Your browser is no longer supported. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience.

Water level measurement

The ever-changing level of water in a river, in a port, or at sea can be measured by a number of methods that can be used by hydrographers, oceanographers and industry. The knowledge of the amount of water under a vessels keel is of fundamental importance for the safety of navigation at sea, and for vessel operations in ports and harbours. The most widespread technique for water level measurement is to use pressure. Pressure measurements can be taken from a point underneath the water surface, as the height of water changes, this will result in a detectable variation in pressure that can be translated into a vertical distance. Another method is to measure the travel time between a radar sensor and the water surface from above, and so derive the vertical distance – this requires no equipment to be placed in the water and is very simple to deploy.