Temperature Data Loggers Deployed in Important Arctic Glacial River Basin.
Currently, Tinytag data loggers are located 200 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle as part of a research project to study river basin water temperature dynamics, within the wider context of understanding the impacts 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 (UK), is one the leading authorities on hydroclimatology; a scientific discipline which 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, UK). In a new project, Drs Hannah and Milner will deploy Tinytag data loggers in rivers in Svalbard: an area covering 63 000 sq.km and made up of a group of islands between 74° - 81° N and 10° - 35° E; 60% 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-minute 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.
Dr David Hannah comments:
“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. Tinytags, which I have previously used for other environmental research in the UK and worldwide, are tough and reliable.”
Data are downloaded onto a laptop on site using an inductive pad offering a practical and efficient solution in the extremely 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.
Knowledge of river thermal dynamics has focussed on glacierised basins, due to the high sensitivity of these systems to climatic change and variability. In a complex field, Tinytag data loggers offer simple but highly effective monitoring technology.
Details of other world-wide river basin studies using Tinytag data loggers can be found in the following recent publications listed below:
Hannah D.M., Malcolm I.A. and Bradley C. (in press), Seasonal hyporheic
temperature dynamics over riffle bedforms, Hydrological Processes
Brown L.E. and Hannah D.M. (2008), Spatial heterogeneity of water
temperature across an alpine river basin, Hydrological Processes, 22,
954-967 DOI: 10.1002/hyp.6982
Cadbury S.L., Hannah D.M., Milner A.M., Pearson C.P. and Brown L.E.
(2008), Stream temperature dynamics within a New Zealand glacierized
river basin, River Research and Applications, 24, 68-89 DOI:
10.1002/rra.1048
Malcolm I.A., Soulsby C., Hannah D.M., Bacon P.J., Youngson A.F. and
Tetzlaff D. (2008), The influence of riparian woodland on stream
temperatures: implications for the performance of juvenile salmonids,
Hydrological Processes, 22, 968-979 DOI: 10.1002/hyp.6996
Hannah D.M., Brown L.E., Milner A.M., Gurnell A.M., McGregor G.R., Petts
G.E., Smith B.P.G. and Snook D.L. (2007), Integrating
climate-hydrology-ecology for alpine river systems, Aquatic
Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 17, 636-656
DOI:10.1002/aqc.800
Brown L.E. and Hannah D.M. (2007), Alpine stream temperature response to
storm events, Journal of Hydrometeorology, 8, 952-967
DOI:10.1175/JHM597.1
Brown L.E., Hannah D.M. and Milner A.M. (2006), Hydroclimatological
influences upon alpine stream water column and streambed thermal
dynamics, Journal of Hydrology, 325, 1 20
Brown L.E., Hannah D.M. and Milner A.M. (2006), Thermal variability and
stream flow permanency in an alpine river system, River Research and
Applications, 22, 493-501
Malcolm I.A., Hannah D.M., Donaghy M.J., Soulsby C. and Youngson A.F.
(2004), The influence of riparian woodland on the spatial and temporal
variability of stream water temperatures in an upland salmon stream,
Hydrology and Earth Systems Science, 8, 449-459
