This presentation will discuss how the challenges of water quality monitoring and realtime data collection can be addressed with new technology. We’ll focus on the EXO
sonde platform from YSI and the Storm Data Logger from WaterLog. Both of these
brands are part of the Xylem company.
At the bottom of the screen you will also see some of our sister brands, all of which can
also plug in to the Storm data logger.
Our presentation covers these topics, followed by a Question and Answer session
during the live event.
Presenters:
Mike Lizotte is the Technical Applications Specialist with YSI for long-term water quality
monitoring. Mike has been with the company for 25 years and assists customers with
set up, deployment and data analysis of long term monitoring platforms.
Gary Baker is the Product Manager for WaterLog. WaterLog provides hydromet, data
logging and telemetry solutions. He has been with the company for 18 years.
The benefits of continuous monitoring are well documented, and in this slide we have
listed three of the more important reasons for this type of monitoring. These points are
well illustrated in the next slide.
Plotted here are two parameters from a water quality sonde that was deployed in
Biscayne Bay, Florida for 6 weeks.
This two-week section shows some very interesting data, most of which would have
been missed in a conventional spot monitoring program.
An “episodic event” is clearly seen in the salinity plot at the top. The significant decrease
in the salinity was caused by the nearby passing of hurricane Ernesto on August 28,
2006. Hurricanes and other severe weather events usually create conditions that are
unsafe for sampling trips, so clearly, deploying instrumentation is safer. And lastly you
can also see in this plot super-saturation DO events at the bottom with highs up to
218% saturation, which were recorded at ~ 1800 hours, and low DO events, most of
which occurred at 0400 hours, both times are outside of the typical work day.
Adding Real-Time Monitoring to a data collection site adds significant benefits to the
data collection program and has the potential to greatly reduce your costs.
Being able to see data in real time 24/7 allows the investigator to monitor critical
parameters and system functions and should a problem be detected immediate action
can be taken to reduce the risk of data loss.
Another benefit of Real-Time data is that it can also assist in setting maintenance
schedules based on need rather than predetermined times.
And when you add alarm capabilities, almost any fault scenario can be covered and
notifications sent to you via text or email to ensure your site has the highest data quality
at the lowest costs.
We’ll talk about how YSI’s new EXO2 sonde platform and WaterLog’s Storm DCP can be used
together to give you a powerful new tool that is easy to set up, deploy, and give you a data
acquisition system that will reduce your costs and improve your data quality!
YSI’s new EXO multi-parameter sonde line brings to the market technology and
capabilities that have been over 20 years in the making with significant input from YSI
customers worldwide.
EXO sondes have many advanced features. Here are just a few:
-
Advanced Central Wiper System on the EXO2, which provides better AntiFouling capabilities and extends your deployments.
-
Titanium sensors are robust and field rugged and are equipped with wetmateable connectors.
-
Advanced Smart Sensors allow you to hot swap probes in the field with precalibrated sensors while Smart QC ensures that the highest levels of QA/QC are
maintained for every deployment.
-
Bluetooth wireless communications makes instrument calibrations and servicing
easier and less cumbersome.
-
Also, when paired with a DCP, you can plug in sensors in any order and not
affect the SDI-12 data stream.
One of the reasons that EXO is a superior choice for long-term monitoring is its
antifouling system.
-The EXO2’s centralized Smart Wiper System is a more effective and efficient AntiFouling system and keeps the sensors much cleaner than individual wipers.
-Also, the EXO conductivity sensor utilizes a copper alloy screen that helps protect the
interior of the cells from fouling.
-Lastly, fouling attachment points on individual sensor wipers have been eliminated from
the face of the optical probes.
So, again, FOULING is now the key factor for determining the length of time a sonde
can stay deployed. Not battery life.
Precision microprocessor controlled electronics and sensors now have the stability to
remain in-situ for weeks without experiencing sensor drift.
- The picture on the top right shows clean 6600 optical sensors, which you would think
would mean good data. But note the biofouling mass on the tip of the wiper shaft. That
is one of those “fouling attachment points” that I mentioned in the previous slide.
-
The picture on the bottom right shows what this small amount of fouling looked like
in the water. The algal mass that attached to the tip of the wiper shaft fanned out in
water and moved in front of the optics, causing data spikes and an offset as the
mass grew larger.
-
Compare this to the EXO2 sonde on the left with its Central Wiper—which is located
AWAY from the sensor faces—and does a superior job of keeping the sensor faces
clean and free of fouling.
To demonstrate the potential for costs saving we have been conducting tests at a South
Carolina site comparing the fouling rates of a 6600V2-4 sonde and the EXO2.
- These pictures show what the two sondes looked like at the end of an 11 week study.
-
The EXO2 sonde was still making good measurements at 11 weeks while the
salinity data from the 6600 experienced fouling drift.
-
The real-time reporting allowed us to monitor the performance of the two sondes
and make our servicing decision based on data quality and not a preset time.
This graph shows the salinity data for the last 20 days of the 11 week deployment. You
can see the ~10% downward fouling drift of the 6600 in red. This kind of fouling drift is
not uncommon and is a problem for most conductivity sensors of similar design.
