Thermal discharge study on Lake Michigan to use NexSens MB-100 systems

By on September 20, 2010


A thermal discharge study on Lake Michigan will utilize several NexSens MB-100 rental data buoy systems. Each of more than a dozen ultra-portable MB-100s will be equipped with NexSens T-Node temperature strings and SDL submersible data loggers with cellular telemetry. Fondriest offers these complete thermal discharge monitoring systems at daily, weekly, and monthly rental rates.

Thermal discharge is a form of water pollution in which the water effluent is perfectly healthy in terms of chemical makeup but detrimental to the environment due to its high temperature. Hot water effluent can have drastic effects on a lake’s natural stratification and threaten its natural habitat. Water at high temperatures carries less dissolved oxygen than cool water. When hot water breaches a layer of cool water, the aquatic life inhabiting that layer may suffocate.

The complete MB-100 monitoring systems provide a cost-effective, low-maintenance solution for establishing a short-term temperature profiling network. The temperature sensors can be connected in-series using UW underwater cables and suspended vertically from the data buoy. Each sensing node takes a temperature reading at a user-defined interval, and the data is stored in the SDL’s non-volatile flash memory.

In addition to cellular telemetry, there are options for real-time radio-to-shore or Iridium satellite communication. Using iChart Software, water temperature data is periodically transmitted back to the project computer for analysis. Alert conditions can also be set to notify interested parties if water temperature exceeds a pre-defined threshold.

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