The Global Institute for Water Security installs weather station at Hannin Creek Education and Applied Research Centre
A new partnership has emerged through the Hannin Creek Education and Applied Research
Centre (HCEARC). This summer the Global Institute for Water Security at the University
of Saskatchewan permanently installed a weather station and five soil moisture sensors
at the HCEARC. The weather station and soil sensors will be used by Saskatchewan Polytechnic
and USask for teaching, training and research and applied research projects. The installation
of these instruments represents the start of a mutually beneficial partnership between
Sask Polytech and USask.
“Three years ago I invited Dr. Andrew Ireson from the Global Institute for Water Security
to Sask Polytech’s Civil Engineering Technologies – Water Resources field camp,” says
Brett Watson, Sask Polytech Civil Engineering Technologies instructor. “Ever since,
we have been collaborating and sharing resources. It is our collective vision that
the Hannin Creek watershed be used to measure various components of the hydrologic
cycle. The weather station and soil moisture sensors are a first step to achieving
this goal.”
Sask Polytech and USask students can use the weather station and soil moisture sensors
to measure temperature, relative humidity, solar radiation, wind speed and direction,
and barometric pressure. Students can also learn how to download the weather records
from the datalogger. The data collected from the station can be used by students
for a variety of analyses or as input into a computer model for research and applied
research projects.
“Our collaborative vision for the Hannin Creek Education and Applied Research Centre
is to be a world-class facility for students in the water resources field,” says Ireson,
associate professor for the USask School of Environment and Sustainability, Department
of Civil and Geological Engineering and Global Institute for Water Security. “The
HCEARC is an amazing facility for education and research. We hope that by instrumenting
the surrounding region we can further enhance the reputation of the HCEARC as a world-class
learning experience for students and educators.”
For over 50 years, the educational facility at Hannin Creek has benefitted students
and researchers across Saskatchewan by providing unique hands-on learning experiences.
The HCEARC, an equal partnership between Sask Polytech and the Saskatchewan Wildlife
Federation, is located on the shores of Candle Lake. As the only boreal forest field
station in Saskatchewan, the HCEARC is a unique place to study and conduct research
in such diverse programs as forestry, fisheries, wildlife, conservation law, and environmental,
civil and water resources engineering technology.
Published September 2019.