?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fd-scholarship-dev.library.pitt.edu%2F16531%2F&rft.title=ENVIRONMENTAL+MONITORING+THROUGH+WIRELESS+SENSOR+NETWORKS&rft.creator=Davis%2C+Tyler&rft.description=Wireless+sensor+networks+(WSN)+deployed+for+the+purpose+of+environmental+monitoring+are+becoming+increasingly+popular.++This+research+examines+the+use+of+WSNs+for+the+application+of+studying+the+hydrologic+cycle+with+respect+to+the+soil-plant-atmosphere+continuum.++The+goal+was+to+pair+WSN+technology+with+inexpensive+hydrological+sensors+for+the+purpose+of+affordable+and+reliable+environmental+monitoring.++This+work+encompasses+the+design%2C+construction%2C+and+calibration+of+sap+flow+sensors%3B+an+examination+into+the+power+characteristics+of+the+environmental+sensors+used+to+study+hydrology+and+the+wireless+motes+used+to+communicate+data+in+the+WSN%3B+the+results+from+deploying+a+pilot+WSN+test+bed%3B+the+deployment%2C+maintenance%2C+and+findings+of+a+main+WSN+test+bed%3B+and+the+primarily+results+from+the+processed+environmental+sensor+data.++Lab+experiments+were+used+to+determine+an+optimal+sampling+rate+of+environmental+sensors%2C+which+was+a+compromise+between+the+battery+life+of+the+motes+and+the+temporal+resolution+of+the+environmental+measurements.++Based+on+the+sampling+rate%2C+it+was+determined+that+the+thermal+dissipation+sap+flow+method+was+the+most+practical+for+WSN+applications.++For+the+purposes+of+large-scale+deployments%2C+lab-made+sap+flow+sensors+provide+a+comparable+cost-effective+alternative+to+their+commercial+counterparts.++Environmental+monitoring+of+soil+moisture%2C+soil+water+potential%2C+and+sap+flow+was+successful+and+exhibited+spatial+distributions+and+temporal+changes+within+the+main+test+bed.++Analysis+of+the+WSN+communication+revealed+numerous+factors+impact+network+stability.++While+environmental+monitoring+through+WSNs+is+feasible%2C+its+practicality+is+dependent+on+numerous+variables.&rft.date=2013-01-31&rft.type=University+of+Pittsburgh+ETD&rft.type=PeerReviewed&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.language=en&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fd-scholarship-dev.library.pitt.edu%2F16531%2F1%2FDAVISTW_ETD_2012.pdf&rft.identifier=++Davis%2C+Tyler++(2013)+ENVIRONMENTAL+MONITORING+THROUGH+WIRELESS+SENSOR+NETWORKS.++Doctoral+Dissertation%2C+University+of+Pittsburgh.++++(Unpublished)++