The Agua Salud Project seeks to understand and quantify the ecological, social, and economic services provided by tropical forests a seasonal climate. The Panama Canal’s central role in world commerce focuses global attention on ecosystem services provided by tropical forests in the Panama Canal Watershed (PCW) where the focal research site is located. Carbon storage, clean and plentiful water, and biodiversity conservation for enhanced ecosystem function and ecotourism are just a few of the services. Agua Salud is a collaboration between the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, the Panama Canal Authority, Panama's Environment Authority and other partners.

The Agua Salud project focal research site receives an average of 2700mm of rain per year. Day-time temperatures reach an average of 32°C, with night-time lows of approximately 23°C. The meteorological year is divided into two parts: a pronounced dry season (approximately from mid-December to the end of April), and a wet season (May to mid-December). On average, approximately 300 mm of rain falls during the dry season. Relative humidity, soil moisture, solar radiation, evapotranspiration, wind speed and direction all show marked wet/dry season differences. On the other hand, temperature varies relatively little throughout the year.

The climate and hydrological monitoring components of the Agua Salud Project consist of a network of gauged weirs, meteorology stations, rain gauges and rainfall interception sensors. Beginning in 2015, a major expansion and improvement project was initiated in order to improve the project’s physical monitoring infrastructure. Improvements will include the construction of meteorology stations as well as the implementation of real-time data collection via telemetry.

By the end of 2015, we expect to have three new meteorology monitoring stations installed at the locations known as Celestino, Guabo and Surbal. Each of these stations will include a standard set of sensors measuring: rainfall, solar radiation (PAR and Global), Temperature, Relative Humidity, Wind speed and direction. Some stations may measure additional variables. The Celestino station, for example, will also measure Net Radiation.