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Estimating the Underwater Diffuse Attenuation Coefficient with a Low-Cost Instrument: The KdUINO DIY Buoy
Raul Bardaji1, Albert-Miquel Sánchez2, Carine Simon3
1Department of Physical and Technological Oceanography, Marine Sciences Institute (ICM-CSIC), 37-49 Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta, Barcelona E-08003, Spain. bardaji@icm.csic.es.
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)
|March 22, 2016
Summary
A new Do-It-Yourself (DIY) instrument, KdUINO, measures water transparency by calculating the diffuse attenuation coefficient (Kd). This low-cost device empowers citizen scientists to gather crucial water quality data more effectively.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Optical Oceanography
- Sensor Technology
Background:
- Water transparency is a key indicator of aquatic environmental status, influenced by factors like phytoplankton, organic matter, and sediment.
- Measuring the diffuse attenuation coefficient (Kd) is vital for assessing water transparency.
- Conventional methods for measuring subsurface irradiance are costly and logistically challenging, limiting data collection.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) instrument for measuring irradiance at various depths.
- To enable automatic calculation of the diffuse attenuation coefficient (Kd).
- To validate the performance of the DIY instrument against commercial standards and assess its feasibility for citizen science initiatives.
Main Methods:
- Development of the KdUINO instrument, integrating a low-cost encapsulated photonic sensor with an Arduino open-hardware platform.
- Deployment of the KdUINO for irradiance measurements at different depths.
- Validation of KdUINO data by comparison with measurements from commercial instruments.
- Conducting workshops with high school students to test the instrument's usability and feasibility.
Main Results:
- The KdUINO instrument successfully measured irradiance and calculated the diffuse attenuation coefficient (Kd).
- Data collected by KdUINO showed good agreement with measurements from commercial instruments, confirming its accuracy.
- Workshops demonstrated the instrument's feasibility and potential for engaging students in environmental monitoring.
Conclusions:
- The DIY KdUINO instrument offers a cost-effective and accessible solution for measuring water transparency and the diffuse attenuation coefficient (Kd).
- This technology can significantly enhance citizen science efforts in water quality monitoring, increasing data availability in both time and space.
- The successful validation and student workshops highlight the potential of DIY sensor technologies for environmental education and research.
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