Managing aquatic systems using in-situ sensor technologies

Background:• Lakes and rivers are used for a range

of ecosystem services including supply of potable water, recreation and fisheries.

• Lakes are sensitive to what happens in the catchment, particularly climate and nutrient loading.

Thematic Area: Environmental Science

Valerie McCarthy, Dundalk Institute of Technology

Until recently monitoring relied on discrete samples, later analysed in the laboratory.

Typically provided weekly to monthly resolution.

Now possible to monitor automatically at high frequency using sensors mounted on in-situ platforms or buoys.

Developments in lake monitoring

Allows new insights into the processes that drive change at sub-daily and hourly intervals & web-based observations now possible.

Proposed Activities

Overall Goal: • To deploy monitoring systems and use the data

collected to gain new insights into system processes.

• Focus on the use of high-frequency data from lakes and reservoirs to inform water resource management.

• Specific interest in the role of aquatic ecosystem functioning in carbon processing now and under future climate change scenarios.

Relevant Areas: • Application and development of in-situ sensors for lake

monitoring• Data acquisition and management.• Ecological modelling

Contact: Eleanor.Jennings@dkit.ie; Valerie.mccarthy@dkit.ie