MONITORING TOOL

Short-Term Water Monitoring System (STMS)

Pilot areas
TO WHOM IS ADDRESSED?
Marine Protected Area (MPA) managers, scientists
THEME
Water quality
KEYWORDS
Monitoring, natural park, water pollution, water quality

WHAT PROBLEM WOULD THIS SOLVE?

The effective management of any type of water body requires comprehensive, up-to-date data on its physical, chemical, and biological quality. The Short-Term Water Quality Monitoring System (STMS) can be used in situ to detect an increase of specific pollutants in water. It uses an automatic identification system network that notifies designated recipients in real time. By using the STMS, natural parks can improve their management capacities in relation to biodiversity protection, climate change, and they can also place an economic value on the territory, such as that provided by tourism.

WHAT IS NEEDED FOR IMPLEMENTATION?

Technological infrastructure

Availability of electricity and internet connectivity, preferably through mobile networks, in the location chosen to place the sensors. The hardware components required are the following:

  1. Buoy/mast – Available depth/water flow speed. Must be able to hold the multiprobe base unit, battery, solar panels (if used) and the data logger. Short-Term Water Monitoring System (STMS) Monitoring tool Krka National Park (Croatia) Regional Park of Mincio (Italy) L’Albufera Natural Park (Spain) Una National Park (Bosnia-Herzegovina) Pilot areas © ECOSUSTAIN ECOSUSTAIN
  2. Multiprobe base unit – Needs to be able to hold the chosen sensor probes. In the case of optical sensor heads, a wiper is recommended (it also takes up one spot in the multiprobe base unit).
  3. Sensors (sensor heads) – The resolution and reliability of the measurements are important, so users must make sure they are getting sufficient accuracy based on their needs. Different sensor types require different maintenance – optical sensors can work for much longer unsupervised and there is not much else to be done for maintenance other than cleaning the sensor heads.
  4. Power source – In the case of solar panels, keep in mind that the power needs to be able to charge the battery sufficiently when sunlight is available. The number of solar panels can improve the input power and can also influence the percentage of time the panels are getting sunlight (different orientation configurations are available). Solar panels also require a regulator that can provide a suitable output for the battery.
  5. Battery – The battery needs to provide the correct voltage and amperage to power the system. The capacity of the battery should be based on the battery life required and the total power drain of the system (the power drain is mostly affected by how often measurements are taken and then sent to the server).
  6. Data logger – Should be compatible with the multiprobe base unit to collect the data from the sensors (compatible connections). Preferably contains local storage for situations when an internet connection might not be available. Should send data to the remote location (server) for storage.
  7. Internet connectivity module – GSM (2G/3G/4G) in most cases where there is sufficient GSM coverage. Can be integrated with the data logger. Dedicated software should be chosen to collect, display, and manage the data collected.

Training

Training is recommended to explain the use of the software to all potential users.

Investment

Installing a network of STMS buoys to detect pollution intake would be cost-effective, and cheaper than traditional sampling and analysis. Some guidelines for the cost-benefit analysis of implementing the STMS have been developed; they suggest the indicators to use to assess impact categories, such as revenues, compliance with regulations, costs of remediation in case of pollution events, daily management costs, and water monitoring effectiveness.

HOW TO USE IT?

Concept

The STMS consists of installing a buoy in the water of the protected areas to be monitored, equipped with a multiprobe base unit with battery-powered sensors for relevant water quality parameters, solar panels for charging the battery, a data logger for all measurement values and a GSM modem to send the measurement values to a server. Data are sent both to the Parks’ server and to the EcoSUSTAIN server. Thus, the Parks receive data directly on their computers, displayed in tables and graphs, and if measurements are outside the acceptable ranges, an alarm is sent to selected relevant users. Data are also published on the EcoSUSTAIN open online portal, where authorised users can create periodic reports, which are also publicly available on the portal.

Recommended implementation frequency

The first step is to choose the parameters to monitor, which may include a range of physical (temperature, conductivity, turbidity), chemical (dissolved oxygen, pH), and biotic (blue-green algae and Chlorophyll-a pigments) variables. Factors such as the cost of the probes, their duration and robustness in specific conditions, and the maintenance requirements should be considered. The second step is the choice of locations for installing the buoys, based on several considerations such as the purpose of monitoring, ease of maintenance, and proximity to navigational routes. © ECOSUSTAIN Data are then collected and transmitted at predetermined frequencies, which may be set according to the Water Framework Directive (WFD) minimum requirements. Data are then displayed on the screen in the form of graphs and tables. Statistical values are derived from the raw data (e.g. minimum, maximum and average values from the period). The data are only processed while viewed within the application as live data or through the created reports, but the data itself are valuable and can be further processed outside of the STMS solution by using any desired tool.

WHAT CHALLENGES MAY ARISE?

Visual observations and automatic recording through photo/ video may be affected by weather/sea conditions. Costs may be high if using dedicated research vessels. Moreover, from large vessels and aircraft it is possible to detect only marine litter that is larger than 20 cm. Finally, the dimension of the objects at sea may be difficult to assess; to overcome this issue, the protocol suggests using a ruler with a string of fixed length, and measuring the apparent length of the object and the degree of distance from the horizon line, in order to have an estimation of the object’s real size. The monitoring of ingestion may depend on the geographic coverage of the species and the availability of animals.

WHAT ARE THE EXPECTED RESULTS?

Quantitative results

The application of the protocol allows for the collection of consistent, coherent, and comparable data on floating marine litter on both a large scale (i.e., at the Mediterranean basin level) and local scale (i.e., at an MPA level), and on ingested litter by biota.

Transfer potential

The protocol has been specifically developed for the Mediterranean, but it may be used to collect marine litter data in other marine contexts as well.

Pilot Areas

Krka National Park (Croatia); L’Albufera Natural Park (Spain); Regional Park of Mincio (Italy); Una National Park (Bosnia-Herzegovina).

KEY INFORMATION

6

Different parameters in 1 year

4,000

Measurements in the Albufera National Park

24

Hours/day collection of continuous data series

  • In the Albufera National Park, more than 4,000 measurements of 6 different parameters have been taken in one year. Using these data, researchers are able to study the changes in water parameters in relation to atmospheric conditions.

 

  • Thanks to the implementation of SMTS, the Krka National Park was able to collect for the first time a continuous data series, 24 hours/day, every day, in every season. These series are very useful, not only to the Park, which for the first time owns the water quality monitoring data, but also to other stakeholders that perform research or data sampling in the area.

 

The data collected for the four pilot sites and associated information can be found in the spatial viewer created by the project: http://ecosustain.info/

For further information

Project contact: EcoSUSTAIN 

  • Communication Manager: Samir Jodanovic

Links of interest

Partners

  • ALOT S.r.l.
  • ARATOS TECHNOLOGIES S.A.
  • Democritus University of Thrace
  • Development Agency of the Una – Sana Canton
  • Global Nature Foundation
  • Province of Mantua
  • Public Company Una National Park Ltd. Bihac
  • Public Institution “National park Krka”
  • RGO Communications Ltd.
  • University of Rijeka, Faculty of Maritime Studies

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