Collecting and Using Temperature Data
Constructing a solar shield for recording accurate air temperatures
Constructing an accurate $1.00 temperature-to-voltage probe for use with Hobo (and other low voltage) loggers. under construction
Using (and miss-using) a Dallas iButton Thermochron temperature recorder
This chart shows the difference between recording air temperatures every 10 minutes vs every 4 hours. This is actual data recorded on 2 loggers mounted side by side in the same enclosure.
Four hour logging does not record EVERY exact high or low but does a good job while requiring only 1/24th the number of data points
Using the same actual experimental data as above, this chart shows that the logged temperature is very heavily weighted toward the previous 10 or 20 minutes' temps. (as it should be)
Each line in this chart represents the 4 hours prior to a recorded point in the above chart. Of course, air temperatures change over the 4 hour period, but the goal is to record the ACTUAL temperature at the designated logging time, or at least as close as possible.
The logger container, desiccant, and surrounding vegetation, all contribute to moderating the temperature change, but at 4 hour logging, all these have very little heat sink effect (as they also change temperature toward the logged moment).
The air temperature in the chart, averaged during the previous 4 hour period, converges on the actual air temperature at the moment it's recorded.
The chart shows how the average of the previous 4 hours temperatures might be higher or lower than the (eventual) recorded temperature. The absolute value of the temperature difference between and previous time and the logged (current) time is shown.
In this study, all loggers are programmed to record temperatures every 4 hours; Midnight, 4 a.m., 8a.m., 12 noon, 4 p.m., and 8 p.m. The 4 hour interval was tested against 30 minute and 1 hour intervals. The shorter recording intervals did not provide much additional useful or more accurate data, and required much greater recording space. Other 4 hour logging times were also compared (such as 2:00, 6:00, 10:00, 14:00, 18:00, 22:00), but they provided no additional advantage.
Temperature is one of the most important and easiest to measure aspects of the Box turtle's environment. Humidity, wind speed, sunlight are all important too, but they are all more difficult to log, and temperature can be recorded conviently in field notes.
Everything here is still under construction
Terrapene carolina carolina
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For example: for series 7, the temperature 230 minutes before logging is 12 degrees higher than what the logged temperature will eventually be. At 120 minutes prior to logging, the temperature is still 7 degrees higher but dropping. Twenty minutes before logging time, the temperature is only 1 degree above what will be logged. And at10 minutes before logging the temperature is now exactly the same as what will be logged.
