SCC-IRG Track 1: Connecting coastal communities with continuous, sensor-based monitoring of water quality

SCC-IRG 第 1 轨道：通过基于传感器的持续水质监测将沿海社区连接起来

• 批准号: 2317235
• 负责人: Christopher Neill
• 金额: $ 197.42万
• 依托单位: Woodwell Climate Research Center, Inc.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-10-01 至 2027-09-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2317235&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SCC; IRG; Track; Connecting; coastal

Coastal communities face large challenges monitoring water quality in multiple places and frequently enough to identify water quality problems and to document improvements following investments in programs or infrastructure that improve water quality. Traditional water quality monitoring is conducted by periodic collection of physical water quality samples. However, conditions that lead to large water quality and biological impacts (such as periods of low oxygen during heat waves or following periods of high river discharge) occur infrequently and are not well captured by existing monitoring programs that sample only periodically. This makes it hard for citizens to document problems and for managers to identify appropriate water quality actions. New continuously-recording water quality sensors now have the potential be deployed across multiple locations to provide time-series and information to better identify water quality impacts and potential solutions. Dissolved oxygen is a key water quality parameter that can now be measured with reliable, low-cost sensors. However, the transition to continuous sensor-based monitoring is complex and will require concurrent changes to the institutions that conduct monitoring, their norms and social practices, and the way the public and regulatory agencies use this new form of water quality data. This project will determine how volunteer citizen scientists respond to use of in situ recording sensors rather than grab samples, and test how volunteers respond to different procedures for deploying and interacting with sensors. The project will also test low-cost mobile platforms for deploying sensors in coastal waters. It will focus on three communities connected to water quality in the watershed of Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts: (1) local residents who live within coastal watersheds, including many who volunteer to collect water samples; (2) town officials responsible for water quality planning and regulation; and (3) state officials responsible for setting and enforcing water quality regulations. It will determine which combinations and scales for sensor deployment produce data most likely to be used and acted upon by residents, town officials, and government regulators. It will also provide knowledge on how different communities interpret and make sense of more detailed water quality data derived from sensors compared with data from traditional grab samples. Understanding this transition—both technologically and socially—will help advance the use of water and environmental sensors by the many organizations across the U.S. that conduct environmental monitoring and that might in the future deploy automated continuous environmental sensors.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

沿海社区面临着巨大的挑战，在多个地方监测水质，并经常发现水质问题，并记录改善水质的项目或基础设施投资后的改善情况。传统的水质监测是通过定期收集物理水质样品进行的。然而，导致大的水质和生物影响的条件（例如热浪期间的低氧期或河流高排放期）很少发生，并且仅定期采样的现有监测程序无法很好地捕获。这使得公民难以记录问题，管理人员难以确定适当的水质行动。新的连续记录水质传感器现在有可能部署在多个地点，以提供时间序列和信息，从而更好地识别水质影响和潜在的解决方案。溶解氧是一个关键的水质参数，现在可以用可靠、低成本的传感器进行测量。然而，向基于传感器的连续监测的过渡是复杂的，需要同时改变进行监测的机构、其规范和社会实践，以及公众和监管机构使用这种新形式的水质数据的方式。该项目将确定志愿公民科学家如何应对使用原位记录传感器而不是抓取样本，并测试志愿者如何应对部署传感器和与传感器交互的不同程序。该项目还将测试用于在沿海沃茨部署传感器的低成本移动的平台。它将侧重于与马萨诸塞州布扎德湾流域的水质有关的三个社区：（1）居住在沿海流域内的当地居民，包括许多自愿收集水样的人;（2）负责水质规划和管理的城镇官员;（3）负责制定和执行水质法规的州官员。它将确定传感器部署的哪些组合和规模产生的数据最有可能被居民、城镇官员和政府监管机构使用和采取行动。它还将提供有关不同社区如何解释和理解与传统采样数据相比来自传感器的更详细水质数据的知识。理解这一转变--无论是在技术上还是在社会上--将有助于推动美国各地许多进行环境监测的组织使用水和环境传感器，并可能在未来部署自动化连续环境传感器。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。