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For
almost three decades, the Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) has had ongoing
research and monitoring activities at a rural site in Champaign County, Illinois.
These activities include evaluation and application of equipment and methods to
measure climate, meteorological, precipitation, and air quality parameters. The
site is operated by the ISWS on a University of Illinois Foundation (UIF) farm
four miles south of Bondville,
Illinois.
The
site location and facilities provide atmospheric scientists with a unique and
near ideal location for environmental measurements and sample collection.
Therefore, ISWS scientists and numerous colleagues from other organizations
(both local and national) use the site. The number of projects active at the
site increased greatly in the 1990s, with several national and global
monitoring networks now represented.
The Bondville
Environmental and Atmospheric Research Site (BEARS) location is shown on the maps link. This 14 acre
rectangular (220 meter by 260 meter) plot in a central part of a 253-acre farm
owned and managed by UIF. The UI Electrical and Computer Engineering Department
(UIECE) has carried out various radio propagation experiments
extending back to World War II. The remnants of a circular antenna 1/8 mile in
diameter are still present at the site, which was used in part for pioneering
research into global submarine communications.
Research projects underway
at BEARS generally have an atmospheric chemistry or global climate change
theme. The first measurements at BEARS - daily aerosol and event-based
precipitation chemistry measurements begun by Stensland, Semonin, and others at
ISWS in summer 1978 - have continued uninterrupted to the present. A list of
all current BEARS
projects is available and includes measurements for national scale
long-term monitoring projects related to wet deposition (acid rain), dry
deposition, and, most recently, global climate change. The scope and longevity
of these activities demonstrate the commitment of ISWS to use of BEARS for
long-term environmental measurements.
Development
and maintenance of utilities and roads on the 253-acre farm have been conducted
and funded jointly over the years by UIECE and ISWS. This has included more
than $50,000 in electrical power and telephone system upgrades. Maintenance
related specifically to BEARS has been the sole responsibility of ISWS. The
electrical power distribution grid on the site was designed and constructed by
ISWS scientists and technicians.
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