STARTRAM

Educators and researchers face a unique set of challenges when deploying remote atmospheric sensors in Alaska. Sensors and data collectors need to be compatible with remote power systems and extremely cold climates, where manual data collection and troubleshooting are not always feasible. In addition to these technical hurdles, sensors also need to satisfy the role as effective educational tools by being accessible to students and working together with existing curriculum. In summer 2024, high school students from Alaska’s Teaching Through Technology (T3) program tackled this challenge head-on by building and deploying a weather station with a network-enabled data collector at Charlie Dome in coordination with Chena Hot Springs. The project helped to identify some of the challenges these systems face, both with technology and student success. STARTRAM aims to identify and support atmospheric sensors for remote deployments in Alaska, which will unlock projects with many benefits.

• Students can help their local communities by making atmospheric data available in new areas and accessible in real time.
• Students can contribute to GLOBE and support national science.
• Students learn to manage and analyze scientific data, interpret meteorological information, and use different types of wireless communication.

Read more about the project’s methods and findings:

• STARTRAM T3 Report