However, the EXO conductivity/temperature sensor remained stable and did not drift.
This picture shows a very clean EXO2 CT sensor with the copper-alloy anti-fouling
screen removed.
-The before and after cleaning data was collected in samples of fresh tap water.
-The combination of anti-fouling components and the EXO’s Central Wiper greatly
extended the deployment duration, from approximately 9 weeks to 11 weeks in this
example.
So, now that we have talked about improvements to water quality sensors that will help
you collect data in the field longer, we’ll next discuss the new Storm System and how it
can help you apply the benefits of real-time data to your monitoring program.
The Storm is a turnkey solution for data management that includes a Storm 3 data
logger, battery, solar regulator, modem, and discreet modem antenna. Also, we have a
quick connector for EXO sonde to make it a plug and play solution for getting real time
data.
Our new Storm 3 data logger is Wi-fi compatible, making it compatible with any smart
device (like a PC, tablet, or phone). This is a unique and competitive feature.
Once the Wi-fi is activated on the Storm 3, you can call up the Storm in your smart
device’s wi-fi menu. Then, from the browser on your device, you can view all your data,
graph data, download data, or make changes to the program set up.
The Storm data logger has many inputs and outputs.
-4 analog inputs, e.g., thermistors and temperature sensors
-RS-485 input, compatible with EXO and bubblers
-RS-232, compatible with acoustic fish tag receivers and communication/telemetry
-4 digital inputs/outputs for things such as tipping bucket rain gauge and on/off switch,
e.g., triggering a sampler
-SDI-12 inputs for water quality sensors (e.g., YSI) and velocity/water quantity sensors
(e.g., SonTek) and others
-3 USB connectors for Wi-fi, mini port for PC connection or thumb drive.
Another unique feature of the Storm is the built-in library of sensors. You can go into the
library and immediately select your sensor from the library and add it to the logger. If
you don’t see your sensor in the library, we can add it for you.
Multiple telemetry options help you collect and transmit data from the field while
reducing your travel times and costs.
Telemetry options include:
-Cellular modem, including AT&T and Verizon
-GOES
-Commercial satellites
-ALERT
-Compatible with line of sight radios
Two packages for capturing data: Storm Local or Storm Central.
Storm Local has software loaded onto a single computer.
Storm Central is cloud-based and accessible from multiple computers, so that data can
be quickly shared.
The Alarm capabilities of the Storm system can be a very useful tool!
Being able to monitor and alarm critical system functions like battery voltage and the
performance of the solar panel and solar regulator can avoid data loss. In addition to
power supply monitoring, data can also be monitored to alert the researcher to events
that may require supplemental sampling or the mobilization of field teams to further
monitor the event.
Our hurricane Ernesto plot in the next slides shows a few of these examples quite
clearly.
At the top you can see the low salinity event which the 6600 captured. This could have
been an alarm point to mobilize field crews to see what effects this large influx of fresh
water had into the system. Had this instrument been equipped with other sensors like
turbidity, Total Algae, and CDOM these parameters would also have shown significant
change from this storm event.
On the DO data at the bottom you can see that there were many instances of the
oxygen levels dropping to such low levels that most forms of marine life could not
survive. Typically such low DO events result in fish kills and other tragedies. Other
forms of sampling are critical to understanding these events and the alarms could be
the trigger to initiating these investigations.
Live Demo.
You can access a demo site: https://stormcentral.waterlog.com
This demo shows real data coming from South Carolina test site. Instrumentation at the
site includes Vaisala meteorological system, YSI EXO sonde, and YSI 6600 sonde.
Data are in graph and tabular format, able to be downloaded.
This site has alarms set for low DO levels and low battery life. Alerts are set to send to a
person via email and text when thresholds are breached. Alarms and alerts are easily
edited and expanded as needed.
As you saw in the live Storm Central demo, YSI has been testing our EXO sondes at
some pretty fouling intensive sites over the past 12 months. One of the goals of this
testing was to see how long the EXO2 sonde could stay deployed and read accurately
when compared to a 6600V2-4 sonde that is deployed alongside.
What we have learned from our test site in SC and two sites in South FL is that in the
most severe sites the EXO sonde will easily allow you to double your deployment times--and at less intense sites, triple and even quadruple your deployment times!
For most customers, field servicing is a significant part of their monitoring budget and
this kind of reduction in the number of field servicing trips can have a huge cost savings.
The EXO’s capabilities have only been briefly described here and we encourage you to
visit the EXO water website to learn more about this new and very user friendly
advanced water quality monitoring instrument.
The Storm + EXO continuous monitoring system can be a simple solution to add to your
monitoring programs.
-The system allows you to keep an eye on your data, gives assurance that you are
accurately collecting the data you want, and alerts you to specific events that you may
need to pay more attention to.
-You can easily share data among your stakeholders.
-And you can better manage your program costs by reducing your trips to the field.
Thank you for your interest in the EXO + Storm solution for continuous monitoring and
real-time data collection.
Feel free to contact us with your questions or visit these websites for more information.
[email protected]
EXOwater.com
Waterlog.com