Product Spotlight: SonTek Argonaut XR
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SonTek acoustic Doppler current meters are ideal for lake current monitoring applications. The Argonaut-XR is designed for shallow water current monitoring in lakes, rivers, channels, ports, and coastal waters.
Its small size, rugged build, and flexible system architecture make it attractive for both real-time operation (with cable lengths up to 1500 m) and autonomous deployments using an external battery pack.
Capable of measuring velocity in 3D over a range of up to 40 m, the XR is commonly mounted on the seabed looking up. The XR allows the user to specify the measurement volume size and location.
Argonaut current meters use sonar for precise water velocity measurements. The meter emits ultrasonic signals of known frequency into the water and then measures the reverberation frequency. The difference in frequencies, called the Doppler shift, is proportional to the speed of the water traveling in the area. The XR even features a special mode that automatically adjusts one of its measurement cells for changing water level.
The basic autonomous system includes an external battery pack, internal recorder, compass/tilt sensor, pressure sensor, and temperature sensor. The system also includes a Multi-Cell (current profiling) feature that allows users to preprogram 10 fixed velocity cells wherever they want, then an 11th dynamic cell can be set to automatically change its position as the water level changes.
Additionally, the Argonaut-XR can be equipped with a non-directional wave package, an external LCD data display, a SeaBird MicroCAT CT sensor, or a YSI multi-parameter water quality sonde, allowing the XR to be the centerpiece of a complete hydrologic data collection system.
For an application example, read up on how the Ohio Department of Natural Resources is using an XR beneath a Lake Erie buoy to study how lake current affects walleye hatches.
To learn more about the XR, call Fondriest Environmental at (888) 426.2151, email customercare@fondriest.com, or visit http://www.fondriest.com/products/current_meters.htm
[…] located over the lake’s reefs, where the walleye breed. A sea-bottom instrument sled is using a SonTek Argonaut-XR to monitor water current. The instrument sled is also equipped with a YSI water quality sonde that […]