Development and Application of a Thermistor Current Meter

This report provides details for the construction of a hot-bead thermistor current meter which is capable of measuring water velocities on a millimeter spatial scale and for the construction of a compact and accurate calibration system. Hot-bead thermistor current meters can be built with response t...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Way, Carl M, Burky, Albert J, Miller-Way, Christine A
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
ANCHORS
BEADS
CALIBRATION
CELLS
CHROMATOGRAPHY
CONSTRUCTION
Ecology
ELECTRIC CABLES
FINES
FISHES
FLOW
GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY
GRADIENTS
GRIDS
HABITATS
HANDS
HAWAII
HYDROLOGY
LABORATORIES
LARVAE
LOGS(VELOCITY METERS)
MATERIALS
MEASUREMENT
Medicine and Medical Research
PROBES
PROFILES
REQUIREMENTS
RESPONSE
SAMPLING
SCALE
SHRIMP
SNAILS
STAINLESS STEEL
STORAGE
STREAMS
SUBSTRATES
Test Facilities, Equipment and Methods
THERMISTOR CURRENT METER
THERMISTORS
VELOCITY
WATER
WATER FLOW
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Description
Summary:This report provides details for the construction of a hot-bead thermistor current meter which is capable of measuring water velocities on a millimeter spatial scale and for the construction of a compact and accurate calibration system. Hot-bead thermistor current meters can be built with response times of 200 ms capable of measuring velocities between 0.1 and 80 cm s(-1). The construction of a sturdy probe for application in lotic systems such as high gradient Hawaiian streams was achieved by the use of heavy-duty acrylic tubing, small stainless steel gas-chromatography tubing, and flexible Tygon spaghetti tubing. An acrylic handle anchors the electrical cable at one end and the thermistors at the other. The following criteria were central to the development of the calibration system: (a) accurate calibration; (b) compact unit for storage and use in limited laboratory space; (c) leak-proof system: (d) inexpensive design requirement for readily available materials; and (e) construction requirements for the use of hand tools. The thermistor current meter has been used to measure velocities in the water column and around various substrate features in riverine habitats. More detailed spatial velocity measurements were made in streams by dividing a habitat into small grid cells. With fine spatial scales (e.g., grid sizes of 200 to 300 cm 2 or less) and repetitive sampling under varying water flow conditions, insights into relationships between various spatial and temporal characteristics of microhabitat velocities were made. The current meter has been used to determine ambient velocity profiles around a variety of benthic stream.