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An Intelligent Urban Environmental System (i-UES) for Central New York Water Resource Management
Start Date 05/01/2007
End Date 04/30/2010
Primary Partner: Syracuse University
Primary Contact: Driscoll, Charles.T. - Professor
Project Type: CARTI II
Technical Description:
Innovative approaches are necessary to protect aquatic ecosystems from human disturbances. In the proposed research, this need is addressed for interconnected aquatic ecosystems in Central New York, including local water supplies, Onondaga Creek, Onondaga Lake, the Three Rivers system, and Oswego Harbor, through the development of an intelligent urban environmental system (i-UES). This project builds on previous research featuring robotic water quality monitoring and automated data delivery to stakeholders.
The goals of this study are to:
(1) expand the existing i-UES, geographically and technologically;
(2) understand the water quality responses of linked lakes and rivers to urban impacts; and
(3) investigate the transport, transformations, and fate of particles, phosphorus, nitrogen, and mercury in the system.
The study approaches include:
(1) operation of a network of fourteen robotic monitoring platforms;
(2) field surveys;,
(3) interpretation of water quality data within the context of urban impacts and lake-river interactions; and
(4) development of a mathematical model.
Expected Outcomes:
(1) improved understanding and management of regional fresh waters;
(2) advancements in the i-UES concept; and
(3) depiction of transformations, transport, and fate of critical contaminants in the system and prevailing loads to Lake Ontario.
Accomplishments:
1. Expand the existing i-UES, geographically and technologically
Robotic monitoring units have been deployed at study sites in Owasco Lake, Onondaga Lake, Onondaga Creek, Otisco Lake and along the Seneca/Oswego River during the summer field seasons of 2007,, 2008 and 2009. Water quality data have been posted in near-real-time at our public access project web site www.ourlake.org. The website has been expanded to include data collected by the remote sensing ground station (measuring remote sensing reflectance [RSR]) located on the Onondaga Lake buoy.
2. Understand the water quality interplay of linked lakes and rivers
Ongoing analyses of survey and robotic data from the study system depict the central role the lakes play in regulating the water quality dynamics of this large river system. Analysis of spatially detailed data (e.g., from ~ 50 site surveys) depicts highly structured complex water quality patterns. These patterns have been found to be critical with respect to: (1) establishment of status with respect water quality (e.g., violations);, and (2) recognizing and understanding important processes. Understanding and quantifying these processes is essential to effective management of the river system. Violations of oxygen standards have been documented over much wider spatial bounds than previously reported.
3. Investigate the transport, transformations, and fate of particles, phosphorus, nitrogen and mercury in the system.
Field surveys were conducted along the Seneca/Oswego River system during the summer field seasons of 2007, and 2008 and 2009. Water samples have been collected and are being analyzed for suspended matter, phosphorus, nitrogen and mercury forms.
4. Advance material budgets and model framework for the system
Data sets have been configured, including flow and concentrations of various constituents (forms of phosphorus, nitrogen and mercury), to conduct loading calculations.
Benefits:
The application of innovative approaches and cutting edge technology to understand and monitor water resources enhances the ability to manage and protect aquatic ecosystems from human disturbances in Central New York, many of which serve as local water supplies for municipalities.
For more information: www.ourlake.org
Presentations:
Adams, R., C.T. Driscoll, and S. Effler "Exploring zebra mussel effects on mercury transformations and fate in the Seneca River, New York," presentation at the Great Lakes Research Consortium, SUNY ESF, Syracuse, NY. March 2008.
Adams, R., C.T. Driscoll, and S. Effler "Mercury transport and transformations in the Seneca-Oneida-Oswego river system," presentation at the Cross-disciplinary seminar in hydrological and biogeochemical processes SUNY ESF, Syracuse, NY. April 2008.
Peng, F., S.W. Effler, D.M. O'Donnell and C.T. Driscoll "Optical implications of inorganic particles in the Three Rivers System," , presentation at the Tenth Annual Onondaga Lake Scientific Forum, Syracuse, NY. November 2008.
Strait, C., M.G. Perkins, D.M. O'Donnell, S.W. Effler, A. Effler, A. Kolb, L. Zhang, and C.T. Driscoll "Optical Characterization of Absorption and Scattering Components in the Three Rivers System,", presentation at the Tenth Annual Onondaga Lake Scientific Forum, Syracuse, NY. November 2008.
O'Donnell, D.M., S.M. O'Donnell, A.R. Prestigiacomo, S.W. Effler, and C.T. Driscoll "Automated analysis of near-real-time surface water quality data,", Ninth Annual Onondaga Lake Scientific Forum, Syracuse, NY. November 2007.
Robotic Buoy on Owasco Lake
Photo Credit: Upstate Freshwater Institute, www.ourlake.org
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