Esempi di
applicazioni
Harvard scientists monitor the
Ozone Layer automating data collection with WinWedge
Researching and monitoring our
atmosphere’s ozone layer has become a career to many scientists
around the world. After all, understanding and controlling the
effects of air pollution and global warming are issues of importance
to every living creature on the planet. The ozone layer, the region
of the upper atmosphere, between approximately 10 and 20 miles (or
15 and 30 kilometers) in altitude, contains a relatively high
concentration of ozone (a natural form of oxygen O3) that absorbs
solar ultraviolet radiation in a wavelength range not screened by
other atmospheric components. In other words, the ozone layer helps
protect us from the harmful effects of the sun.
Harvard University’s Department of
Earth and Planetary Science has developed a method of analyzing the
ozone layer by measuring the air speed in the atmosphere and why
ozone exists where it is. The research specifically involves
tracking carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which will offer insight
into how air pollution travels and what might be effecting our ozone
layer.
To tackle the challenge of
collecting data from the atmosphere, the Department developed a
system that utilizes a carbon dioxide meter whose data is captured
by a data logger (manufactured by Campbell Scientific, North Logan,
UT). Both instruments are attached to a balloon. The data from the
balloon is telemetered to a receiving unit on the ground where it is
transferred through to the serial port of a personal computer
running Windows 95 and WinWedge 32-bit Pro version (WinWedge 32),
data acquisition software from TAL Technologies, Philadelphia, PA.
WinWedge parses and filters the data and transfers it via dynamic
data exchange (DDE) to Microsoft Excel. The data is automatically
graphed and analyzed by Excel.
Additionally, the Department is
using S-Plus from MathSoft (Cambridge, MA) for statistical analysis
of large amounts of data and Origin from Microcal (Northampton, MA)
for graphics.
The Department’s research is used
in conjunction with information gathered from satellites and
measuring instruments on the ground. The project is funded by NASA
and others who want to build environment-friendly aircraft.
Benefits
- Remote data collection through
datalogger transmitter/receiver
- Ability to input serial data
directly into Excel, S-Plus and Origin programs
- Completely accurate real time
data collection
|
