Development of Multilevel Meteorological Data Acquisition System for Radiation Emergency Decision Support

This paper describes a development of multilevel meteorological data acquisition system implemented at Kalpakkam coastal site for atmospheric dispersion and model validation studies. Meteorological data are one of the most important inputs into any air dispersion model. As a part of atmospheric dispersion modeling studies and developing a methodology to forecast the site-specific dispersion characteristics, the real time monitoring of meteorological parameters assumes significance. This is achieved by erecting met towers instrumented at multilevel and single level at different locations with sensors for measuring various meteorological parameters. Real-world data logging applications involve not only just acquiring and recording signals, but also combination of offline analysis, display, report generation and data sharing. This paper covers development of low cost compact MMDAS (modular meteorological data acquisition system), its performance evaluation, field deployment test and data comparison analysis with fast response and high accuracy internationally acclaimed sonic anemometer. The system is based on embedded modules from Advantech and is designed to acquire analogue and digital signals from a multilevel instrumented met tower. The collected data are transferred from remote base station to central server for storage and further processing using wireless interface. MMDAS has many advantages like cost effectiveness, less complex signal conditioning electronics and easy maintenance. This system has good application during radiation emergency as well as site specific meteorological data collection and model validation studies.