Near-real-time environmental monitoring and large-volume data collection over slow communication links

Climate change studies are one of the most important aspects of modern science and related experiments are getting bigger and more complex. One such experiment is the Spruce and Peatland Responses Under Changing Environments (SPRUCE; http://mnspruce.ornl.gov , last access: 16 October 2018) conducted in northern Minnesota. The SPRUCE experimental mission is to assess ecosystem-level biological responses of vulnerable, high-carbon terrestrial ecosystems to a range of climate warming manipulations and an elevated CO2 atmosphere. This manipulation experiment generates a lot of observational data and requires a reliable on-site data collection system, dependable methods to transfer data to a robust scientific facility, and real-time monitoring capabilities. This publication shares our experience of establishing a near-real-time data collection and monitoring system via a satellite link using the not very well-known possibilities of PakBus protocol.