Harmful Algal Bloom Monitoring System
Transforming Ideas into Practical SolutionsNexusBit Integral is a specialist in Environmental monitoring and Sensor System design. Since its inception, the company has assisted many clients in implementation of innovative solutions. Our clientele’ profiles span widely across different industry sectors, including Test & Automation, Environmental Solutions and Food industries (Aquaculture).
Products
- Eagle.pt:
Eagle.pt (point) is our base-model of contactless water quality sensor series. It provides users with instant water parameters (Chlorophyll-a, Turbidity and CDOM) with versatile deployment configurations without in contact with the water. The system can be mounted either from a Drone for “in-flight measurement” or from land structure for long-term deployment.
This Remote Sensing Water Quality (RSWQ) sensor system uses similar working principle as satellite imaging for remote detection of water parameters. Contactless measurement means no bio-fouling problems (that plague traditional in-water probes) and significantly lowering maintenance cost for its users.
- Eagle.i: Eagle.i (eye) is a customized extension from our base model with an additional Spectrum Imager. This provides the same robust contactless measurement technology with the added feature of a 2D (image) spatial measurement in a single snapshot.
Why RSWQ?
On-line water quality monitoring systems in the market today are mostly based on in-water multi-parameter probes, which are exposed to bio-fouling. These methods pose a challenge to site deployment and regular site maintenance carried out by trained crew. In-water probes need to be removed for regular cleaning and calibration to prevent measurement drifts and possible damages due to fouling. Studies have shown that operational cost for on-site maintenance of water probes/sensors is a significant (if not major) part of the total cost of ownership of a real-time monitoring system.
The RSWQ system avoids these bio-fouling issues as it does not have direct contact with the water bodies.
This allows the user with the following advantages:
1) low on-site maintenance and deployment requirements, thus lowering the total cost of operation.
2) Alternative to harsh high bio-fouling water conditions.
3) Novel contactless measurement opens up to new operational methods like deployment on structures/roof-tops for easy access without working near or in water bodies, and deployment on unmanned multi-rotor drones for measurements on-the-fly for spatial mapping / coverages.
RSWQ comparison with other methods
Water quality parameters in water bodies are usually obtained using in-situ sensor probes placed in water bodies or by laboratory measurements of water samples collected on-site. These conventional methods are laborious, costly and have limited spatial coverage.
| RSWQ | Satellite | Water Probes | Grab sample | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low manpower (maintenance and/or manual process) | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Spatial overage options | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Real-time data | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Low cost | Yes | No | Yes | No |
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Grab Sampling Lab Test: laborious and not timely (non real-time).
Water Quality Probes: laborious on-site maintenance (bio-fouling). Regression challenges (chl-a) across different reservoirs.
Satellite Remote Sensing: Expensive and low availability (cloud cover is a common problem).
RSWQ Method uses Satellite Remote Sensing principles (without its limitations of high cost and low availability) and provides a Water Quality Monitoring (Algae, chl-a and other parameters) solution with timely real-time measurement, lower site maintenance cost, providing speedy and versatile large area mapping and good regression over different water bodies.