplified cloud classification is presented in figure ness. Specific rules ar e provided for evalu a ting th e traces
A3.1, appendix 3. Some douds fonns are illustrated in (above reference). Pr ecau tions must be taken in cold
figures A3.2 through A3.10, a ppe ndix 3. wea ther to keep thE' sphere free of frost or snow. This ca n
be accomplished by use of a heating element an d fa n or
CLOUD COYE R the application of deici ng fluid.
Cloud cover refers to the fraction of the sky (in te nths)
that is covere d by clouds or obscured by phenomena such PYRA.,"O :'IETERS
as fog or smoke. The following cloud cover dassification, The re are- va rious typE'S ofinstruments available for
together with code numbers , is used in fire -weather obser- measuri ng solar radiation (Fri tschen and Gay 19i9;
vations <Deeming and others 1977 ): Szeicz 1915). The type most often em ployed for general
climatological and wea ther monitorin g purposes is termed
Clear (rode O)-Cloud rover Ius than I/,G. a pyranometer. Such a n instru ment measures the total,
Scattered clouds (code I)-Cloud cover 1/, ~ to $I,G. or globel, radia tion (both the direct beam ra dia tion an d
Broken douds (rode 2~Cloud cover 'h. to ' hG. the diffuse , or sky radiation) received on a horizontal
Overeeer tecde 3)--Cloud cover more than 'h. (com - surface. The sensor usua lly employs a the rmopile (a se ·
pletely cvercest or overcast with small breaks). ries of very closely spaced diffeTE'ntial thennocouples) or,
Obscu red by fog (rod e 4). in less expensive and less precise models, a silicon
photovoltaic cell.
52
,
• A•
-
t'.
53
Figure 11.3-Bime l aRic pyranograph , two models . (Pho fO S cour1esy 01 Oualimetrics, Inc.,left, and Bello n
Instrumen t Company, right)
54
base plate. A small tube or pipe through the center of the
base plate allows only slow movement of water to and
from the well, thus preventing possibl e rippling of the
wa ter surface withi n the well.
Hook Ga uge-The hook gauge (fig. 12.3), al so termed
a microm eter hook gauge, can measure cha nges in the
pan water level to th e nearest thousandth of an inch, but
actual observations a re recorded to the nearest hundredth
of an inch. The gauge consists of a hook in the end of a
stem tha t is graduated to te nths of inches over a range of
several inches. A three-legged · spider" and adjusting -nut
assembly supports the hook ins ide the still ing well a nd
pro vides for heigh t adjustment of the hook to measure the
water level (U. S. Department of Commerce 1972). A cir-
cular hu ndredths scale is situated within the spider.
Find-Point Gauge-The fixed-point gauge (fig. 12.4)
consists of a pointed lIs-inch rod affixe d withi n a stilli ng
well to the center of th e base. The tip is located 7 1/2
inches above th e bottom of th e pan (2'12 inches below the
rim). Two small ope nings in op posite sides of the well,
near the base, allow moveme nt of water to or from the
well while pr eventi ng possible ri ppling of the su rface.
_ _ INCH SCAL.E
55
0
I
I
I 1\
I
I
I
I
H
I I
I I I
I I I
I I I
I I I
I
I : 1
I I I
I I 1
•
1 ,~ -"1 1
I'-,
- - ,
U ,
----- ~
Agur. 12.4-SlIIiing -eliot bQ>d.point gauge (photo COU"teSr ot 5Ierra -Misoo. Inc.): the gauge is affi:a:ecl
ins icle. as UIown in chwW'ig at righl (from us Depanment of Commerce 1972 ).
A transpare nt plastic measuri ng tube (fig. 12.5) is used cente r of the c:Dpe abou t 6 to 8 inc:hes above the rim of the
to add or remov e water at each observation until th e wa- pan . A 3~ p c:ontac:tinganemometer is usually employed:
te r surface coincides with the tip or the fixed point. The it has both Lmile and '1.0- or 'I_mile contacts and self-
t ube is 15 inches deep and has a CT'088 sectio nal area one contained read out, as previously described in section 8.2
h undre dth that of the evaporation pan ; the- ins ide diame - (fig. 8.5). Most widely used among these a ne mometers is
ter, th us, will be 4.75 inches for a 47.S-inch pa n. Gradu- th e 5-d.igit odometer type, which is replacing the older,
a tions on the tube are at f -inch intervals, correspondi ng circu lar-dial type .
