# Detecting changes in seafloor elevation in sandy coastal environments using low-cost opensource tooling

## TL;DR

Researchers created low-cost, open-source tools to measure seafloor elevation changes in sandy coastal areas, improving accuracy in groundwater discharge models.

## Contribution

An economical and open-source sediment level logger was developed for precise seafloor elevation tracking in coastal environments.

## Key findings

- The sediment level loggers achieved an accuracy of up to 1 cm in measuring the sediment–water interface.
- Using these loggers reduced average root mean squared errors in submarine groundwater discharge modeling by up to 25%.
- The loggers are durable, easy to install, and suitable for long-term deployments in various coastal environments.

## Abstract

Knowledge of sediment erosion and deposition can be useful for a variety of engineering, marine science, and environmental applications, but collecting detailed time-series measurements of the sediment–water interface can be challenging, particularly in coastal marine environments. We developed economical and open-source sediment level loggers to record sediment–water interface time-series data with accuracy up to 1 cm. The logger is composed of a programmable Circuit-Python (or Arduino) microcontroller and “breakout boards” that attach to a specially designed printed circuit board (PCB) and an array of evenly spaced photoresistors enclosed in a robust waterproof housing. These instruments were paired with temperature sensors in a study off the coast of Charleston, SC in the South Atlantic Bight where heat was used as a tracer to detect the flow of porewater in the permeable coastal sediments. This approach requires accurate knowledge of the depth of temperature sensors relative to the sediment–water interface. In this application, improved knowledge of the elevation of the sediment–water interface elevation data from the sediment level loggers reduced average root mean squared errors in modeling submarine groundwater discharge by as much as 25 %. The sediment level loggers can be easily installed, withstand long deployment times, and provide long-term recording abilities suitable for a range of environments.