Moni-Da

Moni-da is a new system specially designed to

All the equipment. -Jose Raggio Quilez
Iridium connector. -Jose Raggio Quilez
Measuring sensor. -Jose Raggio Quilez

monitor photosynthetic activity on plants and to withstand hard climatic conditions. It consists of a central unit with a solar charged battery, two solar panels, an iridium satellite connector and four sensors that measure temperature, radiation and chlorophyll fluorescence signal that indicates photosynthetic performance. The sensors are monitoring two lichen species in Garwood Valley, Umbilicaria aprina and Caloplaca sp.

The combination of chlorophyll a fluorescence measurements and microclimatic data (temperature and light) is providing us with valuable information about the ability of lichens to cope with such extreme environments as the Dry Valleys. The low temperatures, the low air humidity and water availability as well as the long dark winter are big challenges for plant life in Antarctica. With Moni-da we can learn how lichens manage to live there, because we measure data of metabolic activity and microclimate at the same time.

Another important aspect of the device is the data transfer. We can check the data daily in the lab because all the information is sent to an internet web page through iridium satellite. The device installed on the Dry Valleys is the southernmost of a monitoring network that includes Livingston Island on maritime Antarctica, Navarino Island on Tierra del Fuego and Spanish Central System of high mountains. This latitudinal monitoring gradient is a powerful tool to understand lichen metabolic adaptation to extreme environments and possible consequences of environmental changes