Fieldwork in Luxembourg 2002
8-15 May 2002Twenty one students of Civil Engineering and TB participated in the one week fieldwork, that confronted them with the often surprising aspects of the hydrological cycle. The practical consisted of various types of measurements and observations related to surface and subsurface water flow and storage, meteorology and water quality (ecology) aspects.
The practical was located in a hillslope region of the Luxembourg Ardennes. Measurements were all carried out within the Wark river basin.
Arriving at the campsite.
The size of the caravans was enormous.
Once finally arrived in Luxembourg, work had to be started immediately, a meteorological station was installed
The evaporation pan was there..
Temperature and humidity were constantly monitored.
And if it would have rained, we would have known how much water flows along the stem of this tree.
In the evening each caravan/tent cooked their own meal
Which sometimes worked out fine and sometimes looked like ....
The next morning breakfast at eight.
Everybody made their own lunch for the afternoon. To teach our foreign students about dutch traditions, our lunch consisted of bread with cheese.
After breakfast on to the Maisbich catchment
To do some exploring.
Using a gps, sextant and pathfinder, angles and distances were measured
To cover the whole area lots of walking was neccesary
After the exploration day, 4 days filled with measurements followed. Dilution gauging was one of these measurements
While others were measuring downstream, Lucas tries to empty the bucket, without spilling, into the Maisbich
The bio-water analyses are being carried out here. Anke has to catch bio-organisms, but she is not sure how to do that yet
When finally caught something, the expert is consulted
Astrid shows how it is to be done
Christiaan trying to imitate it
The catch being emptied
And examined
Infiltration measurements (at the crack of down) to calculate the vertical conductivity of the top soil
The inner and outer ring being filled with water
The most nostalgic experiment, was to build flumes and weirs into the Maisbich river. Here you see a RBC flume
Here is a, DIY, V-notch
As part of the streamflow measurements Berry is measuring velocities in the Wark with a propellor type current meter.
The equipment had to be carried to and back from the place where measurements took place
Soil moisture content being read with pr1
Auger hole tests were carried out. Here you see Joris extracting water from an augered hole.
Once the watertable inside the hole was lowered, the raise of the water in the hole was monitored.
When at the end of the day the fieldwork was finished, the results had to be interpretated. Many afternoons and evenings were spend here
Working behind the computer
Data was analysed
Presentation were being prepared
After four days of gathering and analyzing, it was time for a presentation. Joris told about the results of dilution gauging
While Berry discussed the velocity area method
Lara was talking about the bio and chemical water analyses
And Lucas showed how it was done.
The audience listening carefully
And in the end Prof. Savenije gave some tips
Of course their was also time for other things, like having a barbeque
Hugo and Wim Luxemburg showing their barbeque skills
To conclude our visit, a canoe trip was organized. Persons not made of sugar and still fit after a week of working went along.
Only to be honest, the velocity of the canoe was often not higher than the velocity of the water
The end of the fieldwork... going home ...
Fieldwork in Luxembourg's Ardennes
The practical consisted of various types of measurements concerning streamflow, soilmoisture, ground water, meteorology and ecology. Brief describtion of measurements which were carried out were:
- Sunshine duration
- Wind
- Temperature
- Humidity
- Evaporation
- Rainfall
- Groundwater table monitoring
- Soil moisture content with PR1
- Soil moisture content measured with Tensiometers
- Dilution gauging
- Velocity area method with current meters
- Velocity area method with floats
- Slope area mehod
- Auger hole tests
- Inverse augerhole tests
- Double ring infiltration tests
- Weirs and flumes measurements
- Bio monitoring
- Chemical water analysis
Measurements took place during most of the day. In the evening the data collected during the day was analysed. The last day was devoted to presentation of the fieldwork results.
The fieldwork practical is part of the courses offered by the Section Hydrology & Ecology of the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geo-Sciences. It is an integral part of the course in "Hydrological Measurements, CT4440". In 2002 it was also offered as a stand alone Capita Selecta selective course.
