Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Gearing Up For 2014 Field Season

We aren't the only ones emerging this spring. Contoocook River, Henniker, NH.

2014 LoVoTECS news & dates to put on your calendar:

  • Spring Interval Change: taking place this month, May 9th-May 18th. Resources for the procedure can be found at: https://www.plymouth.edu/center-for-the-environment/files/2014/05/spring-inteval-change-instructions.pdf
  • Ashley Hyde will be defending her MS thesis Friday, May 23rd at 11:00, featuring LoVoTECS data. It will be held in Boyd Lecture Hall (001) at Plymouth State University. 
  • U24, conductivity meter battery issues (black sensor): we are approaching the battery life of the conductivity meter (black sensor), we've had ~2 dozen units already fail. Please note that if you try to offload your conductivity meter and after realigning and cleaning the optics you are still getting a red "fail" LED light remove the sensor from the shuttle and look into the communication end of the sensor. 

When the sensor is working properly there is a red light that blinks every few seconds, if you do not see this blinking light it is likely that the battery failed during winter deployment. If this happens, please pull the sensor from your site and send an email to report the problem. The battery life on the silver, water level logger appears to be better, as we haven't had any reports of battery failures on those units.




  • Winter sensor shifting or sensor loss: We expect a higher number of sensor shifting or loss from the heavy ice coverage this past winter and high flows this spring. If you noticed that your sensor has shifted or is gone completely, please contact us as soon as it's noticed via email or phone to report the problem. 
  • The grand total of donated time by LoVoTECS host: From February 2012-today, we've estimated that LoVoTECS hosts have donated over 2,400 hours and 8,300 miles amounting to more than $58,000. Truly an invaluable contribution and LoVoTECS would not be possible without the commitment and dedication of our hosts!
  • 2014 Summer Snapshot: We are in the process of organizing another 2014 Summer Snapshot event, the dates have not yet been picked but it is likely that we will be sampling June, July and August or July, August and September