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
From Pans to Buoys: Advancing Reservoir Evaporation Rate Monitoring in Texas
In warmer climates like Texas, high reservoir evaporation rates can lead to declines in water level and water availability during droughts, making monitoring essential in order to ensure water security during times of scarcity. According to the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), evaporation rates in Texas were previously based on data collected from a sparse network of Class A evaporation stations, dating back to the 1960s. These pans were stationed near reservoirs and still remain a widely accepted standardized approach to measuring evaporation rates on land. Monthly pan-to-lake coefficients were developed in the 1980s to connect the data collected from the pans to known lake conditions, extrapolating evaporation rates of the lakes using the pan data.
Read More
A Drop in the Ocean: Restoring London’s Tidal Thames
The United Kingdom has grappled with wastewater management problems for decades. Although sewage treatment in the 20th century allowed many rivers, including the tidal Thames, to have healthy fish populations, combined sewer overflows into rivers–most commonly during heavy rainfall–affected water quality and occasionally even killed fish. Problems reached a head in 2012 when multiple infractions of European urban wastewater treatment laws threatened costly fines, on top of the environmental cost of repeated sewage spills into British rivers. Fast forward to 2025, and after a decade of construction work, London’s Thames Tideway Tunnel , affectionately dubbed the “super sewer”, is now fully activated and ready for testing.
Read More
Have You Heard? AI Buoys Revolutionizing Marine Mammal Monitoring in Whangārei Harbor, New Zealand
In one history, Whangārei Harbor, nestled in the lush hills of New Zealand’s North Island, gets its name from the Māori, “waiting for the breastbone of the whale.” It seems fitting, then, that it’s now home to state-of-the-art acoustic monitoring buoys listening for marine mammals around the clock. In September 2024, a team from Auckland-based underwater acoustics firm Cetaware Ltd installed NexSens buoys in Northport, a major commercial port at the entrance to the Whangārei Harbor. The first buoys to be installed by Cetaware in a permanent setting running 24/7, they use real-time artificial intelligence (AI) models to passively sense Delphinidae–from common dolphins to orcas. Dr.
Read More
