Can LTC Loggers handle extreme environments? We put one to the Test.

A 19‑month field trial was undertaken using an Aquaread Leveline CTD logger deployed in a highly saline lake in Western Australia, an environment defined by intense evaporation, extremely high salinity, and corrosive conditions that are notoriously unforgiving for long‑term monitoring equipment.

To put the challenge into perspective, average seawater salinity sits at around 35 g/L. In contrast, salinity at this site is known to range from approximately 71 to 157 g/L from twice to more than four times saltier than seawater. Conditions like this place enormous stress on sensors, making this an exceptional test of long‑term instrument durability and performance.

Despite the severity of the environment, the results were impressive.

The logger achieved greater than 99% valid data capture throughout the deployment, with stable long‑term measurements of water level, temperature and conductivity. Conductivity values peaked at approximately 193,000 µS/cm, underscoring just how extreme conditions became at times.

Importantly, the data behaved exactly as expected. Conductivity was highest when water levels were lowest particularly during summer clearly reflecting evaporative concentration processes within the lake. This consistency gave confidence not only in the sensor’s resilience, but also in the integrity of the data collected.

When the instrument was retrieved after 19 months, some surface corrosion was visible on the conductivity rings an anticipated outcome in such a highly saline environment. Crucially, the titanium body and internal components remained unaffected, and data quality remained strong right through to the end of the deployment, with no evidence of drift or performance degradation.

Trials like this are invaluable. They allow us to actively stress‑test monitoring equipment in real‑world extremes and work collaboratively with our industry partners to understand true performance limits, not just laboratory specifications.

The key takeaway for HydroTerra is confidence. This instrument remained stable and reliable under exceptionally harsh conditions and at very high salinity levels. It was a challenging application; we pushed it hard and it delivered………Now we know.