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Niphargus: A silicon band-gap sensor temperature logger for high-precision environmental monitoring

2014; Elsevier BV; Volume: 74; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.cageo.2014.10.009

1873-7803

Christian Burlet, Yves Vanbrabant, Kris Piessens, Kris Welkenhuysen, Sophie Verheyden,

Sensor Technology and Measurement Systems

A temperature logger, named "Niphargus", was developed at the Geological Survey of Belgium to monitor temperature of local natural processes. It has a sensitivity of the order of a few hundredths of degrees on temperature variability in open air, caves, soils and river environment. The newly developed instrument uses a state-of-the-art band-gap silicon temperature sensor with integrated digital output. This sensor reduces the risk of drift associated with thermistor-based sensing devices, especially in humid environments. The Niphargus is designed to be highly reliable, low-cost and powered by a single lithium cell with up to several years autonomy, depending on the sampling rate and environmental conditions. A batch of Niphargus loggers was also compared to a precision thermistor to assess absolute temperature accuracy. Further characterization came from two field case studies in Belgium: monitoring of a mineralized water stream near the town of Spa and air temperature monitoring inside Han-sur-Lesse cave.