May 14, 2010: Description of Central Sierra Field Research Stations NSF Project Subject to the approval of a federal grant from the National Science Foundation, the University of California (UC), Natural Reserve System (NRS) is proposing to make improvements to the existing cyberinfrastructure network at two NRS reserves and a “satellite” station that are part of the larger regional Central Sierra Field Research Stations (CSFRS) Figure Central Sierra Field Research Stations, current cyberinfrastructure The Central Sierra Research Stations provide an effective but rare east-west research transect across the crest of the Sierra Nevada This transect, along with long term environmental datasets from Sagehen and the Snow Lab, provide opportunities to study questions related to climate change across dramatic precipitation and elevation gradients Proposed Improvements: The University is proposing to replace and upgrade some of the equipment at Sagehen, allowing extension of the wireless data network to the Central Sierra Snow Lab and North Fork of the American River basin Two new data communications towers will be installed and fitted with backhaul radios as needed to connect the entire set of areas served These radios also require solar and wind power generation for electricity Wifi radios on existing towers will be replaced with mesh radios within the Sagehen basin to improve connectivity through increased range and mesh redundancy, Phone modems and manual collection currently used to shift data from weather towers at Snow Lab, Onion Creek and Chickering will be replaced by mesh radios Additionally, a mesh network of internet access points will be installed at the Snow Lab and Chickering research areas (See Figure below.) This area is seasonally covered in deep snow, so work will be restricted to the late summer months Figure 2: Sagehen Tower shows the size of radios, batteries, solar panels, guy lines here on a shorter tower Purpose and Need: The proposed cyberinfrastructure improvements will provide data communications redundancy, upgrade from phone modems and manual collection to mesh radios, automate data collection, and link the various sites for improved troubleshooting to improve data quality, accessibility and consistency The improvements will also provide opportunities for additional environmental sensing data instrumentation and collection Wireless Network Overview The existing wireless network currently consists of 12 active towers within or immediately adjacent to the 9,000-acre Sagehen basin These towers range from 3-m to 30-m in height and typically carry environmental sensors and data collection instrumentation in addition to the communications hardware There is mesh networking providing internet access at the station facilities and in close proximity to all towers A T-1 phone line provides the network connection to the internet (see Figure map above) Tower interconnectivity at Sagehen is currently provided by wifi bridges and access points Meteorological towers at Onion Creek, Chickering and the Snow Lab are not currently networked and use telephone modems or manual collection for data retrieval Improvement Coordinates: New Towers: N Fork relay tower Highway-89 relay tower Latitude: 39°17'53.49"N 39°30'13.17"N Longitude: 120°21'20.26"W 120°15'39.55"W Radio Upgrades: Sagehen Tower Sagehen Tower Sagehen Tower Sagehen Tower Sagehen Tower Sagehen Tower Sagehen Tower Sagehen Tower Sagehen Tower Sagehen Tower 10 Sagehen Tower 11 Sagehen Tower 12 Central Sierra Snow Lab Chickering Tower Onion Creek Tower Latitude: 39°25'53.18"N 39°26'4.51"N 39°25'39.36"N 39°25'17.82"N 39°25'34.73"N 39°24'50.82"N 39°26'38.81"N 39°25'5.25"N 39°24'44.18"N 39°26'21.15"N 39° 26.127'N 39° 25.933'N 39°19'31.57"N 39°14'45.88"N 39°16'27.27"N Longitude: 120°14'23.64"W 120°15'38.67"W 120°16'58.32"W 120°17'53.61"W 120°18'40.52"W 120°19'3.79"W 120°14'23.36"W 120°14'21.22"W 120°16'20.86"W 120°13'2.58"W 120° 17.277'W 120° 13.820'W 120°22'3.25"W 120°19'24.63" 120°21'21.83"W New Equipment Description: The two new towers to be installed match the majority of existing towers within Sagehen and the North Fork of the American River basins Each tower stands approximately 6-m tall and consists of unpainted lightweight aluminum tubing arranged in a triangular grid for rigidity The towers bolt to aluminum base units which are buried in the ground Three guy wires from the tower tops descend to small dead men or t-stakes pounded into the ground nearby, providing stability to the towers The tower bases require a hole approximately 1-m deep by ½-m square The radios are typically panel-antenna style, approximately the size of a large phonebook and will be mounted at varying heights, typically near the top of the towers to avoid trees and maximize signal strength Sites have been selected to provide clear lines of sight between radios The radio equipment upgrades vary slightly between towers, but typically include a mesh radio incorporating bridges for long connection distances and an access point for local internet connectivity Project Impacts: As part of a recent, major research project into forest management proposed practices, the US Forest Service conducted extensive vegetation, wildlife and archaeological surveys within the Sagehen basin There are no proposed towers in identified sensitive areas, therefore the impact of this project on these basin resources is expected to be minimal The Chickering property contains significant archaeological sites on granite slabs The Chickering tower will be sited away from these resources Figure Central Sierra Field Research Stations, proposed cyberinfrastructure renovation Permissions: Sagehen, which has been a UC field station for 59 years, is located within the US Forest Service’ Sagehen Experimental Forest The University operates Sagehen pursuant to a longterm USFS Use Permit The Forest Service also holds land in the North Fork of the American River, including the Onion Creek Experimental Forest Chickering Reserve and North Fork Association Lands are privately owned, but made available for research and teaching purposes to the University under the terms of a conservation easement that covers all land in the upper North Fork of the American River drainage The USFS and the private landowners have provided consent to those aspects of this project that will affect their respective lands ... Radio Upgrades: Sagehen Tower Sagehen Tower Sagehen Tower Sagehen Tower Sagehen Tower Sagehen Tower Sagehen Tower Sagehen Tower Sagehen Tower Sagehen Tower 10 Sagehen Tower 11 Sagehen Tower 12... renovation Permissions: Sagehen, which has been a UC field station for 59 years, is located within the US Forest Service’ Sagehen Experimental Forest The University operates Sagehen pursuant to a... wildlife and archaeological surveys within the Sagehen basin There are no proposed towers in identified sensitive areas, therefore the impact of this project on these basin resources is expected