Zandvlei Trust 

Weather Station required for the Zandvlei area.

I am looking for a sponsor/s for a weather station to be installed on a suitable building in the Zandvlei area. This system would be part of a network of automated weather stations based around Cape Town collecting very valuable climate research information and is relayed to the internet every 5 minutes, 24/7/365 on the website www.myweather.co.za . Wind speed, wind direction, accumulated rainfall and rate, temperature, radiation, humidity and air pressure data are recorded and available.

The weather station at UCT.

The Climate Systems Analysis Group (CSAG) at UCT runs it. The present network of  8 stations is situated in an approximate triangle from Cape Town airport to Robben Island and down to Red Hill in Simons Town.

The weather across the Peninsula is highly variable in space and time, displaying strong changes during the course of the day and from place to place. The daily weather plays a significant role in many critical issues including extreme events (storms, flooding, heat waves, etc.), environmental conditions (pollution, strong winds, etc.), and a range of commercial and recreational activities (shipping, tourism, traffic, sailing, etc.). Given the importance of the weather to daily activities, there is a remarkable lack of real-time weather information available, in part due to the lack of monitoring.

Such a station would go a long way to help us gather data to manage the Greater Zandvlei Estuary Nature Reserve and its catchment. It would compliment the ZIMP (Zandvlei Inventory and Monitoring Programme) and fill the gap in this part of the Peninsula for climate research. Four of the present stations are based at teaching institutions, another positive aspect. CSAG also run a schools information education programme for school projects.

Climate change is a topical world subject and requires data for research and analysis to forecast perceived and real changes occurring locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.
I have the detailed break down costs for a station, in relative terms it is not a huge sum of money.
Please contact me if you are interested. Part sponsors are welcome.

Contact  Gavin Lawson  021 705 5224