INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this document is to provide guidance to the principle
investigator (PI) in the use of ISFF. In particular,
this document defines the responsibilities of the PI and NCAR/SSSF
staff. Throughout the use of ISFF, the PI and SSSF staff must
maintain a communication link. The primary SSSF staff contact is the
Project Manager given either in the ISFF award letter or a follow-up
letter from the head of the Surface Group. A scientific
point of contact (usually the PI) also must be identified.
The following guidelines are for the actual field deployment and
operation of ISFF. These guidelines have been developed for a
"typical" ISFF deployment; however, changes can be implemented for
unique situations. Any such changes must be negotiated with the
Project Manager.
PRE-PROJECT OPERATION
The following is a list of pre-project logistical items which must must
be taken care of, indicating the responsible party.
SITE
Selection of the installation site is a joint responsibility of the PI and
SSSF and generally involves a site survey visit by both parties.
In addition to scientific considerations, such as topography, length of fetch,
and surface type,
criteria used in the site selection will include space, power, and
phone availability along with access to site.
SSSF will be responsible for obtaining permission for site use, though the
PI is encouraged to participate in this process!
If necessary, lease agreements, including compensation to the landowner, are
the responsibility of SSSF.
During negotiations with the landowner, any restrictions regarding use of
the site and a way to communicate with the landowner should be identified.
(When negotiating with land owners, we note that ISFF usually pulls out
"cleanly", with no permanent impact on the site.)
There are two components of ISFF which require
site evaluation: the base station system and the instrument arrays.
See the Site Requirements document for details
of what is needed.
INSTRUMENTATION
Instrumentation of the tower arrays is a critical part of the
experiment. This involves the selection of instruments to be used,
location, heights, data rates, etc. This must be completed 1 month before
installation of the system in order to allow for software configuration
tables to be created and hardware interfacing as required. ISFF staff
will be available to provide both engineering and scientific support in
determining the best configuration.
USER SENSORS
ISFF was designed to accommodate user-supplied instrumentation and we encourage
the investigator to take advantage of this option. However, well in
advance of the project (preferably prior to the facility request) the
PI and SSSF staff need to discuss all aspects of the instrument(s). In
particular, details such as the power requirement, installation, and
signal output and processing and display products will be needed. All
aspects of user sensor deployment and operation are the responsibility of
the PI.
OPERATION PHASE
The operational phase of ISFF starts with the transferring of
equipment from Boulder to the site and ends when the equipment
is back in Boulder. This phase can be broken down into 3 parts; setup
and testing, data collection, and teardown or removal. The logistics
and operational aspects of these parts are handled by SSSF personnel.
The investigator may be called upon to provide a level of labor support
during setup and teardown. During setup and operation periods, the
investigator or a representative should be on site to provide
scientific input.
Deployment of ISFF typically starts 2 weeks before the beginning of data
collection for equipment installation and testing (typically 5 days).
The physical layout for the deployment should be completed beforehand,
and the PI is encouraged to be on site during setup to ensure that the
physical placement is satisfactory.
ISFF operates continuously, so SSSF staff usually are on site only
during daytime hours for data monitoring and maintenance. If the
operational mode of the project calls for intensive periods, SSSF staff
will be at the site to minimize data loss in the case of equipment
failure. It is important that the mode of operation is known in
advance so that staffing can be arranged.
We encourage the PI or representative to stay at the base as much as possible
during operations. We can supply space for 1-2 investigators and a
workstation to be used to monitor the data (with internet access, if
available). SSSF will provide training to use our software for this task.
Removal of the equipment typically takes 4 to 6 days. As noted above,
the investigator may be called upon to provide a level of support
during this time.
DATA REQUIREMENTS
For many deployments, ISFF saves every data sample during the entire program.
These data
are saved uncalibrated so that the calibrations can be revised at any
time during or after the field phase. ISFF applies all (known)
calibrations in real time to generate first and second-order statistics
for all data channels. Comparison plots using these statistics are
generated every day, or on demand. Real-time plotting of calibrated
time series, spectra and cospectra also is possible for data
monitoring. Any other real-time data products should be defined well
in advance of the program. The PI is encouraged to tour ISFF (either
at NCAR or during another deployment) prior to the field phase to
observe the use of the routine data products.
The statistics will be recomputed after the field phase by SSSF using
final calibrations agreed upon between the PI and SSSF. A typical
ISFF deployment generates 200 Mbytes/day of uncalibrated data. Since
user capability to handle this quantity of data varies widely, access
to the time series will be arranged between the PI and the Project
Manager on request. The PI is encouraged to utilize NCAR computing
facilities to work with the data.