Atacama Desert Extreme Weather Research with WINDLogger

The Atacama Desert in Chile is one of the driest locations in the planet. Plant growth in the desert is restricted to fog oases and is highly dependent on coastal fog water. For this reason, vegetation is dominated by the genus Tillandsia, a type of aerophyte plant which obtains all of its water and nutrients from the air. However, recently even these small pockets of vegetation are diminishing, which could be an indication that the Atacama Desert is becoming more arid as well as an indication of climate change at the global level.

The Research Group for Earth Observation (RGOE) started a project with the purpose of analyzing this phenomenon and determining its exact causes, where weather monitoring is a key element of the research. The WINDLogger technology by Logic Energy offered a reliable solution thanks to its compact size and rugged weatherproof design. The WINDLogger has several features that allow it to operate even when subject to harsh weather conditions in isolated locations such as the Atacama Desert:

• A battery life of two years eliminates the need for continuous replacement.
• Fours sensor inputs allow it to consolidate several measurements: two anemometers, a wind vane and an external temperature sensor. The combined measurements allow the WINDLogger to provide a complete weather profile.
• An IP65 enclosure and RJ11 sensor connectors guarantee the internal components are protected against water, sand and dust.
• Industrial flash memory allows the storage of 10 years of logged data. Frequent downloads of logged data to free up space are not required.

This and other recent projects demonstrate that WINDLogger technology and other solutions by Logic Energy are not limited to commercial applications and renewable energy or energy efficiency projects. In addition to being a key element of projects such as the Atacama Desert weather research by RGEO, Logic Energy solutions have also been used successfully as an remote monitoring and remote data gathering system for many other applications fields.

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