Cyclops-7 Logger Traces Fluorescein in Nepal

Project Details

Product(s)
Application
Glacial Ice
Parameter
Fluorescein Dye
Location
Khumbu Glacier, Nepal
Organization
Aberystwyth University
Recognition
Katie Miles, PhD Student

Case Study Description

Product Description

The Cyclops-7 Logger is a completely self-contained waterproof device designed to connect to one Turner Designs Cyclops-7 sensor at a time. PME currently offers two variations of this sensor, fixed and interchangeable. The logger records measurements internally with a variety of rates to choose from. The data is then offloaded from the logger via a USB cable. The logger can operate for approximately 28,000 samples using the internal power source.

Case Study Description

In the Spring of 2018, a group of glaciologists led by Katie Miles, PhD student at Aberystwyth University, used four Cyclops-7 Loggers in combination with fluorescein-detecting fluorometers on Khumbu Glacier, Nepal. Khumbu Glacier, whose ice is sourced in the Western Cwm of Mount Everest, flows down the flanks of the mountain from around 7,000 to 4,900 meters above sea level.

The aim of the project was to determine the subsurface drainage system of the glacier, using fluorescent dye tracing. The fluorometers were installed in various outlet streams at the terminus of the glacier, and fluorescein dye injected into streams and ponds further up-glacier.

Analyzing the Dye Return

The dye return at the fluorometers after each test, as well as the calculations of the transit time, velocity and dispersivity, and comparisons between tests, allowed the scientists to infer how the water had travelled beneath and within the glacier.

In total, sixteen dye trace experiments were conducted over the lowermost 7 km of the glacier. Of these tests, thirteen experiments gave very clear dye returns at the fluorometers, revealing much about the subsurface drainage system. The other three tests gave less clear returns, but still provided useful and previously unknown information about the glacier’s drainage system. Results have been analyzed and the paper is currently in review by a scientific journal.

Cyclops-7 Logger Traces Fluorescein in NepalCyclops-7 Logger Traces Fluorescein in NepalCyclops-7 Logger Traces Fluorescein in Nepal

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