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Fiber optics opens window on stream dynamics
Author(s) -
Selker John,
van de Giesen Nick,
Westhoff Martijn,
Luxemburg Wim,
Parlange Marc B.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2006gl027979
Subject(s) - optical fiber , window (computing) , environmental science , remote sensing , fiber , hydrology (agriculture) , geology , computer science , materials science , telecommunications , composite material , operating system , geotechnical engineering
A new approach to monitoring surface waters using distributed fiber optic temperature sensing is presented, allowing resolutions of temperature of 0.01°C every meter along a fiber optic cable of up to 10,000 m in length. We illustrate the potential of this approach by quantifying both stream temperature dynamics and groundwater inflows to the Maisbich, a first‐order stream in Luxembourg (49°47′N, 6°02′E). The technique provides a very rich dataset, which may be of interest to many types of environmental research, notably that of stream ecosystems.