Ecological tensiography: Initial application study on water colour from an Irish bog, unpolluted river and rivers receiving mine effluent

摘要

This paper constitutes the first ecological assessment through field trials of the use of the new multimeasurand tensiograph sensor technology with reports of the first measurements on water colour. These trials have been conducted as part of a European research project to produce early warning surveillance technologies for natural water bodies. The solid reference background knowledge for this study derives from an assessment of the biological and physico-chemical status of four water bodies: a raised bog prepared for peat moss harvesting, an unpolluted river and two rivers receiving effluent from a commercial heavy metal mine. This involves detailed analysis of these waters by traditional methods in water laboratories and some extensive ecological studies of the four habitats. Important lessons have been learned for water monitoring despite the test programme being confined to the single measurand of colour and the paper ends with a discussion of the wider potential of tensiograph monitoring and some of the practical issues involving its deployment.