H23G-1647
Wireless Sensor Networks: Some Insights Gained in West African Hydrology
Tuesday, 15 December 2015
Poster Hall (Moscone South)
Marc B Parlange1, Theophile Mande2, Natalie C Ceperley2, Gabriel George Katul3, Nick Van De Giesen4 and Scott W Tyler5, (1)University of British Columbia, Faculty of Applied Science, Department of Civil Engineering, Vancouver, BC, Canada, (2)Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland, (3)Duke University, Durham, NC, United States, (4)Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft, Netherlands, (5)University of Nevada, Geological Sciences and Engineering, Reno, NV, United States
Abstract:
We present recent observations gained through a robust wireless sensor network deployed in Burkina Faso in the southeastern Savanna over a five year period. The impact of land surface and cover change due to agricultural expansion are discussed relative to precipitation patterns. It is shown that the impact on forest and land clearing results in reduced surface heat fluxes and reduction in convective rainfall. In addition, the pattern of ground water recharge is controlled by water viscosity changes due to diurnal heating in ephemeral streams and the sensors allowed further exploration of the shallow ground water system.
