Our system has a TE525 Rain Gauge which we were planning on mounting on a rod 9 meters away from our tripod. Should we plan on burying the wire and if so, is it necessary to be below the frost line?
I find it is always best to bury the cable, usually in conduit to prevent a trip hazard or animals chewing the wire (not that it would be a problem if you are deploying in ice)
Definitely bury and put it in some kind of conduit on long term sites. I don't think it's necessary to put it below frost line.
When I installed my stations in 1995 I buried my rain gauge cables in 3/4" copper water pipe buried 6" below grade. I also brought the pipes 3 feet up the sides of the mounts and put two 90 degree elbows on the ends so the openings pointed down to keep rain out and sealed the ends with duct seal. A lot of extra work but well worth it. On a whim last year I pulled out the cable on one station thinking I should take a look, still dry and nothing wrong with the cable. I have had other cables cut by weed eaters, wound up by mowers, chewed through by rodents, bitten in half by foxes, etc... that wasn't buried and in conduit.
Thanks for the feedback. Our main concern was the frost line and whether or not to use a conduit since a few other stations in the area just buried the line without one. We will be using a pipe to bury the line a couple inches below the surface thanks to the advice given.