Water Level Measurements; Gensburg Markham Prairie; 2016-2017

Gensburg Markham Prairie comprises over 100 acres of well-preserved tallgrass prairie and wetland south of Chicago and is one of the Indian Boundary Prairies in Illinois. A U.S. National Natural Landmark, this site is valuable as a sentinel ecosystem for changing regional climate and a reference ecosystem for restoration and management of urban prairie nature preserves. In June of 2016, 10 piezometers containing water level sensors (InSitu LevelTroll 400 pressure transducers) were installed throughout the prairie, in addition to 8 of the same sensors deployed in ditches and surface channels in and around the prairie. The installation coincided with soil sampling and manual-visual characterization at each well location. Each sensor collects a water level measurement every 30 minutes. This installation and sampling campaign is a part of larger effort to assess surface water and groundwater dynamics in urban environments. Additional sensors, including soil moisture and electrical conductivity probes and a rain gauge, provide supplementary data for this project. This resource includes one year of data, from the installation of the sensors to the same date the following summer, capturing the effects of an unusually warm winter in the Chicago metro with very little snow and no extreme temperatures.

根斯堡-马卡姆草原（Gensburg Markham Prairie）位于芝加哥以南，占地逾100英亩，为保存完好的高草草原与湿地，是伊利诺伊州印第安边界草原群（Indian Boundary Prairies）成员之一，同时获评美国国家自然地标（U.S. National Natural Landmark）。该区域作为监测区域气候变化的哨兵生态系统，以及城市草原自然保护地修复与管理的参照生态系统，具有极高科研与应用价值。2016年6月，研究团队在该草原全域布设了10台内置水位传感器的测压管（piezometers），所用传感器为InSitu LevelTroll 400型压力式传感器（pressure transducers）；另在草原内外的沟渠与地表水道中部署了8台同款传感器。此次布设工作与各测点的土壤采样及人工目视特征表征同步完成。每台传感器每30分钟采集一次水位数据。本次布设与采样工作是城市环境地表水与地下水动态评估大型研究项目的组成部分。本项目额外配备了土壤湿度、电导率探头及雨量计等传感器，以补充采集相关数据。本数据集涵盖了从传感器布设至次年同期夏季的一整年观测数据，完整记录了芝加哥都会区那场降雪稀少、无极端气温的异常暖冬所产生的生态影响。