Advances in solar photovoltaics, lower power demands for environmental monitoring instruments, and an increasing variety of ways (e.g., wireless internet, satellite) in which data can be remotely retrieved are allowing DRI scientists to gain improved understanding of linkages between environmental parameters. For example, at the Tonopah Test Range (TTR) in Nevada, DRI is using portable environmental monitoring stations with solar powered instruments to collect air particulate samples every two weeks to assess the risk of radionuclide contaminated soil suspension. In addition, solar panels, combined with batteries that are charged during the day and from which the instruments operate at night, are being used to operate continuously a full-suite of meteorological instruments (including wind speed and direction), dust flux sensors, and soil moisture probes in conjunction with the air sampler to provide a more complete understanding of the environmental conditions and seasonal trends under which soil particles and contaminants are suspended. Data from the majority of the instruments at TTR are transmitted by GOES (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite) to the Western Regional Climate Center (WRCC) that DRI manages for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Reno.

George Nikolich and Lynn Karr set up a solar powered air sampler on the Tonopah Test Range in Nevada. The station has operated continuously since July 2008

Ken Giles collects a two-week air particulate sample from a solar powered monitoring station. The rate of air flow through the sampler, measured with a totalizer, can be monitored remotely to ensure that the equipment is operating and that the total amount of air sampled remains consistent from one sampling period to another

Besides reducing costs, air sampling such as being done by DRI at the TTR is just one of many examples where a strategy of "event driven monitoring" can replace traditional approaches of monitoring where samples or measurements are taken on a prescriptive basis, but which contribute little to understanding under what circumstances an event--such as contaminant migration--may have occurred. Even driven monitoring, whether it is to determine when recharge to groundwater, runoff from storms, or transport of air contaminants happens both addresses compliance needs, but also increases our understanding of process at a site.

Another example of event driven monitoring is DRI's research on soil suspension following fires (Fires--Changing Disturbance Regimes). Using the Portable In Situ Wind Erosion Lab (PISWERL), the conditions under which soil suspension occurs after a fire can be rapidly assessed. Knowing this information, one can look back at historic weather records to identify how often threshold sustained wind speeds or gusts have occurred to better understand how often particle suspension events are likely to occur in the future. See below for a schematic of event driven monitoring using the PISWERL.