to e.o t-i neh increments of water level in the pan. Wa ter Temperat u re Thermome ter- Maximum and
Wa ter Storage Tank - At stations some distance from minimum pan-water temperatures are usually measured
a wa ter scuree, a water stor age tan k at th e site will pro- with a Six's th ennometer (sedion 7.4 ); however , a record-
vide a ecn venient su pply of water for refilli ng the evapo- ing the rmom ete r (such as an electrical r esistance or
ration pan. Tank capacity sh ould be at leas t 30 gallons . mercu ry-in- steel type) having a lensing element suitable
In the absence of rainfall, this am oun t win last only 2 for immersion in water may also be used (U.s. Depart-
week . during a month with 8 inchee eva poration. The ment of Commerce 1972). 1be recomme-nded S ix's model
water placed in the tank should be free tA oil. has its acale markings on the gllLM tube; the- range i. from
+20 to 110 -p. in l··P divisions. The thermometer is pro-
SUPPLEMEr-.,.AL IN'STRUME~'TS vided with a white, reflective- shield over its bulb for pr0-
Precipitation Caur_ 1be basi c: precipitation gauge tection an d .hading. Two types of mount have been em -
USE'd at an evaporation station is th e- standa rd , large- ployed-a noet mount and a submerged mount (fig. 12.6),
c:apacity, 8·inch nonN!COrding ga uge-. A Uni versal recced - with the submerge-d mou nt now favored by th e Na tional
ing (we-ighi ng) gauge may be a dded. Th ese two gauges Weather Service.
have- bun described in secti ons 9.1 and 9.2. In the floet mount, the thermometer is mounted hcri -
zontally on a plastic (acrylic) frame s upported by a floa t a t
Pan-Le vel Totalizinr Anemometer-1be an emome-
te r for measuring wind movement over the eva pora tion e-ach end. The th ermometer ride . about one-fourth inch
pan is mounted on the wooden pan su pport. with the
56
National Wea ther Service (U.S. Department of Commerce
1972) is actuated by a mercury-in -steel se nsing element,
rather than a bimetallic element teeencn 7.5). Sensors
employing thermistors or thermocouples may also be used
(Fri teche n and Gay 1979; Mazzarella 1985).
MERCURY·IN·STEEL TIIERMOMETERS
The thermometer shown in figure 13.1, similar to that
in figure 7.10, will indicate maximum and minimum soil
temperatures . Its mercury-in-steel se nsor is connected
to a Bourdon-spring drive by flexible, 5·ft stainless steel
capillary tubing.
LIQUID·IN·GLASS THERMOMETERS
The moet convenient liquid-in-glaee (usually mercury)
soil thermometers are made with stems bent at approxi-
mately right angles; these a re suitable for soil depths
down to abou t 8 inches . The scales thus face up ward,
enabling easy rea ding without dis turbance of the inetru-
ment. Such thermom eters might not be readable, how-
ever , when there is snow cover, which should not be
disturbed.
_ 12
__ 13
13.11nstruments
Flgur. 12.6-$ilc s water-jernperature thermome-
Soil temperatures at manual stations a re gene rally ters . with shiekls: lett. thermometer in submerged
measured by eithe r mercury -in-glas s the rmometers or mount: righ t in float mou nt. ( Photo courtesty of
dia l-type the rmometers. The dial type preferred by the Oua~metrics. Inc_l
57
CHAPTER 14. SOIL MOISTURE
14.1 Measurement Methods
The accurate measurement of soil moisture has been a
difficult instrumentation and sampling problem (World
Meteorological Organization 1983). Of the presently
a vailabl e measurement techniques, the direct gravimetric
method appean to be one of the most eccurete and is
commonly u!l('d as a calibration control: for oth er methods
(t hough laboratory calibration is preferred where fea-
sible). The gravimetric method, however, wherein a soil
sa mple is weighed before a nd an.r drying in a n oven , is
cumbersom e and predudes repeated monitoring of a fixed
soil mass. The direct but nondestructive Iysimeter
Agu,. 13.1--Soi ma KlrTlUtTHninimum !Ntfmorne1lll'.
method, in which a contairwr is filled with soil and
5IfIIi. 1o thermome Dllr in fl9ure 7.10 bul..,,1h 5-t1. weighed, is very costly ; it cannot be used for obtaining soil
fte_OIe armor capilal')' IUbing OOtInecled" mercuy- moisture profiles.
