PATHWAYS and evolution of pollutants: Interactions between physical controlling effects, microbial community composition and pollutant biodegradation

PATHWAYS汇集了一个跨技术，系统思维和社会的多学科团队，以帮助了解水质。该项目进行基础研究，直到最终用户交付。我们将开发新的见解、方法和技术，支持最终用户的需求，使用共同设计和适当应用的技术为社区和生态系统提供保护。我们将通过开发改进的、经过验证的决策支持工具来实现这一目标，以满足保护和提高自然水质的要求。拟议的研究将采用一系列新的基础研究方法，包括实验室和现场示踪研究、数据解释和模拟，以确定污染物在一系列流动域中的路径和演变。为此，该方案将调查水质特征，特别注意包括物理、化学和生物变量在内的若干关键参数之间的关系。河流水体和沉积物中微生物群落特征（微生物多样性）及其降解污染物的潜力，以及它们如何受到物理和化学控制的影响，例如：（生物膜和渗透性），形状（横截面和平面形状）和营养物质（活性氮和磷）在四个流域：河流，湖泊和湿地和近岸Ulhas河/塔梅河流域（孟买都市区，印度）。这将阐明直接排放和扩散情景如何影响物理控制效果，微生物群落组成和污染物生物降解率之间的相互作用。我们的方法是独特的，因为该技术的设计和实施是通过了解当地社区，其中没有假定适当的解决方案或系统结构。强大的低功耗传感器和通信技术的可访问性为侧重于社区关注的本地数据收集提供了很大的机会。采用公民科学方法，这些进展可用于开发基于创新技术的高效、用户友好的水监测战略和系统，为当局、社区和其他最终用户提供实时数据。

PATHWAYS brings together a multidisciplinary team crossing technology, systems thinking and society to aid the understanding of water quality. The project undertakes fundamental research, through to end-user delivery. We will develop new insights, approaches and technologies that support the needs of end-users to provide protection for communities and ecosystems using co-designed and appropriately applied technologies. We will do this, by developing improved, validated decision support tools to address the requirements for the protection and enhancement of natural water quality. This will inform end-user decisions made by environmental regulators and policymakers, engineering consultants and water utilities.The proposed study will employ a range of novel fundamental research approaches, including laboratory and field tracer studies, data interpretation and simulations, to ascertain the pathways and evolution of pollutants within a range of flow domains. In order to do so, the programme will investigate water quality characteristics paying special attention to the relationship between a number of critical parameters including physical, chemical and biological variables. The characteristics of the microbial communities in river water and sediments (microbial diversity) and their pollutant-degrading potential will be assessed and how they are affected by physical and chemical controls such as: boundary (biofilm and permeability), shape (cross-section and planform), and nutrients (reactive nitrogen and phosphorous) in four flow domains: rivers, lakes and wetlands and near-shore in the Ulhas River / Thame Creek Catchment (Mumbai Metropolitan Region, India). This will elucidate how direct discharge and diffuse scenarios affect interactions between physical controlling effects, microbial community composition and pollutant biodegradation rates.Our approach is unique in that the design and implementation of the technology is informed through understanding of local community, where an appropriate solution or systems structure is not presumed. The accessibility of robust low-powered sensors, communication technologies is providing great opportunities for locally orientated data collection focussed on community concerns. Using a citizen science approach, these advances can be used to develop efficient, user-friendly water monitoring strategies and systems based on innovative technologies, providing authorities, communities and other end-users real-time data.