Extreme Application Series
50+ years
of field-proven measurement solutions
8,810 m
highest weather station on Earth
~6,000 m
highest weather station in Western Hemisphere
Why We Go to the Monitoring Extremes
The paradox of extreme monitoring is simple: the most challenging environments and conditions often have the most to teach us about our planet. Most instrumentation, however, cannot hold up to these conditions, meaning that they often are under-monitored or unmonitored.
From remote mountain ranges that regulate water supplies for millions of people living downstream to extreme storms that give insight into how we can better predict—and warn about—severe weather events, the only way we can truly understand the world around us is to continuously measure it.
This requires instruments that survive where others cannot. Since 1974, Campbell Scientific has been building instruments that continuously record some of the world's harshest environments.
The Extreme Application Series
Field-Proven Monitoring Systems Performing Reliably in the World's Most Challenging Environments
In the harshest environments on Earth, Campbell Scientific enables scientific discovery by providing rugged measurement instruments that can hold up to the very extremes they are monitoring. This extreme application series showcases how, in completely uncontrolled conditions, Campbell Scientific data loggers, sensors, and unified systems help advance our collective understanding of hydrology, climatology, and weather patterns.
High Altitude Hydrology and Climatology | Andes, Argentina
Aconcagua: Project Wayra
Built on the backbone of Campbell Scientific’s flexible, open-architecture data loggers, which form the core of each station, a network of rugged weather stations now transmits real-time weather and water data from Aconcagua, the highest peak in the Western Hemisphere.
Expanding on the success of the Mount Everest installations, the 2025 project continues Dr. Baker Perry’s and Dr. Tom Matthews’ legacy. The Wayra project integrates Campbell Scientific data loggers and sensors with third-party sensors, bringing together multiple technologies into a monitoring solution that advances high-altitude climatology and provides real-time weather and water data.
Photo credit: Pablo Betancourt
Extreme Altitude Monitoring | Himalayas, Nepal
Mount Everest
At the highest summit on Earth, a weather station designed, engineered, and tested by Campbell Scientific withstands extreme winds, freezing temperatures, and intermittent maintenance.
Initially installed in 2019 by Dr. Baker Perry, Dr. Tom Matthews, and their team, this high-altitude weather station supports climate, weather, and water observations that deepen our understanding of the world around us.
Photo credit: Dr. Baker Perry
Field-Proven Environmental Monitoring: From the Everyday to the Extremes
In extreme environments, conditions exceed the limits of what most instruments can capture. Wind topples mounting structures, often destroying measurement equipment in the process. Dangerous or remote siting can prevent regular maintenance. Communications infrastructure may be limited. Temperature drops can damage power systems.
The monitoring systems in the extreme application series are designed around those realities, with power management, extreme weatherproofing, and hardware built for long-term, unattended deployments in the most demanding conditions on the planet.
Available to researchers and monitoring networks around the world, many of the data loggers, sensors, and other instruments used in this series are part of Campbell Scientific product lines. These extreme deployments demonstrate the products' reliability, durability, and quality when conditions are anything but controlled.
Talk with the Environmental Team
From everyday environments to the extremes, our teams are happy to help you find the right solution for your application.