Development of a Real-Time, Mobile Nitrate Monitoring Station for High-Frequency Data Collection
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Author(s)
Luna Juncal, MJ
Skinner, T
Bertone, E
Stewart, RA
Year published
2020
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A mobile monitoring station was developed to measure nitrate and physicochemical water quality parameters remotely, in real-time, and at very high frequencies (thirty minutes). Several calibration experiments were performed to validate the outputs of a real-time nutrient sensor, which can be affected by optical interferences such as turbidity, pH, temperature and salinity. Whilst most of these proved to play a minor role, a data-driven compensation model was developed to account for turbidity interferences. The reliability of real-time optical sensors has been questioned previously; however, this study has shown that following ...
View more >A mobile monitoring station was developed to measure nitrate and physicochemical water quality parameters remotely, in real-time, and at very high frequencies (thirty minutes). Several calibration experiments were performed to validate the outputs of a real-time nutrient sensor, which can be affected by optical interferences such as turbidity, pH, temperature and salinity. Whilst most of these proved to play a minor role, a data-driven compensation model was developed to account for turbidity interferences. The reliability of real-time optical sensors has been questioned previously; however, this study has shown that following compensation, the readings can be more accurate than traditional laboratory-based equipment. In addition, significant benefits are offered by monitoring waterways at high frequencies, due to rapid changes in analyte concentrations over short time periods. This, combined with the versatility of the mobile station, provides opportunities for several beneficial monitoring applications, such as of fertiliser runoff in agricultural areas in rural regions, aquaculture runoff, and waterways in environmentally sensitive areas such as the Great Barrier Reef.
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View more >A mobile monitoring station was developed to measure nitrate and physicochemical water quality parameters remotely, in real-time, and at very high frequencies (thirty minutes). Several calibration experiments were performed to validate the outputs of a real-time nutrient sensor, which can be affected by optical interferences such as turbidity, pH, temperature and salinity. Whilst most of these proved to play a minor role, a data-driven compensation model was developed to account for turbidity interferences. The reliability of real-time optical sensors has been questioned previously; however, this study has shown that following compensation, the readings can be more accurate than traditional laboratory-based equipment. In addition, significant benefits are offered by monitoring waterways at high frequencies, due to rapid changes in analyte concentrations over short time periods. This, combined with the versatility of the mobile station, provides opportunities for several beneficial monitoring applications, such as of fertiliser runoff in agricultural areas in rural regions, aquaculture runoff, and waterways in environmentally sensitive areas such as the Great Barrier Reef.
View less >
Journal Title
Sustainability
Volume
12
Issue
14
Copyright Statement
© 2020 The Authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
Subject
Environmental sciences