Monitoring Of Environmental Parameters Research Articles

Modelling and Monitoring Environmental Risks through a Semantic Framework

The widespread availability of IoT technologies allows, among others, detailed monitoring of environmental parameters that can be used for effective prevention and forecasts of natural disasters. When such events occur, or are about to occur, the primary concern of authorities responsible for the public safety is to organise and enforce the relief in an as quick as possible and effective way. However, the huge amount of information that an IoT infrastructure is able to provide is useless if not correlated and contextualised on the territory where the hazard has occurred. In this paper the authors present the design of a semantic information model which integrates different information domains into a unified framework. In particular, some ontologies have been defined to represent, respectively, the information domain of hazards, the domain of sensors (which are responsible for measuring the phenomena that may trigger hazards), the geographic domain and the environmental risk domain, also including the potential damage and dangerousness of such events. In the proposed semantic framework, a place (be it a single building or an entire region) can be characterised from the environmental risk point of view. The resulting knowledge base can then be used to build monitoring services capable of identifying on the territory those sensing units whose sensed data are really useful for the setup of a relief plan. A prototype of such a monitoring tool was also implemented. Finally, two simple yet complete use case examples focusing on the wildfire hazard and on the flood risk respectively are discussed in the paper.

Fine-scale monitoring of fish movements and multiple environmental parameters around a decommissioned offshore oil platform: A pilot study in the North Sea

A new underwater monitoring system was constructed using time-lapse photography and a suite of oceanographic instruments to characterise the dynamic relationships between changing environmental conditions, biological activities and the physical presence of offshore infrastructure. This article reports the results from a pilot study on fine-scale monitoring of fish movements in relation to changes in multiple environmental parameters observed at an offshore oil platform in the North Sea. Temporal changes in the number of saithe Pollachius virens were readily observed with a strong indication of diurnal rhythm of vertical movements. Key environmental parameters such as temperature, salinity, currents, tidal cycle, illumination, chlorophyll and dissolved oxygen also varied spatially (i.e. different depths) and/or temporally. If the monitoring system is to be deployed systematically at multiple offshore locations for longer duration as appropriately controlled experiments, this approach may greatly help understand the influence of redundant offshore man-made structures on the marine ecosystem.

An Irreversible Single-Use Humidity-Threshold Monitoring Sensor Principle for Wireless Passive Sensor Solutions

Monitoring environmental parameters, which have negative effects on goods (e.g., temperature and relative humidity) to determine threshold or dosage violations, is of strong interest throughout their life cycle. The task is challenging if there is no continuous supply of electric energy available, and lowest cost monitoring solutions are required. These are two common application constraints when passive sensor-enhanced RFID tags are used to fulfill this monitoring task. A sensor principle is proposed in which the exceedance of a humidity threshold followed by critical exposure leads to a permanent change in an electric sensor parameter, i.e., a pronounced electric resistance decrease in the presented case. The sensor principle is based on the phenomena deliquescence of salts for humidity threshold detection and sensor activation mechanism and salt solution dissemination processes in porous media as well as chemical liquid phase sintering of metal nanoparticles under ambient temperature conditions as an irreversible state change mechanism. The sensor principle deduced arrangement is fully compatible with printed electronics manufacturing technologies as exemplified by a sample fabrication via inkjet printing. The proposed sensors can serve as humidity-triggered switches in electric circuits, which permanently close due to critical humidity exposure above a humidity threshold. Presented are experimental results demonstrating the feasibility of the proposed sensor concept. Also given are application examples not only demonstrating the suitability of the sensor concept for sensor enhanced RFID tags via an integration into a freely programmable RFID UHF transponder tag but also for wireless passive sensors exemplified via integration into an inductively coupled resonant sensor tag.

An analytical and geoarchaeological approach on earthen plaster of 2nd century BCE Karle caves of Western Deccan, India

This study documents a holistic approach, combining mineralogical, geochemical and textural data to characterize the decorative earthen plaster of the 2nd century BCE. Buddhist rock cut caves of Karle in Western India. The analytical examination was carried out by the use of a petrological microscope, Laser particle size analysis, thin section analysis, XRF (X Ray fluorescence), XRD (X Ray Diffraction), FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy), SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) and Raman spectroscopy in addition to the monitoring of environmental parameters. The results indicate that the local clayey soil, which is abundantly available in the high rain fed western coastal areas, was utilized for the earliest earthen plaster works. The characteristics of the clay seem to have been modified by mixing calcite and an organic adhesive. Rounded sub-angular aggregates derived from disintegration of basaltic rock and rice husk were added to influence shrinkage properties of the plaster. In addition to a better understanding of the technology and composition of ancient India's early earthen plasterworks, scientific data from the analysis was used to plan the composition of restoration plaster.

