Performance Comparison of AWS IoT Connected Dataloggers in Glacier Environments: Campbell CR1000X vs. ESP32 Open Source

Monitoring hydrometeorological conditions in high mountain areas is crucial for understanding and mitigating the impacts of climate change. This study addresses the development and implementation of both commercial and open-source data-loggers for weather monitoring in these environments. Through a review of the hardware and software used, we present the tools employed in the development of the study, along with the network infrastructure that connects the city of Huaraz with Lake Palcacocha, enabling internet access, as well as the IoT network design for each datalogger. The commercial datalogger was configured according to the manufacturer's guidelines, establishing secure MQTT communication with AWS IoT Core. On the other hand, the open-source datalogger required the development of custom scripts in the Arduino IDE, incorporating WiFi and MQTT libraries, and overcoming challenges related to network reconnection and data integrity. Field experiments demonstrated high data transmission efficiency (commercial: 99.68%, open-source: 99.69%). Although the open-source data-logger required code tuning to achieve performance comparable to the commercial version, it proved viable as an open-source solution for high-altitude monitoring. Compatibility with AWS IoT Core enabled real-time data visualization, storage, and enhanced responsiveness to extreme weather events.