Chesapeake Water Watch: A New Participatory Science Project at SERC

Posted by Anna Davis on April 11th, 2023

by Shelby Brown

The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) and the City College of New York (CCNY) have joined forces to launch a new participatory science project in the Chesapeake Bay. Chesapeake Water Watch is a collaborative effort aimed at filling in the gaps of traditional water monitoring techniques by using remote sensing and community involvement.

We see a woman with brown hair and a blue and white baseball hat kneeling down on a pier next to the water. She's pointing her phone up to the sky as she uses the HydroColor app to collect water clarity data for Chesapeake Water Watch. In front of her, also on the wooden pier, is a black clipboard with a gray piece of paper that she uses to calibrate the app. — _{Volunteer Beth Paquette uses the free smartphone app, HydroColor, to collect turbidity (water clarity) data for the Chesapeake Water Watch project. Credit: Beth Paquette.}

The Chesapeake Bay is one of the largest estuaries in the world and is home to over 3,600 species of plants and animals. However, the Bay faces numerous challenges, including nutrient pollution, sedimentation, and climate change. To ensure the health of the Bay, it is essential to have accurate and comprehensive data on water quality.

Traditional water monitoring techniques involve deploying expensive equipment at fixed locations, which can be limited in coverage and scope. Chesapeake Water Watch takes a different approach by leveraging the power of remote sensing and community involvement to gather data from a wider range of locations.

To achieve this, Chesapeake Water Watch is partnering with Riverkeepers and individuals in the community to collect data with simple-to-use scientific equipment and a free smartphone application – HydroColor. The project aims to engage the community in the scientific process, educate them about the importance of the Chesapeake Bay and provide them with tools to contribute to its conservation.

The collected data will be used to optimize NASA’s satellite algorithms and essentially help “train” the satellites to accurately monitor the Bay. This process of cross-referencing data taken on the ground with the satellite imagery is referred to as ground-truthing. By combining data collected by people on the ground with satellite imagery, they hope to create a more accurate and comprehensive picture of the health of the Bay particularly in less monitored rivers and tributaries.

“This project is an exciting new approach to water quality monitoring in the Chesapeake Bay,” says Shelby Brown, Project Specialist for Chesapeake Water Watch. “By engaging the community and using cutting-edge technology, we can gather data from a wider range of locations and provide more comprehensive information on the Bay’s health.”

Chesapeake Water Watch is open to anyone interested in participating. No prior scientific knowledge is required, and the equipment and training will be provided free of charge. Participants will receive feedback on the data they collect and have the opportunity to engage with scientists working on the project.

We see a laboratory bench top full of test tubes with water samples and various small machines scattered about. Parker Franco, high school volunteer, carefully pours water from a beaker into a small vial to read on the AquaFluor machine which measures chlorophyll and CDOM content. He listens to music on his airpods and has a laptop open with the data entry template in Fieldscope (the website the project uses to report data) on the screen. — _{Parker Franco, a Chesapeake Water Watch high school intern from Severna Park High School, processes the water samples he collected on the Severn River. In addition to collecting data with the HydroColor smartphone app, water samples are brought in to be read on benchtop machines- the AquaFluor and turbidimeter which measures chlorophyll, CDOM, and turbidity (water clarity) levels in the water. Credit: Shelby Brown}

“This project is a great example of how science can be more accessible and inclusive,” says Brown. “By empowering people with the tools to collect data, we can deepen the connection Chesapeake Bay residents have with their home while simultaneously improving satellites’ capabilities to monitor coastal environments.”

Chesapeake Water Watch is an important step towards creating a more sustainable future for the Chesapeake Bay. By combining the power of community involvement with cutting-edge technology, we can gather more accurate and comprehensive data on the Bay’s health, leading to better informed conservation efforts and policy decisions.

For more information on Chesapeake Water Watch and how to get involved, visit the Chesapeake Water Watch website.

Curious about other SERC citizen science projects? Learn more here:

“Orchids In Classrooms” Turns Sixth-Graders Into Citizen Scientists

Invader ID Volunteers Are Deploying Tiles in Chesapeake Bay

Citizen Science: How to Hunt for Crabs (And Their Parasites)