EAGER: PPER: Validation and Utilization of a New Tool for Citizen-Led Water Quality Monitoring in Agricultural Watersheds

EAGER：PPER：公民主导的农业流域水质监测新工具的验证和使用

• 批准号: 1743991
• 负责人: Christopher Jones
• 金额: $ 8.87万
• 依托单位: University of Iowa
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2017-09-01 至 2018-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1743991&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: EAGER; PPER; Validation; Utilization; New

This research project tests a new tool that uses a smartphone app to test water quality. The app relies on the smartphone camera's ability to detect the color change on a chemical test strip to a much higher level of precision and more accurately than the human eye. The phone relays the data and test location to a database for access by the project researchers as well as citizen scientists. The project goals are to determine the feasibility of using this app to accurately monitor water quality throughout a watershed, to assess user interest and engagement in using the app, and to help stakeholders identify water-quality "hot spots" for the potential implementation of projects to improve water quality. In this research project, a water quality monitoring smartphone app is being piloted with stakeholders in two separate field campaigns: Clear Creek Watershed (Fall 2017) in eastern Iowa (to collect preliminary data related to the app's accuracy, ease-of-use, and user experience) and Clear Creek and the Middle Cedar River watersheds (Spring and Summer 2018) in Iowa (to introduce the app to watershed management authorities and other water-quality monitoring volunteers). The two campaigns are providing sufficient data to determine the new app's potential for citizen-led monitoring to provide scientifically credible characterization of water quality. The proposed citizen science project builds on existing hydrology and water-quality expertise at the IIHR - Hydroscience & Engineering, University of Iowa. IIHR - Hydroscience & Engineering also recently developed the Iowa Water Quality Information System, with which anyone with internet access can view real time water-quality information from sensors deployed across Iowa within its hydrologic context. Immediate impacts of this project include the use of this tool to inform selection and placement of hundreds of conservation practices to reduce flooding and improve water quality in eight Iowa Watershed Approach project watersheds. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources may also adopt this new app for use by its volunteer water-quality monitoring program. The long-term implications for this project are the broader scientific community's potential adoption of a new water-quality measurement tool that allows anyone with a smartphone to take accurate measurements of water quality and share that data to a common online platform with very little effort or cost. The app will help researchers, state agencies, watershed managers, and the general public better monitor, understand, and characterize water-quality problems at the local watershed scale.

该研究项目测试了一种使用智能手机应用程序测试水质的新工具。该应用程序依赖于智能手机摄像头能够检测到化学测试条上的颜色变化的能力，比人眼更高，并且更准确。手机将数据和测试位置传递到数据库，以供项目研究人员和公民科学家访问。 项目目标是确定使用此应用程序准确监视整个分水岭的水质的可行性，评估用户对使用该应用程序的兴趣和参与度，并帮助利益相关者确定潜在的项目实施水质的“热点”，以提高水质。 In this research project, a water quality monitoring smartphone app is being piloted with stakeholders in two separate field campaigns: Clear Creek Watershed (Fall 2017) in eastern Iowa (to collect preliminary data related to the app's accuracy, ease-of-use, and user experience) and Clear Creek and the Middle Cedar River watersheds (Spring and Summer 2018) in Iowa (to introduce the app to watershed management authorities and other水质监测志愿者）。这两个活动正在提供足够的数据，以确定新应用程序的潜力公民主导的监测，以提供科学可信的水质表征。拟议的公民科学项目基于爱荷华大学IIHR的现有水文学和水质专业知识。 IIHR- Hydroscience＆Engineering最近还开发了爱荷华州水质信息系统，任何具有Internet访问的人都可以在其水文环境下从爱荷华州部署的传感器中查看实时水质信息。 该项目的直接影响包括使用该工具来为选择和放置数百种保护做法，以减少洪水并改善八个爱荷华州流域的水质项目。爱荷华州自然资源部也可能采用此新应用程序，以供其志愿者水质监测计划使用。对该项目的长期影响是更广泛的科学界潜在地采用了一种新的水质测量工具，该工具允许拥有智能手机的任何人对水质进行准确的测量，并以很少的努力或成本将数据分享到普通的在线平台上。该应用程序将帮助研究人员，州机构，分水岭经理和公众更好地监控，理解和表征当地流域量表的水质问题。