Captures the winter processes
Under ice, oxygen depletion and phosphorus release drive changes that shape water quality — and harmful algal blooms — through spring and summer. EM-2Q measures them in real time, where they were previously unmeasured.
Through Ice
Continuous monitoring beneath the ice
EM-2Q transmits data straight through solid ice cover — closing the seasonal blind spot that has meant 'no data' for months every winter.
How it works
Four-season data, even under ice
When a lake or reservoir freezes, exposed cables and surface telemetry are prone to being crushed and sheared as the ice forms and shifts — so monitoring equipment is usually pulled out at the first sign of ice, and a broken cable can mean losing the submerged unit for good. That leaves a blind spot through a period of intense biological and chemical change. CSignum's Electromagnetic Field Signalling passes through the ice itself, linking submerged sensors to an above-surface gateway with no exposed connection, so the data never goes dark. The result is four-season monitoring — the complete annual picture that accurate modelling depends on.
The advantage
Closing the biggest gap in water data
Nothing for ice to crush
No exposed cables to shear as ice forms and moves. The link runs wirelessly through the ice, so instruments stay in place year-round.
Real-time, not retrieved
Live under-ice readings upload to the cloud — no drilling through the ice and no physically recovering a logger to read the data.
From the surface to the cloud
The data surfaces at a topside gateway
The instrument stays below, collecting data and sending it wirelessly to a receiving gateway. Because EMFS carries the signal up through the air and across the water–air boundary, that gateway sits above the surface — up to 100m from the submerged unit, wherever is convenient. From there it passes the data onward over cellular or satellite networks to the CSignum Cloud, or straight into a SCADA system. With only the sensor in the water and no surface buoy tethered to it, the gateway can be sited discreetly and securely.
- Placed above the surface Sits topside, up to 100m from the submerged unit — no buoy, no cable back to the sensor.
- Onward over cellular or satellite Backhauls the data over cellular or SATCOM links to the CSignum Cloud or your SCADA system.
- Discreet and secure Site it out of reach — hidden from tampering and vandalism, and clear of flood damage.
Applications
Where it's deployed
- Under-ice water quality
- Dissolved-oxygen tracking
- Reservoir & lake monitoring
- Harmful-algae early warning
- Environmental compliance
- Cold-region research
See the product