SALAMANDER: A Distributed Sensor System for Aquatic Environmental Measurements

This report details a new distributed measurement system, "SALAMANDER," which stands for Serial Amphibious Linear Arrays of Micro And Nano Devices for Environmental Research. The SALAMANDER platform is designed for a wide range of users, from students to environmental researchers. Modular construction allows users to customize a high spatial density sensor array for fundamental and applied studies of sediment transport. We demonstrate integration of temperature, pressure, flow rate and optical turbidity sensors into a data collection system designed for a two-week battery life. Specifications are given for integrating new sensor types such as sample collectors and chemical sensors for determining the composition of sediment in this multi-year project.