Viability of motes for hydrological measurement

Abstract

[1] Low-cost, low-power wireless sensor networks (mote networks) have the potential to revolutionize data collection methods in hydrology. They promise the ability to monitor catchments at very high spatial and temporal resolution with flexible sampling schemes, real time data processing and high levels of quality control. We operated an experimental network of 41 motes monitoring seven different parameters each at 15 min intervals for 10 months in a small forested catchment in southwestern British Columbia, Canada, to determine if this emerging technology is suitable for use by hydrologists in its current form. Our particular interests were ease of setup, sampling reliability, power consumption, and hardware resilience. We found that while motes gave the ability to monitor a catchment at resolution levels that were previously impossible, they still need to evolve into an easier to use, more reliable platform before they can replace traditional data collection methods.

Large‐scale river flow archives: importance, current status and future needs

“…Wireless sensor networks may revolutionize hydrological data collection as basins can be monitored at very high spatio‐temporal resolution with flexible and intelligent sampling, real‐time data processing and high levels of quality control. However, wireless sensor technology must become simpler to use and more dependable before replacing traditional approaches (Trubilowicz et al , 2009). Satellite altimetry can provide spatially distributed data on river stage, discharge and altitude profiles; but these remote sensed observations have uncertainties of several decimetres and yield typically lower temporal resolution data than river gauges (Calmant and Seyler, 2006).…”

The impact of agricultural activities on water quality: A case for collaborative catchment-scale management using integrated wireless sensor networks

“…Existing devices are not made to address the specific requirements of a particular application. Various limitations, as discussed above, have been faced in the existing literature by the use of off the shelf components (Le Dinh et al, 2007) such as the coverage problem (Regan et al, 2009), signal attenuation (Vellidis et al, 2008), configuration and operational difficulties (Trubilowicz et al, 2009), and absence of a network model for catchment areas with hilly terrains which has the potential to affect the radio links.…”

Field-Based Observation of Hydrological Processes

“…Many of these methods require only simple instruments or observations, but their power can be increased if enough spatial and temporal explicit observations (e.g., Trubilowicz et al, 2009) are being taken to understand the complex spatial-temporal processes during storm runoff generation. Many of these methods require only simple instruments or observations, but their power can be increased if enough spatial and temporal explicit observations (e.g., Trubilowicz et al, 2009) are being taken to understand the complex spatial-temporal processes during storm runoff generation.…”