Case Studies
Temp and Count loggers monitor caves to help reconstruct past climate change
Tinytag robust outdoor temperature data loggers are used to monitor cave conditions as part of a project to reconstruct past climate change.
Climatic changes are being investigated by monitoring environmental conditions in caves using temperature data loggers, while a drip counter based on a Tinytag count logger investigates the relationship between rainfall and the formation of stalagmites.
Prof. Dave Mattey of the Department of Earth Science, Royal Holloway, University of London, is using Tinytags to measure climatic changes by monitoring inside caves.
We are all aware of the uncertainties regarding the future of the Earth's climate systems. Weather forecasting can be rather imprecise and predicting the future behaviour of global weather patterns rests on computer models that rely on meteorological data and an understanding of what drives weather systems. However, meteorological records only stretch back a century or so, and our understanding of how the global climate systems interact and change is far from complete.
Geologists are researching new ways to use chemical records in rocks and fossils to monitor climate change in great detail, which will lead to improved predictions of future changes. One of these chemical records can be found in caves in the form of stalagmites that grow from water that has fallen as rain. Stalagmite 'weather stations' can be accurately dated and steadily grow in a stable undisturbed environment for many tens of thousands of years and are turning out to be very valuable archives of past weather patterns.
Professor Dave Mattey of the Department of Earth Science, Royal Holloway, University of London, is using Tinytag data loggers to measure the subtle changes in the environment inside the cave that occur over many years. He is leading research focussed on how changing weather above the cave affects the growth of stalagmites and the chemical 'memory' preserved in the stalagmite of the rainfall, outside temperature and the type of vegetation. Using rugged Tinytag Plus 2 data loggers, measurements are made in many locations inside and outside the cave at hourly intervals, giving unprecedented levels of detail.
Caves provide a very harsh environment where 100% humidity can cause relentless corrosion and instrument failure due to damp and condensation. Caves are often remote, with no power, and have difficult access, requiring rugged instruments that will provide a reliable data over long time periods. The battery powered Tinytag temperature loggers have proved very reliable in measuring seasonal changes in air and rock temperatures inside caves and also in the overlying soil where they have been buried at different depths for up to a year before data is downloaded.
Another area of interest is the relationship between rainfall and the formation of stalagmites. Research has focussed on the time taken for groundwater saturated in calcium carbonate to penetrate through the soil and bedrock into the cave. If the cave starts dripping soon after a period of rainfall then the stalagmite 'weather station' records day to day changes in climate; if the dripping takes a long time to build up, or just remains constant all year round then the 'weather station' is recording more gradual changes, smoothing out the day-to-day variations.
The research team has developed a unique logging drip counter, the 'Stalagmate' (pictured), which is based on a Tinytag count logger and a sensor built into a waterproof box that is placed on top of stalagmites to show precisely how drip rates respond to rainfall. The Stalagmate is commercially available and large numbers are now in use in caves and for groundwater research worldwide.
Cave and climate research using Tinytag data loggers has been carried out in Europe, India and the south Pacific. The Tinytag count loggers have proved their worth despite the appalling treatment they are sometimes subjected to! Other than a battery change every year or so, they have worked reliably in humid caves, buried in soil, and sometimes submerged in water and returned data without any problems.
Dave Mattey is Professor of Geochemistry at Royal Holloway, University of London and has been director of the Stable Isotope Facilities since 1989. He leads research into cave science and climate reconstruction in Europe, India and the Pacific.
Related Case Studies
-
Underwater data loggers record seawater temperatures in marine monitoring programme
Non-native species (also referred to as introduced species) are species which have been introduced to a new environment by human activity. Tinytag Aquatic 2 data loggers are used to monitor seawater temperatures to assess how temperatures affect non-native populations at Orkney, an archipelago off the coast of Scotland.
-
Monitoring temperatures of Antarctic soil
As our climate changes, rising temperatures are having untold effects on the Earth’s ecosystems. A team of researchers from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have used Tinytag data loggers to investigate how increasing temperatures in maritime Antarctica could impact the growth of a decomposer fungus that inhabits Antarctic soil.
-
Tinytags monitor cave temperatures as part of climate change research
A total of six Tinytag Plus 2 data loggers were used in a study whose final aim is to reconstruct past climate changes recorded by stalagmites from these caves.
Contact Us >
Get in contact with us by email:
Alternatively you can call us on:
+44 (0) 1243 813000
Instrumentation Loggers >
Range of voltage, current and count input data loggers that can be used to record outputs from third-party sensors. These units can be factory configured/scaled to show readings appropriate for the sensor they are connected to.
- High resolution and accuracy
- Fast download speed
- Battery monitoring circuit
Custom Scaling Form >
To confirm that one of our Instrumentation data loggers can be configured/scaled to work with your specific sensor, please submit our online form.
View Scaling Form