Tales from Fathomland

Another glorious day in Fathomland! Birds are singing in the morning light.  Dew hangs on the oak leaves as you and your fellow travelers make your way through this distant corner of the map.  The sweet and warm morning air make this land’s troubles seem a thing of yesterday.   A foul pestilence has raged across this fair land; citizens are quarantined and paralyzed with fear and general concern.  Toilet paper brigades roam the land,  extorting the few remaining flaxen rolls from poor farmfolk and shopkeepers.  After defending Helmholtz Deep from the Christmas Seige, you learned from Markus, the gatekeeper of Helmholtz, that the moss was much softer in the West.  And so, saying goodbye to Markus, Tobias, and the 16 AutoSalts waving from Vetter Creek in unison, you traveled west through Valair Pass.
For a complete journal of your journey see below.   For those of you bent on productivity, here is a brief introduction to the Field Salt Portal, which you discovered while on a mission to win the favour of the Tall Queen of Grustland.  Contact us for a copy of the beta version of the Field Salt Portal, or download it here.

Field Salt Portal

Updated Dec 1, 2020 (GS)
The Field Salt Portal is an interactive post-processing and QA/QC interface to allow users of T-HRECS, QiQuac, and AutoQAc to quickly assess the quality of their measurements in the field,  without access to the internet usually required to access the Salt Portal.    It runs the same tools and the interface is through any web browser, although only Chrome has been fully tested.

Installation

Requirements

The Field Salt Portal will run on Windows 7 to Windows 10 with Google Chrome installed. The Installation installs a Python app, which serves the SD Calculator tool and the Grading tool to a local IP address that can be accessed using a browser. This has been tested on Google Chrome extensively.

Installing the software

1. Click on the Field_Portal_Setup.exe file.   Choose Install Location.
2. Click Next and the installation will begin. Click Finish.
3. The Installer unzips the files, creates a desktop shortcut and two Local Environment Variables:
   1. WIT_APP_ROOT: which points to the root directory of the field portal and
   2. WIT_DATA_ROOT which points to the local database tmp\app_data_wit

Using the Tools

Double click the Field Portal icon to launch the tools. A shell will open and launch the local server for the field portal.  The tool will launch your default browser, if it’s not already open, and open two tabs. The first to:
http://localhost:5006/sd_calc
the second to
http://localhost:5006/grd_calc
Click on the SD_Calc to get started.  The SD Calculator is used to upload files, process and save CFT and SDIQ measurements.

Operation of the Field Salt Portal (AKA Field Portal)

Operation of the Field Salt Portal is very similar to the operation of the Online Salt Portal described here: https://fathomscientific.ca/enter-yon-salt-portal/
Not all aspects are the same, however.  Missing from the Field Portal is the Rating Curve Component Editor and the Project and Site management page.  This article will just describe the new features of the Salt Portal.
As with the Salt Portal, the Field Portal is currently only used to post-process measurements acquired with the QiQuac or AutoSalt (ATXX_000.csv).

Import SDIQs

To start post processing, click on the Field_Portal.exe link.  Click on Choose File and select the file for processing.  The Field Portal will load the file and read meta data from the header.
Once the file is loaded, processing the SDIQ is the same as on the Salt Portal.

Grading and Grouping SDIQs

The Grading Tool provides a way to group associated files (all pertaining to a single salt injection), Grade the measurement, and Export to WISKI (Aquarius export coming soon).

In Figure 1, we see several measurements for the Aberdeen Project (Site) and the Pretty River Station. Only 2 channel measurements are currently shown.
The Grading Tool reads the SDIQ from each record, along with SDIQ Uncertainty and displays these values in the upper right.  The colour scheme is Orange: Grade C, Blue: Grade B, and Green Grade A.
Only the first Group selected will be graded.
The DQ  is taken as:

Q Uncert = Max (DQ, Q Uncert. CH0, Q Uncert. CH1)
and assigned a Grade based on :
<7%: Grade A
<15%: Grade B
>15%: Grade C
Only 1 Channel: Grade N
These Grading Thresholds are the default values in the QiQuac and the RISC guidelines here in BC, Canada.  Future iterations of the Field Portal will have user defined thresholds.

Measurements

The Measurements table contains all those measurements associated with this Project-Site.  Click on a measurements check box to plot it.
The colour scheme is always Blue: First series, Red: Second Series, Green: Third Series.
If you’d like to plot a group, you must deselect the measurements already plotted.  The first three series selected will always be plotted.

Groups

To manually create a group, select all those measurements that belong to it and click “Create Group”.  Alternately, click “Find Groups” to select all those measurements that have a start time within 5 mins of one another and create a group.  The 5mins can be changed in the settings file.
To Export one or several groups to WISKI: BIBER, select them and click “Export Group”  The xml file will be saved to the program directory under \tmp\xml_data.
To Delete one or several groups, select them and click “Delete Group”.

Sites and Stations

To work on another Site:Station, select it from the dropdown lists.  The Sites and Stations are saved to a local database based on the files uploaded to the Field Portal.  They are identified by their Site and Station number.  These are saved on the QiQuac in the Station_List.csv file.  If the Site or Station numbers change, this can corrupt the database and cause confusion.
At the top of the Grading Tool is a Station tab.  Select this tab to see all Sites and Stations currently saved to the local database.  The page also allows the user to delete Sites and Stations.
The database is a file called “witapp”, keep a copy of that for backup if you wish. The Field Portal always looks for a file called witapp in the root folder and uses that as the local database.  There is currently no automated backup of the database.
 

