This Data Logger Is Designed Specifically for the Harsh Conditions of Alaska

You are — hopefully, at least — well aware of the effect climate change is having on our planet. That change is often most obvious in polar regions, and stories about polar bears swimming around with no ice to stand on plague well-meaning documentaries. But the effects of climate change aren’t always so dramatic. For example, warming temperatures are making it harder and harder for traditional native food preservation techniques to be used in Alaska. That’s why Rabbitcreek built this rugged data logger, and they have a tutorial explaining how you can create your own.

Rabbitcreek made this data logger specifically for their friend Monty to use with Culturalalaska.com. Cultural Alaska is an organization dedicated to keeping traditional native resources and activities alive. One way they do that is by burying food in the ground, where it can be protected from bears and stay preserved for up to eight months of the year. At least, that was the case until recent years. Now warming temperatures are shortening that time span. The data logger Rabbitcreek designed can monitor the temperature above and under ground for long periods of time, while holding up to the harsh weather.

To build this, you will need the custom PCB that Rabbitcreek designed. That utilizes an Adafruit Feather 32u4 Adalogger to gather data from a pair of waterproof temperature sensor probes and stores it on an SD card. Statistics and information are displayed on a 0.96" 128x64 pixel OLED screen. A single 18650 rechargeable LiPo battery is enough to keep the device powered for a year while taking temperature readings 12 times a day. The enclosure, which was designed in Autodesk Fusion 360, is 3D-printable and waterproof when sealed with an o-ring. If you’re interested in long term temperature monitoring, Rabbitcreek’s data logger is an affordable way to get it done.