A microcontroller‐based data‐logger design for seasonal hydrochemical studies

Abstract

AbstractDetailed studies of seasonal patterns of karst processes are rare in remote regions with limited winter access. An important aspect of erosional and environmental processes is how these change over time, and how they relate to annual cycles of temperature, precipitation and runoff. Such measurements have consistently proved difficult in remote alpine areas, resulting in a paucity of continuous data from these environments. An automated data‐logger installation designed to perform under difficult conditions, including limited sunlight for solar recharge, heavy snowfall and disturbance by bears, has provided four years of data at a 2‐hour sampling interval of electrical conductivity (used to predict solute concentration), water level (used to predict discharge) and temperature, at the Marble Mountains karst resurgence, California, USA. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.