An Above Canopy Radar Monitoring System At The Harvard Forest

For the past three years, the University of Massachusetts and Harvard Forest have been working on an automated system for collecting remote sensing data about a regrowing region in Petersham, Massachusetts. The system consists of a two 15 m towers separated by a 50 m span and connected to one another by a pair of taut cables which support a tram that can travel between the two towers. This paper will discuss the operation of the system, the suite of instruments on-board the tram, and a radar system that is being constructed to operate on the tram. It is anticipated that this system will be able to perform measurements on a periodic basis for the purpose of monitoring the biophysical characteristics of the surrounding area.