DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION AND PILOT TESTING OF A LOW-COST DIGITAL LIMNIMETER

GABRIEL BASÍLICO

Congreso; 9no Congreso Argentino de Limnología; 2021

Centro de Investigación Esquel de Montaña y Estepa Patagónica (CIEMEP CONICET-UNPSJB)

The water level is a relevant variable in limnological and hydrological studies, however, few aquatic environments in Argentina have equipment for its registration, among other reasons, because the cost of the equipment is usually limiting. The objective of this work was to design, build and test the operation of a low-cost ultrasonic digital limnimeter, capable of obtaining and storing water level data on a micro-SD card at intervals of time determined by the researcher, to later recover and download the information to any digital device that can read the card. The prototype built consists of 5 parts: (1) sensor module (ultrasonic and temperature), (2) RTC clock for recording the date and time of data, (3) module for reading / writing micro-SD card, (4) Arduino® Nano board for the operation of the other components and (5) power module. The board used is a low-cost free hardware development, like the sensors and other electronic components. The power module was designed for the equipment to work completely autonomously and consists of a solar panel (10 W, 18.0 V, 0.56 A), a battery charge regulator (12/24 V, 10 A) and a battery (12 V, 1.3 Ah/20HR). The electronic components were mounted in watertight plastic boxes. The equipment was first tested in the laboratory and then under real operating conditions at the Ing. C. Roggero Reservoir - Lake San Francisco (Buenos Aires Province, Argentina). The water level meter functioned correctly without interruption for 24 days and the recovered data made it possible to record the rise and fall of the water level in response to rainfall in the basin, with a very high temporal resolution (data every 10´). The designed device has the potential to become a useful tool for limnological and hydraulic studies.