The Journey to Grustland and Oz

Heading west from Helmholtz Deep, you followed the softer moss north through along the Beat Path, through Pristine Salvadoria where its normally welcoming citizens had closed all doors and windows against the deadly plague, throwing perfectly manicured potted plants at you from their balcony and yelling (“2 meters!”).  Moving north, tales of the light-filled Fairfen Glen sounded so appealing, but speaking to a fine boned lady of the southern woods, you’d learned that gremlins now inhabit the road and prevent travel through that storied forest.  As you and your comrades sit by the fire in starlight, and after eating your fill of roast pheasant and drinking honey meade,  you decided you’d always wanted to visit the Emerald Isles of the Northern Sea.
So you headed west through Carrel Grove (where the forestfolk eat nothing by cheese fondue). Hiring Andy the boatman, you crossed the narrow channel to explore the Island Realm of King Nick of Everard.  Andy is a great source of information, and (with a bit of meade to loosen his tongue), you learned that the Tall Queen Karin of Grustland was offering a good price for flow measurement machines, north of Griffithland.  You thought your fortune was on the rise when an audience with the wise, but notoriously volatile, King Nick was granted.  How wrong you were!  After a QiQuac demonstration went horribly wrong, ending in King Nick being mildly electrocuted (mildly!), you found yourself sentenced to Death by Poetry in King Nick Everard’s Mega-Coliseum of Hydrography, Poetry & Knicknackery.
Somehow you managed to escape (another tale involving beat poetry and and haiku slam-down against King Nick’s Hipstiator), only to find yourself pinned against the vaulting cliffs along the southern shores of Griffithland.  There you met the rogue Welshman, Paul and his merry band of hydrographers.  After a night of tall tales, and short drinks, you joined this band of like-minded travelers up the harrowing Garywnant pass to reach the spine of the Brecon Beacons.  There, sharing a well earned draft of the finest Scotch your new friend Paul could afford, you beheld the breathtaking view of Weijs Channel and the green glow of Fathomland’s northern-most city,  Oz, the capital of Grustland.  As the twin suns sparkled on the distant water, Paul described the strict but fair rule of XMLaw imposed by Mayor Spurway.  However, he  noted, “The mayor does fancy a fine t-shirt, like the one you’re wearing, butt.”  Paul liked our idea to bribe our way into the city, “fair play,” he remarked.  For that bit of info, I gave Paul a t-shirt for himself, which you can see him in here.
Our glorious day was cut short, however, when we learned that agents of Mors-Em were amongst the group, and I fear news of our travels may reach the Fell Lord of Yesterday.  So we bid our fond farewells to Paul and the group and headed northwest along the crags and trails of Griffithland.
Crossing Weijs Channel appeared impossible, until Steven the ferryman appeared like a Knight in Orange and Blue armour.  As you described your quest to Steven during the passage, he gave several tips and suggestions for improvements.  You were sure if you’d stayed on that lean efficient schuyt, you would have solved all your problems shortly.  But the day of delivery for the systems approached.  Word from the south, how the pestilence had spread like wildfire on dry summer hills had reached Steven.  The sweet  canals and planes of his homeland to the east was also stricken.
We were able to land right on the beach in the flat bottomed skiff, and we bid Steven fair thee well.  Seeking an audience with the Tall Queen Karin of Grustland was no easy task. The Captain of the SEPA guards, Fiona, let nobody enter the kingdom without a royal invitation.  Through conjuring illusions and shows of bravery, we won an audience with the royal court to be held in Oz.  There, Mayor Spurway presided over the contest, even the Architect of Oz, Sir Oliver Foster, attended.  There, with the assistance of your loyal companions, you described a device so unique, so powerful, that all in the court were enchanted.  “Yes,” said Sir Oliver, “This is all fine and well, but can you build such a device, and will your magic be compatible with our great machine, the Terrible Biber, that runs of fire and optimism?”
“I cannot know for sure,” you replied, “until we build our machine.  But if it works, what a machine it will be!” Sir Oliver looked at the Tall and Fair Queen Karin.  She looked at him.  They both looked at Mayor Spurway, who in turn, looked at them.  They held their gaze for what seemed like minutes.  You looked at Paul nervously, who looked at Andre.  Andre looked at Joelle, who looked straight ahead.  Then, seemingly sharing some unspoken language, the three heads of state nodded and Sir Oliver spoke.
“We have decided to give you a chance to build your machine.  But be warned!  If you fail to deliver the promised machine, you will all be sentenced to Death by Poetry in King Nick Everard’s Mega-Coliseum of Hydrography, Poetry & Knicknackery!” They all laughed maniacally at this point in the story.  You and your companions all smiled knowingly at each other, havingly already successfully escaped that particular peril (another tale).
“It’s a deal!” you exclaimed loudly, silencing their extended laugh.
“So be it!” Exclaimed Sir Oliver.  “Deliver your machine no later than March 31, 2020, before the pestilence reaches our shores.
“It shall be done!”  and again, each group looked at each other in the ensuing silence.
To be continued…