Saltiphone to measure wind erosion 7.5m

Wind erosion is a prevalent problem in large sectors of the world. The soil degrades because fertile soil particles are blown away. In coastal areas on the other hand, wind erosion is a welcome guest; it strengthens the dunes and stimulates vegetation growth. Measuring wind erosion is difficult, however, which is why Eijkelkamp Soil & Water has evolved the Saltiphone (the Saltiphone was originally designed by Spaan en Van den Abeele, Wageningen University, 1984*) to measure wind erosion according to the acoustic measuring principle. The impact of sand grains can be measured, counted and saved. These data provide extremely detailed insights into transport processes, important for all those interested in Aeolian sand transport.

Digital output 0 - 1000 counts/sec. (0- 5 V pulse), analogue output 0-1 Vdc, accuracy 5%. Supply 4.8 - 35 Vdc. Current consumption 6 mA. The height of the sensor can be adjusted.

Publications Saltiphone

The Soil Physics and Land Management group from Wageningen University has recently demonstrated that the Saltiphone not only counts the impact of sand grains, but also measures the amount of sand transport. In cooperation with Eijkelkamp Soil & Water and extremely renowned international scientists, they have published two articles to explain this monitoring technique. Their findings from a laboratory and wind tunnel experiment can be read in the respected online periodical PLOS ONE and the authoritative domain-specific Aeolian Research.

• Poortinga, A., van Rheenen, H., Ellis, J. T., & Sherman, D. J. (2015). Measuring aeolian sand transport using acoustic sensors. Aeolian Research,16, 143-151.

• Poortinga, A., Van Minnen, J., Keijsers, J., Riksen, M., Goossens, D., & Seeger, M. (2013). Measuring fast-temporal sediment fluxes with an analogue acoustic sensor: a wind tunnel study. PloS one, 8(9), e74007.

• Spaan, W.P.; Abeele, G.D. van den; 1991. Wind borne particle measurements with acoustic sensors.. Soil Technology 5 (1991) 51-63.

  * Spaan, W.P.; Abeele, G.D. van den; 1991. Wind borne particle measurements with acoustic sensors.. Soil Technology 5 (1991) 51-63.