SonTek-SL Series Side-Looking Doppler Current Meters
Features
- Accurate & reliable water velocity, level, & discharge measurements
- Measurements are made in a remote sampling volume free from flow distortion
- 3G model offers 128-cells for high-resolution and detailed profiles
- Expedited repair and warranty service
- Lifetime technical support
- More
Overview
The SonTek-SL (affectionately known as the Side-Looker or "SL") has earned worldwide acceptance as a long-term monitoring solution. Now, with two new (3G) models turbo-charged by the proprietary SmartPulseHD, the SonTek-SL features accessories, mounting options, software, and a variety of integration formats to ensure it fits the desired application.
Design
Designed specifically for side mounting on bridges, canal walls, or riverbanks, the SL's sleek, low-profile housing makes installation easy. With three models to choose from, the SL can be used in wide or narrow channels. Ultra narrow beam widths combined with unmatched side lobe suppression provide the superior acoustic directivity necessary for achieving maximum horizontal range free of interference from surface or bottom boundaries.
Mechanics
First time users can collect test data within minutes of receiving the SonTek-SL. Deployments require only a few minutes to configure the SL and start collecting data. This system provides the highest quality Doppler velocity data without requiring the user to become an expert on Doppler technology.
Benefits
- SmartPulseHD (3G models only): An intelligent algorithm that looks at water depth, profiling range, velocity, and turbulence, and then acoustically adapts to those conditions using pulse-coherent, broadband, and incoherent techniques. Best data possible under any condition. High-def cell sizes down to 4 cm.
- Compact, Hydrodynamic Design: Incredibly lightweight and easy to transport and mount. Slim shape is easy to maintain, stays clean, increases available sample area, and fits into more places.
- Water Velocity Profiling: Customizeable, flexible setup options to suit a variety of applications. 3G models offer 128-cells for high-resolution and detailed profiles.
- Acoustic-Pressure "Duo" Water Level (3G models only): Not only redundant sources of water level, the acoustic vertical beam and pressure sensor continually self-check, and pressure data are auto-corrected to keep atmospheric offset negligible.
- Versatile, Easy Mounting: Easy-access side mounting reduces concerns over personnel safety, lowers operational cost by avoiding divers and boats, avoids interruption in facility operations, and avoids interruption in data and water delivery to clients and stakeholders.
- Wave Spectra Option: Integrated pressure sensor calculates and outputs wave-height and period, in real-time.
Select Options
In The News
Climate Change and Microplastics: Monitoring Lake Champlain
Most people go to Lake Champlain for its exceptional views and thrilling boating, but it’s also home to a wide variety of interesting aquatic research projects. From studying microplastics to thermal dynamics of the lake, Timothy Mihuc, director of the Lake Champlain Research Institute (LCRI) at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh (SUNY Plattsburgh), has spent his career studying aquatic ecosystems. As an aquatic biologist, he’s the main investigator on Lake Champlain’s research studies while also managing their grants, employees, and their hands-on buoy work. Over the years, LCRI has received a number of environmental grants that aid in its monitoring research.
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Current Monitoring after the Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse
On March 26th, according to The Baltimore Sun , a 984-foot, 112,000-ton Dali lost propulsion and collided with a support column of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, collapsing the structure. Soon after the event, search and rescue, salvage crews, and other emergency responders were mobilized after the collision. As salvage efforts progressed in early April, NOAA’s Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS) responded to a request for real-time tidal currents data and deployed a current monitoring buoy—CURBY (Currents Real-time BuoY)—into the Patapsco River north of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
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Soundscapes of the Solar Eclipse: Citizen Science Supporting National Research
On April 8, 2024, millions of people around the world had their eyes glued to the sky to witness a historic cosmic event. The total solar eclipse captured the headlines and the minds of many who became eager to gaze at the heavens as the sky went dark for a few minutes. However, not everyone used their sense of sight during the eclipse, some were listening to the sounds of the natural world around them as the light faded from above. The Eclipse Soundscape Project is a NASA-funded citizen science project that focuses on studying how the annular solar eclipse on October 14, 2023, and the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse impacted life on Earth. The project revisits an initiative from the 1930s that showed animals and insects are affected by solar eclipses.
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