Jeff Chan

Soil Sensors Overview

As a leader in soil monitoring instrumentation, Stevens offers portable and in-situ sensors to measure moisture,  EC (salinity), temperature and matric potential. Moisture, EC and Temperature – In-Situ Used in more water supply forecast and climatological networks than any other soil sensor. The most scientifically researched soil sensor available. RELIABLE: Continual, long-term data without calibration. […]

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Staff Gages Overview

Stevens’ environmentally rugged staff gages provide a quick and easy visual indicator of water level and flow. Every water level monitoring station should include a staff gage from which the height of the water may be visually and easily compared to any data logger’s reported measurement. Enamelled iron gages are preferred over other type gages

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Water Level Sensors Overview

Stevens is the original water level measurement instrumentation company with the introduction of the widely known chart recorders introduced in 1911. Today, Stevens offers a wide selection of water level measurement sensors including robust ceramic pressure sensors, shaft encoders, acoustical sensors, and visual reference staff gages. Stevens still offers the low-powered, mechanical chart recorders for

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Protecting Remote Monitoring Sites from Lightning Damage

Protecting monitoring sites from lightning damage is an important consideration for monitoring equipment and stations that are deployed in areas that are prone to lightning strikes. Even lightning that does not directly strike a site may cause damage by traveling through the ground and into buried sensors or cable. Proper planning for such events can

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A Brief History of Stevens’ 116 Year Chart Recorder Legacy

The legendary mechanical chart recorder for environmental monitoring dates back to 1911, when John C. Stevens invented the Type A chart recorder. In 1906, J.C. Stevens was the Hydrographer for the USGS out of Portland, Oregon, and was soon promoted to District Engineer. While with the USGS, he realized that hiring local citizens to observe

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Stevens Equipment Records Historical Information During Tsunami

On the eve of the discontinuation of Stevens chart recorders, we are republishing the following article about the highest profile contribution that our products have made in their 116 year history. This article was originally published in the Stevens Water Monitor newsletter in 2007. One of the longest lived products in water resource monitoring has

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Enhancements in Meteorological and Hydrological Models Using Soil Moisture Data

It has long been known that there is a strong relationship between soil water content and the health and yield of crops. But only in the past few decades has science quantified the specifics of these relationships. This research has expanded to develop a relationship between soil moisture levels and the impact on meteorological and

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Stevens Introduces New SMART SDI-12/RS-485 Sensors Featuring Integrated Programming to Simplify the Analysis of Data

Stevens introduces two new digital sensors with a smart mix of unique features and an attractive price point. The first in a line-up of rugged digital sensors, they offer built-in processing of measured data, eliminating the need to perform complex calculations to process the data for many applications. Stevens’ Smart PT is a ceramic membrane

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Webinar Recording – Soil Sensors Field installation, Management Practices and Troubleshooting

On April 20, 2017 we hosted the first in a series of soil physics training webinars. Here is the recording of the session as well as the slide deck we used. The webinar covered the following: Installation of soil sensors and things you should consider before going into the field. Best management practices and recommendations

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HydraProbe FAQs

Here are 7 questions and answers about using the Stevens HydraProbe. Q: What is the difference between the terms “real dielectric constant” (RDC) and the “real dielectric permittivity”? A: The terms real dielectric constant and real dielectric permittivity are often times used interchangeably and in a matter of speaking, are synonyms to one another. The

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Improved Water Supply Forecasts Using Soil Moisture Data

HydraProbe used to improve water supply forecast from 3 SNOTEL sites in Idaho over traditional antecedent conditions using the principle component forecast model Much of the water in the Western United States used for irrigation, municipal supplies and hydro-electric production originates as winter snow pack at higher elevations. Since the early 1900s, the correlation between

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Soil Moisture Applications and Practices Using the HydraProbe Soil Moisture Sensor

Over the past ten years, environmental monitoring has become increasingly important. Environmental factors such as climate change, dwindling water resources, and threatened habitats are driving the need to monitor the environment and implement better policies to protect it. Many natural processes in the environment are driven by or in some ways related soil hydrological processes.

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Stevens HydraProbe Helps in Landslide Research

Each year during the wet season we hear news reports about landslides in America and abroad. Sometimes these events happen in unpopulated areas but unfortunately they also occur in areas where people live, causing property damage and taking lives. But what causes these events and what can be done about them? That’s what Dr. Burns,

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HydraProbe Field Portable Used to Validate the Soil Moisture Active Passive Satellite Data in Manitoba

The calibration and validation of remotely sensed soil moisture products relies upon an accurate source of ground truth data. The primary method of providing this ground truth is to conduct intensive field campaigns with manual surface soil moisture sampling measurements, which utilize gravimetric sampling, soil moisture probes, or both, to estimate the volumetric soil water

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OSU Researchers Deploy Stevens Equipment in Study of Green Infrastructure Treatment for Groundwater Runoff

Stormwater runoff pollution is a serious issue that faces almost every urban and suburban environment. In older city infrastructure, runoff from roofs, parking lots, and streets flows directly into the sewer system and must be handled by the municipal wastewater treatment facility, increasing the amount of work the system must undertake. For the past 30

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NRCS Urban Soil Primer

The Urban Soil Primer is intended to give planning officials and people who live in urban areas an introduction to soils. It provides information important in planning and managing land resources in a manner that helps to prevent or mitigate problems associated with sedimentation, contamination, runoff, and structural failure. In non-technical language, this publication describes

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The Role of Soil Moisture on our Climate, Weather and Global Warming

Global warming is a topic that has received much attention in the media, especially during the hot days of summer. The process by which carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere prevents the escape of thermal energy into outer space is known as the greenhouse effect. The higher the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere the

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Introduction to Soil Surveys for Agronomic Use

The USDA’s Introduction to Soil Surveys for Agronomic Use, entitled “From the Surface Down”, is an introduction to soil types, horizons, and how they are measured. The intent of this publication is to increase user understanding of soils and acquaint them with the contents of a soil survey and supplemental interpretations that are important to

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