Mesoterps: Advancements in University Micronet for Enhanced Environmental Monitoring and Safety

The University of Maryland (UMD) has expanded its campus-wide micronet, initially deployed to monitor microclimate variations and enhance campus safety. The network, consisting of low-cost automated weather stations, aims to increase the number of observational sites, strategically placed to capture high-resolution data on temperature, dew point, atmospheric pressure, wind speed, direction, rain rate, and heat stress indicators. These stations, powered by Raspberry Pi units running WeeWX software, provide continuous, real-time data, which are publicly accessible through our website, weather.umd.edu.

As of August 2024, four observation stations have been deployed, and by January 2025 we hope to have at least three new additional stations operational. These new stations will increase spatial coverage and improve data granularity. The network has also been upgraded with the addition of a Wet Bulb Globe Thermometer for heat stress monitoring and a CO2 sensor to assess local atmospheric composition.

Future work will involve the implementation of automated alert systems to enhance campus safety. These systems will trigger threshold-based alerts sent directly to relevant campus stakeholders. For instance, when rain rate exceeds predefined levels, real-time alerts will be sent to facilities personnel to mitigate flash flooding risks. Similarly, high-wind or heat stress conditions will activate notifications to ensure prompt response to hazardous weather.

In addition to expanding the network, efforts are underway to enhance data visualization on our website, providing more intuitive and informative representations of weather conditions. These improvements aim to make environmental data more accessible and actionable for the UMD community.