Underwater data loggers used in Arctic river basin

More than 20 submersible Tinytag data loggers are being used as part of a research project to study river-basin water-temperature dynamics 200km north of the Arctic Circle.

The research forms part of a wider effort to understand the impact of climate change on Arctic river basin hydrology and ecology.

Dr David M Hannah at the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, is a leading authority on hydroclimatology; a scientific discipline that seeks to understand the relationship between climate and surface waters (including rivers, and water stored as snow and ice).

This ongoing research in Swedish Lapland is in collaboration with Dr Alexander Milner and Mr Chris Mellor (also at University of Birmingham).

In a new project, Hannah and Milner will deploy Tinytag data loggers in rivers in Svalbard: an area covering 63,000km2 and made up of a group of islands between 74deg-81degN and 10deg-35degE; 60 per cent of which is covered by glacier.

The submersible Tinytag data loggers are positioned just above the river bed and their role is to monitor the water column temperature and its dynamics over the summer melt season and also over winter.

The loggers are pre-set with a 15-min logging interval and little user intervention is required after that.

The readings provide the team with vital information on river temperature variability and also allow inference of river flow conditions and ecological importance of temperature fluctuations.

Hannah said: 'The loggers have to withstand extreme conditions, including river icing events and high flows (floods).

'As the summer melt season is short, it is crucial that data are gathered accurately and that nothing goes wrong with our equipment.

Data are downloaded onto a laptop on-site using an inductive pad offering a practical and efficient solution in the cold, wet and uncomfortable conditions.

The data are displayed using Tinytag Explorer software, which generates easy-to-read and smooth graphs showing peaks and drops in temperature over the period of measurement.

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