II'H Ieei sen sing probe. (Pho" courtesy of Pamer The neutron method (World Meteorological Organiza-
Instrumenl:$. Inc 1 tion 1983) is considered to be the most accurate and
efficient of the indirect methods. The USDA Soil
Con!l('rvation Service (1972 ) indicates tha t both the elec-
trical re sistanCE' method and neutron method can give
For greeter soil dE'pth a. mE'rcury-in -glass the rmometers reasonably satisfactory results. These methods, however,
should be suspe nded in thin me tal or plastic t ubes (Worl d may be bE'stsuited for determining soil-moisture profiles
"!E'U'oorologica l Organization 1983); th e tops of th E'SE' tubes or cha nges rather than the actual soil moisture (World
should extend above the UpE'C'tM depth of snow cover, Meteorologi cal Organization 1983); careful calibration is
The thermome ters , themsel ves, should be mou nted in necessary (Maz zarella 1985)_ The tensiometer method,
wooden, glass, 0 1" plas tic tubes, with their bulbs embedded used to indicate soil moisture suc tion, has limited applica-
in wax to provide sufficient te mperatur e lag when they tion because of the instrumE'nt"s small range ofsensitiv-
are raised for rea ding. ity. Its main use is in agricultu re, for irrigation control.
Speeiel liqui d-in-gleee, bent-stem thermomE'tel"S are
available for measuring maximum and minimum soil ELECTRICAL RE SI STANCE METI-lOD
temperatures. ThE'!I(' are either of the Ll-tube (Six's) 1.)'Pl!' In the elect rical res istance method, two electrodes care-
or pain of individual thermometen. The separate maxi- fully spaced in a block of water-abserbant material are
mum thermometer uses a steel index set by a magnet; the buried in the soil. The block comes into equilibri um with
minimum thermometer uses a glass in dex. the soil, responding to moisture changes. The electrical
res istance of the block, varying with the amount ofmois-
TI IER MOMETER HEAD SHELTER ture, is measured by means of a meter con nected to the
Thermometer dials (or "hfoads·) must be protected from electrodes. The moisture blocks are usually compose d of
rain and other ele ments by a shelter. Several shelter gypsum (plaster of Pa ris ), nylon, or fiberglass, or combina-
designs, for either mercury-in-steel 0 1" elect rical instru- tions of these materials. Nylon a nd fiberglass units
ments, are illustrated by the U.S. Department of Com- (World Meteorological Organization 1983) are more suit-
meres (1972 ); the dime nsions will depend on the num ber able than gypsum for higher soil moistur e conte nts and
of thermometers installed . have greater du rability, but they exhibit grea ter cali bra-
tion shifts. Gypsum blocks have bee n combi ned with
fibE'rglass or nylon , and further modified , to give impr oved
13.2 Measurement Depths performance.
Standard, recommende-d soil temperature measurement The reetetence method's main advantages are ita rela -
depths (U.S. DE'partment of Commerce 1972) are 4, 8, and tively low cost and the fast speed at which readings can
20 inches, in that orde r of priority, Wher e the equi pme nt be made. The method is particularly suited for auto-
is available, additional depths, in recommended order of maud, remote recording. For manual type rea dings , the
priority, are 40, 2, 60, and 120 inches. Bouyoucos and Colman soil moisture meters have ha d
field use by the USDA Soil Conservation Service (19 72),
which pre~nts operational de-tails. These two instru-
rnt'nta employ nylon -reinfOTC1!d gyps um blocks and
fiberglass-mesh blocks, re spectively.
58
l'o.'ElITRON METHOD relatively expensive . Improved, more compact, and
The neutron method, also termed neutron scattering, automated neutron equipment is being developed. The
em ploys a fast neutron sou rce and detector combined in neu tron me thod is not relia ble at shallow soil depth s
an instrument called a neutron probe . Th e neutrons are (abo u t 10 inches or less) because some of th e neutrons will
slowed down in the preeenee of hy dr ogE.'n a toms. Beeauee pass in to the air ins tea d of the soil.
water is the most significant source of hydrogen in soil, a In use , the neutron probe is lowered into a ncneorroeive
count of the slowed neutrons as provided by the detec tor access tube that h as been installed in the soil (sec ti on
is proportional to th e nea rby soil water content per u nit 22.1); further operational details are given in the preced-
volume . Although portable, the neutron pr obe is he avy ing tw o references. It is necessary to follow all in struc-
because of the need far radiati on shielding, and it is tions for protection against possible radiation hazards.
59