Recently, Arba Minch Water Technology Institute has enriched its advanced equipments’ inventory as it has purchased over 20 potentially important engineering instruments that incurred over ETB 50 Million to be used in different laboratories. And in future, it’s expected to bring in more scientific instruments meant to measure ground water prospects, soil moisture, river or canal water quality measurement, etc., said, Water Resource Research Centre Director, Dr Samuel Dagalo.
He revealed that AWTI under Water Research Resource Centre will establish irrigation, hydraulic and water quality engineering laboratories and each require specific instruments. Recently bought ABEM Terrameter LS-2 and Acoustic Doppler Velocity Profiler are for hydraulic engineering while Advanced UV Visible Spectrophotometer and several sensors is for water quality and soon shipment of instruments worth ETB 20 Million for irrigation engineering is expected to come.
Recently, we brought ABEM Terrameter LS-2 worth over ETB 12 Million is used in geological mapping, geotechnical pre-investigation, groundwater prospecting, mineral exploration, mapping and monitoring of contaminations, geothermal prospecting, sub-bottom mapping of marine environments, monitoring of permafrost and archeology. This instrument with electrodes explores mineral, detects seepage as well. In its absence, we were doing random analysis but this one will give us accurate information, he informed.
Acoustic Doppler Velocity Profiler with automatic weather stations costs around ETB 16 million provides robust velocity measurements in a compact, easy-to use package, and enables shallow to deep water flow monitoring including river, shallow streams, marshes, lakes, or water treatment facilities. It enables measurement of single-point velocity away from flow obstructions; it’s integrated with a wide range of additional sensors.
Doppler Ultrasonic Flow Meter measures flows of liquids containing suspended particles or aerated liquids. It operates by transmitting ultrasonic waves into the flow stream and measuring the frequency shift of the reflected wave.
Leaf Area Index (LAI) meter is lightweight, portable, linear array of photo synthetically active radiation sensors for non-destructive leaf area index measurements. It measures canopy PAR interception and calculates LAI at any location within a plant or forest canopy provided with the required accessories for infield operation and data acquisition cables. These and other instruments will be procured soon as the process, in this regard, is underway.
In the absence of these instruments people were just sitting with their computer and running a model that meant nothing, but with this advanced equipments the researchers can have accurate data and get going with their research.
The instruments were purchased from Dubai, where AWTI Scientific Director, Dr Abdella Kemal, Dr Samuel Dagalo and Mr Mekonen Muluneh, had brief training on ABEM Terrameter and Acoustic Doppler Velocity Profiler. ABEM Terrameter is the updated one from Swedish firm ABBEM COPCO LTD which includes the hardware, software and training package.
On Remote Sensing, Dr Samuel said, we are establishing two laboratories, one will be a training centre for all these instruments and a conference room equipped with internet, remote sensing application and GIS.
Attributing the credit to AMU Management, he said, it’s due to them we could get these instruments and we would need their assistance to buy gadgets where these equipments will be placed in respective places.
The major instruments are Advanced UV Visible Spectrophotometer, DR-5000 Spectrophotometer, Acoustic Doppler Current Meter, Borehole Inspection Cameras and others that will put research on strong track.
Following bought instruments on their way are Aqua Profiler, MS-5/DS5/DS5X Multi-parameter Sondes, Double Ring Infiltro-meter, Guelph Permea Meter, WinRHIZO (TRON MF), Sediment sampler (Concentration Meter), Thick Glass Graduated Measuring Cylinder, Beakers Heavy Duty Pyrex (Glass-beakers) thick wall & heavy, Plastic Lab sample containers, Glass Volumetric Flask, Erlenmeyer Flask, Lab Cleaning Brushes, BOD Incubator, Laboratory Bio Safety Cabinet, Flame Photometer digital,
Membrane Filter Manifolds Vacuum Filtration with Vacuum Pump, Bench top pH/mV Meter, Water Testing kit, Microbiological, Dual Incubator with Battery, Kjeldhal Digestion Unit and Kjeldahl Distillation Unit.
(Communication Affairs Directorate)