Distributed Water Pollution Source Localization with Mobile UV-Visible Spectrometer Probes in Wireless Sensor...

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Sensor Technology
• Water Resource Management

Background:

• Urban water supply systems are vulnerable to pollution accidents in surface waters.
• Accurate localization of pollution sources is challenging due to complex spreading and wide concentration ranges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a scalable, distributed solution for water pollution source localization.
• To enhance urban water supply security through effective monitoring.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a wireless sensor network with mobile unmanned surface vehicles and stationary buoys.
• Equipped nodes with UV-visible spectrometer probes and a self-adaptive optical path mechanism for in-situ measurements.
• Developed the Dual-Particle Swarm Optimization (Dual-PSO) algorithm for source localization, incorporating entropy for dynamic parameter sensitivity recognition.

Main Results:

• Achieved online, multi-parameter water quality monitoring in a drinking water source area with a wide dynamic range.
• Demonstrated efficient localization of water pollution sources.
• Validated the effectiveness of low-cost mobile node paths for pollution source detection.

Conclusions:

• The proposed wireless sensor network and Dual-PSO algorithm offer a robust solution for water pollution source localization.
• This technology significantly improves the monitoring and security of urban drinking water supplies.
• The system provides efficient, real-time data for rapid response to pollution events.