Asset tracking: Monitoring sediments in a river
The CNRS and ENS trusted CIPAM and ELA Innovation for its project of sediment monitoring in rivers. The analysis of sediment flows allows to study the accumulation phenomena that can lead to flood risks but also to optimize the management of hydroelectric facilities to extend their life span or to better understand the links between ecology and sediment dynamics.
The innovative tracking solution that has been implemented has made it possible to equip very dynamic rivers with very intense sediment transport (volume and transport distance). Indeed, the research team and its partner GeoPeka has overcome the size constraint of the transponders by creating artificial pebbles, identical to those found in these rivers, both in terms of weight and visuals, to insert a tag in each one. A total of fifteen sites have been equipped in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, covering areas of up to 90 hectares.
The innovative tracking solution that has been implemented has made it possible to equip very dynamic rivers with very intense sediment transport (volume and transport distance). Indeed, the research team and its partner GeoPeka has overcome the size constraint of the transponders by creating artificial pebbles, identical to those found in these rivers, both in terms of weight and visuals, to insert a tag in each one. A total of fifteen sites have been equipped in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, covering areas of up to 90 hectares.
The current developments within the framework of a Pack Ambition Research project attest to the good results already obtained and to our confidence in this solution for our future studies.
M.Cassel
Post-Doctoral Candidate in Fluvial Geomorphology
The CNRS and ENS trusted CIPAM and ELA Innovation for its project of sediment monitoring in rivers. The analysis of sediment flows allows to study the accumulation phenomena that can lead to flood risks but also to optimize the management of hydroelectric facilities to extend their life span or to better understand the links between ecology and sediment dynamics.
The innovative tracking solution that has been implemented has made it possible to equip very dynamic rivers with very intense sediment transport (volume and transport distance). Indeed, the research team and its partner GeoPeka has overcome the size constraint of the transponders by creating artificial pebbles, identical to those found in these rivers, both in terms of weight and visuals, to insert a tag in each one. A total of fifteen sites have been equipped in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, covering areas of up to 90 hectares.
The innovative tracking solution that has been implemented has made it possible to equip very dynamic rivers with very intense sediment transport (volume and transport distance). Indeed, the research team and its partner GeoPeka has overcome the size constraint of the transponders by creating artificial pebbles, identical to those found in these rivers, both in terms of weight and visuals, to insert a tag in each one. A total of fifteen sites have been equipped in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, covering areas of up to 90 hectares.
The current developments within the framework of a Pack Ambition Research project attest to the good results already obtained and to our confidence in this solution for our future studies.
M.Cassel
Post-Doctoral Candidate in Fluvial Geomorphology
The project's participants
- The client's needs
- Technical Operation
- Results
The client's needs
✓ Detect and geolocate easily and quickly individual particles distributed over large areas and in landfill situations.
✓ To be able to equip particles of the smallest possible size.
✓ To be able to equip particles of the smallest possible size.
Technical Operation
Regarding the technical operation, this solution is based on a set of artificial pebbles integrating COIN ID Active RFID tags. These last ones are introduced and geolocalized in the bed of a river. During floods, the pebbles are transported in the river bed by the flows. Once the floods have passed, the researchers go to the field to geolocalize the pebbles thanks to a detection system composed of an antenna and an RFID reader. Three different detection techniques are used:
• Either by a fixed station which timestamps the passage of the pebbles.
• Either by teams of 2 to 3 people on foot.
• Either by drone equipped with a Slender antenna and a GPS to geolocalize in the clear spaces.
• Either by a fixed station which timestamps the passage of the pebbles.
• Either by teams of 2 to 3 people on foot.
• Either by drone equipped with a Slender antenna and a GPS to geolocalize in the clear spaces.
Results
✓ High return rates compared to previous similar studies (No. of objects found / No. of objects deployed)
✓ An opportunity to study very dynamic rivers, with very large sediment transport distances
✓ An opportunity to study very dynamic rivers, with very large sediment transport distances
Equipment
- The benefits
- Results
The benefits
✓ Detection distance (80 meters in open field and 2.60 meters underwater)
✓ Ability to detect several particles simultaneously
✓ Location accuracy to the nearest meter thanks to the spatialization of the RSSI signal
✓ Ability to detect several particles simultaneously
✓ Location accuracy to the nearest meter thanks to the spatialization of the RSSI signal
Results
✓ High return rates compared to previous similar studies (No. of objects found / No. of objects deployed)
✓ An opportunity to study very dynamic rivers, with very large sediment transport distances
✓ An opportunity to study very dynamic rivers, with very large sediment transport distances
