The LI-550F TriSonica® Mini Wind and Weather Sensors from manufacturer LI-COR have been used to measured wind as a solar eclipse passed over the continental United States in April 2024.
While not a once-in-a-lifetime event, total solar eclipses are rare occurrences with limited geographical coverage. These special moments provide uncommon opportunities.
Dr. David Horne, a physicist and astronomer at Gannon University in Erie, PA, with the assistance of participants along the eclipse path nationwide, sought to measure a long-rumored phenomenon – the eclipse wind.
To investigate the eclipse wind, Dr. Horne constructed an array of sensor platforms to be deployed by volunteer citizen-scientists across the country.
Each platform featured a LI-550 TriSonica Mini Wind and Weather Sensor that measured wind speed, wind direction, air temperature, pressure, and relative humidity, while a custom-programmed Arduino® microcomputer recorded the data. Additional sensors provided ambient light and redundant air pressure measurements.
Traditional 3-D sonic anemometers are expensive, but the affordability of the LI-550 TriSonica Mini Wind and Weather Sensor made it ideal for this research.
Moreover, the LI-550 measured more than just wind. Its measurements of ambient air pressure, humidity, and temperature simplified the sensor system.
Since these parameters were included in the data from the LI-550, there was no need for a more complex data acquisition system. The LI-550 transmitted data as plain text, which was easy to log and interpret.
Dr. Horne and his colleagues created straightforward, reliable sensor platforms that could be deployed by volunteers with minimal training. Six sensor platforms were installed along the eclipse’s path.
Beginning one hour before first contact, participants positioned the sensor platform, powered it on, and waited for the eclipse to occur. One hour after the eclipse concluded, participants collected the equipment and sent it, along with the data, to Dr. Horne.
Dr. Horne hopes that the data gathered will provide evidence for the eclipse wind and guide future investigations into the phenomenon.
The research demonstrated that meaningful experiments could be conducted by resourceful, creative scientists with limited budgets and small teams. Significant research questions can sometimes be overshadowed by large-scale studies, but sometimes great ideas are within reach. Often, a valuable hypothesis to test is one suspected by observers but not yet confirmed by science.
Learn more about the LI-550 TriSonica Mini Wind and Weather Sensor >>
