1/05

Happy New Year! Welcome to our 10 new NTN sites in 2004 NTN Site Operations Training Course: The 2005 Site Operations Training Course will be held May 3-5, 2005, at the CAL in Champaign, IL. The class has a limited number of openings so enroll early. See the enclosed memo for details. Site Liaison Emails: Use only the following address: ntn@sws.uiuc.edu when contacting CAL or Scott for site operations related issues. This address ensures that your emails will always be seen and responded to promptly. Site ID AK99 MD15 MD99 AK02 MD08 NY01 VA98 *98WI *03AZ *99VT Start Date 12-May-04 1-Jun-04 1-Jun-04 22-Jun-04 29-Jun-04 17-Aug-04 31-Aug-04 31-Aug-04 26-Oct-04 5-Oct-04 Site Name Ambler Smith Island  Beltsville Juneau Piney Reservoir Alfred Hartcum Wildcat Mountain Grand Canyon National Park Underhill   *2004-2005 USGS Intercomparison Sites http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu/cal/ E-mail: cal@sws.uiuc.edu     Back to reminders

2/05 Sample ‘Lab Type’ Codes: We’ve had some questions about the Lab Type code on the CAL monthly preliminary data printouts and the NADP web site data and thought we’d give you a quick overview of what they mean. Samples are assigned a Lab Type or Type based on the sample volume received at CAL. The following lab types are used: D (dry): no precipitation T (trace): sample volume ~ 10 mL (a small trace of liquid, but too little to dilute) WD (wet diluted) or WA (wet add) : sample volume >10 mL but < 30 mL, sample was diluted to allow for complete analysis. Data on the CAL preliminary report and the NADP web site have been multiplied by the dilution factor. [Note: CAL modified the dilution procedure last year and changed the code from a “WA” to a “WD” to reflect this procedural change.]   W (wet): sample volume > 30 mL which is large enough for complete analysis without dilution Site Operation Reminders: We’ve had some leaking samples coming in with liquid in the bottle bags. Please tighten the lids snugly before placing the 1-Liter bottles in the bottle bags. Do not put the FORF or raingage chart inside the bottle bag. Wrap it around the outside of the bag to keep it dry. As we near the spring thunderstorm season, please keep a close eye on the precipitation collector function. Lightning activity can damage the collector, so be sure to perform the weekly sensor and motor test each time you visit the site. Thanks.     http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu/cal/ E-mail: cal@sws.uiuc.edu   Back to reminders 3/05 IMPORTANT NOTE – The Preliminary Printout dated 2/8/05 contained an error. The concentration values for NH4 and PO4 contained an error that occurred during data transfer. Only sample IDs greater than TA0300 were affected. The data were reloaded and the corrected values are contained in this report. Samples affected are marked with an asterisk. Sampling Supplies - Here’s a recent question from an operator that we thought was worth sharing with the network. “Is it ok to use a clean sampling bucket that has some sort of rust-colored deposit. I suspect that the substance is rust and came from the bucket's metal handle. Is it ok to install this bucket on the sampler or should I mark the bucket as spoiled and send it back to you?” CALs ANSWER: “Please label a used NADP bag "bad bucket/rust," place the suspect bucket in it, and return it to us unused. Never use materials you think may be dirty or compromise the sample. Samples are too precious to waste! Thanks.” Site Records Reminder: Please keep the pink copy of the field form (FORF) for your records. This allows you to refer back to this form if we contact you with questions or when you compare your records with those you receive from the monthly site reports. http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu/cal/ E-mail: cal@sws.uiuc.edu   Back to reminders