In today’s world, businesses are increasingly recognizing the importance of field data in maintaining productive, efficient, and environmentally safe equipment, systems, and processes. So, what exactly is environmental monitoring? In simple terms, it involves a network of sensors, wireless connectivity, edge computing, and visibility tools that track environmental health and prevent events and equipment failures that could be detrimental to the environment.
To delve deeper into the world of environmental monitoring, let’s explore its various aspects and how it can be used to save the environment through a range of methods.
Environmental Monitoring: What Does It Mean and Why Is It Critical for Our Planet’s Health?
A site or location’s environmental conditions must be detected, observed, and measured using observational methods and tools (such as sensors, wireless connections, and remote management software). However, the manner in which these operations are carried out, the tools used, and the settings used can all vary greatly depending on the use case.
Environmental monitoring has traditionally served mainly ecological objectives. Researchers that wish to monitor air pollution or the effects of industrial pollutants on protected areas and habitats, for instance, may employ disconnected approaches for the long-term observation of environmental variables.
Are You Aware of These Essential Types of Environmental Monitoring?
Soil, atmosphere, and water are the three primary environmental monitoring types. Filtering, sedimentation, electrostatic sampling, impingers, absorption, condensation, grab sampling, and composite sampling are a few methods used in environmental scanning and monitoring.
- Air Monitoring: In order to detect and predict the concentration of air pollutants, air dispersion models combine emissions, meteorological, and topographic data. These models then incorporate environmental data collected using specialized observation tools, such as sensor networks and Geographic Information System (GIS) models, from numerous different environmental networks and institutes.
- Soil Monitoring: Grab sampling, which takes one sample at a time, and composite sampling, which takes several samples at once, are methods used to monitor soil, establish baselines, and identify hazards such as acidification, biodiversity loss, compaction, contamination, erosion, organic material loss, salinization, and slope instability.
- Water Monitoring: In order to measure and monitor the ranges for biological, chemical, radiological, microbiological, and population parameters, environmental sampling techniques such as judgmental, simple random, stratified, systematic and grid, adaptive cluster, grab, and passive sampling, as well as semi-continuous and continuous environmental monitoring, are used.
Protecting Our Planet with Innovative Environmental Monitoring Systems
As a result of the remote monitoring systems’ accessibility and current wireless technology, environmental monitoring is now important for organizations in the oil and gas sector, manufacturing, agriculture, and even healthcare. Using environmental monitoring systems built on the Internet of Things, businesses may incorporate proactive environmental monitoring and evaluation into their on-site management and operational operations.
Some of the main monitoring systems are described below:
- Pollution Monitoring Systems
Monitoring pollution has become a very useful tool in industrial, urban, and agricultural planning. These systems can assist businesses in keeping an eye on, evaluating, and even lowering pollution and contamination that affects both natural and artificial water reserves, the quality of the air, and the state of the land.
When these environmental monitoring capabilities are integrated and managed by IoT systems, businesses, and local governments may react to the effects of pollution more swiftly on project schedules, equipment uptime, public health, worker safety, and sustainability initiatives. Continuous environmental monitoring can be used by agricultural operations and construction firms, for example, who must conduct environmental monitoring effect studies prior to initiating and concluding regulated projects.
- Wastewater Lift Station and Tank Monitoring Systems
Although the importance of environmental quality and sewage management may not be closely related, wastewater processing and storage systems rank among the most significant applications for environmental monitoring. Wastewater management has an impact on a variety of aspects, including public health, water supply, agricultural output, and others. If wastewater is handled incorrectly or malfunctions, wastewater equipment, and storage facilities may cause long-term damage to neighboring municipalities.
- Groundwater and Aquifer Monitoring Systems
Another way that IoT-based environmental monitoring might be used to improve public health and agricultural productivity is by enhancing groundwater protection. In the US, groundwater provides 37% of the water that local municipalities supply to houses, businesses, and other facilities, and more than 90% of the drinking water for rural communities.
Groundwater and aquifer environmental pollution may take some time to reveal its effects and features, but once it does, stopping or resolving the problem can be quite difficult. Industrial and commercial operations may be the most common offenders, which may result in negative environmental effects, problems with public health, and fines from regulatory organizations like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Final Thoughts on Environmental Monitoring
In a nutshell, environmental monitoring is an essential procedure that enables us to gather and examine data from the environment to guarantee its sustainability and health. We can monitor many different criteria, including climate change, soil health, water quality, and biodiversity, with the use of cutting-edge technology and equipment. Thus, we are able to recognize future dangers and take the appropriate precautions to stop additional harm. Let’s all contribute to the efforts being made to monitor and protect our planet for future generations.