Drosometer

As drosometer in which is meteorology a measuring device for determining by the Tau -related rainfall , respectively.

construction

It contains a plate on a fine pointer scale, covered with fine, fluffy wool, on which the dew settles at night. The devices can also be provided with a pen that records the deflection of the balance on a drum.

The increase in weight of the plate is a measure of the thaw strength. However, this type of measurement is not very precise.

Reasons for the low precision

In addition to the great sensitivity to wind, like all instruments based on artificial condensation surfaces, it only shows the potential for dew formation, the actual dew formation, on the other hand, is strongly dependent on the surface properties.

Alternatives

Alternative measuring methods for measuring the actual condensation therefore use plants, leaves or entire pillars of the earth, which are set up on a scale at natural height above the ground (in principle a small lysimeter ).

Other methods rely on estimating the dew droplets compared to comparative photos or measuring the volume of water wiped off a surface.

literature

• Sidney Skinner: The drosometer, or measurer of dew. In: Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society 38.162 (1912): 131-136.
• K. Richards: Observation and simulation of dew in rural and urban environments. In Progress in Physical Geography 28.1 (2004): 76-94.