A methodology for the determination of indoor environmental quality in residential buildings through the monitoring of fundamental environmental parameters: A proposed Dwelling Environmental Quality Index

This paper presents the methodology for the calculation of an indoor environmental quality indicator for residential buildings. The ‘Dwelling Environmental Quality Index’ has been developed with the purpose of assisting both households and property managers to identify potential problems with the indoor environment whilst ensuring that indoor environmental quality is not compromised in favour of energy saving. Based on the combined effect of three simple and commonly measured indoor environmental parameters – air temperature, relative humidity and CO2 concentrations; the index reflects in a single value the quality of indoor environmental conditions for the monitored period, in compliance with the European standard EN15251:2007. The application of the Dwelling Environmental Quality Index in single dwellings and in building blocks is demonstrated. The usability of the index as a communication and management tool for individual households and property managers is also demonstrated.

Technical Framework Design of Safety Production Information Management Platform for Chemical Industrial Parks Based on Cloud Computing and the Internet of Things

As chemical industry is a fundamental strategic sector as well as one pillar industry of our national economy, chemical industrial parks of various scales has been built in many places to facilitate the production of chemical enterprises. However, considering the inflammability, explosibility and toxicity of the raw materials and products of such enterprises, accidents are very likely during the production, transportation and storage, forming major threats to human lives, the environment and property. By making use of key technologies of the Internet of Things such as sensing, accessing and networking, massive information storage, analyzing and processing capabilities of big data technology and the data computing methods of cloud computing technology, this paper designs a safety production information management platform for the daily supervision and emergency rescue of chemical industrial parks, proposes the system communication network framework based on the Internet of Things and the three-layer platform technical framework based on cloud computing, describes the technical structure and function of the sensing layer, the transmission layer, the infrastructure layer, the platform layer and the application layer of the platform, and elaborates key technologies including the design thought of uniform big data analyzing platform, regional collaborative emergency management operating mechanism, the combination of RFID technology and sensor network technology and model design of expert decision-making. The platform can realize logistics management of dangerous articles and key environment parameter monitoring of dangerous chemical enterprises, help enterprises in the safety compliance management to the whole production process, allow red light early warning and start responding early warning mechanism and rescue plan automatically, so as to effectively avoid the occurrence of potential accidents and safeguard and improve the economic and social benefits of enterprises.

Environment Parameters Control Based on Wireless Sensor Network in Livestock Buildings

The products quality and welfare of animals are closely related to the environment parameters in livestock buildings. A monitoring and control method of environment parameters in livestock buildings based on wireless sensor network is proposed in this paper. Temperature, humidity, light, carbon dioxide concentration, ammonia concentration, and hydrogen sulfide concentration can be monitored in real time by this method. The above six parameters will be adjusted and controlled through WLS algorithm and the minimizing deviation criteria. Compared with the traditional method, the high labor cost will be saved and energy consumption will be decreased. The experimental results show that this method can in real time monitor, effectively adjust, and control the environmental parameters in livestock buildings.

The Intelligent Remote Control System Based on the Wireless Sensor Network

Remote control system is mainly used for industrial applications, such as the wireless control of factory equipment, and monitor factory environment parameters, like temperature, humidity, light intensity. This paper explores the current development of wireless sensor network (WSN) , and then this paper aim to construct an overall architecture of the remote control system on the basis of RS485 platform, and analyze and design the intelligent remote control system. Finally by testing the system, it prove to meet the specific needs of factory environment parameters monitoring. The system can achieve all kinds of physical parameter monitoring requirement from a remote device, such as humidity and light density. This remote control system based on the wireless sensor network provide a safety monitoring environment to operators.

Ammonia and greenhouse gas emissions from an enriched cage laying hen facility

Ammonia, methane, nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide emissions were measured during a complete production cycle in an enriched cage laying hen facility under Oceanic climate conditions. Continuous monitoring of gas concentration, ventilation rate and environmental parameters were conducted from April 2012 to September 2013. The seasonal and diurnal pattern of gas emissions was analysed. Seasonality effect was found for NH 3 emission, showing an average emission of 144.9 mg d −1 hen −1 and 90.3 mg d −1 hen −1 in summer and winter, respectively. On the contrary, diurnal pattern of NH 3 emission did not differ between these seasons. For CO 2 , mean emission values did not show seasonality, although the diurnal pattern differed between winter and summer. Results obtained for CH 4 and N 2 O emissions did not provide sufficient evidence to determine either seasonality or diurnal effect on these gases. An NH 3 emission factor of 7% of total N in manure was defined for this system. These losses increased at higher ventilation rates and lower belt cleaning frequencies. Thus, NH 3 mitigation strategies at housing level should consider both parameters. Further studies would be necessary to determine how these factors regulate NH 3 emission at laying hen houses.

Self-Powered WSN for Distributed Data Center Monitoring.

Monitoring environmental parameters in data centers is gathering nowadays increasing attention from industry, due to the need of high energy efficiency of cloud services. We present the design and the characterization of an energy neutral embedded wireless system, prototyped to monitor perpetually environmental parameters in servers and racks. It is powered by an energy harvesting module based on Thermoelectric Generators, which converts the heat dissipation from the servers. Starting from the empirical characterization of the energy harvester, we present a power conditioning circuit optimized for the specific application. The whole system has been enhanced with several sensors. An ultra-low-power micro-controller stacked over the energy harvesting provides an efficient power management. Performance have been assessed and compared with the analytical model for validation.

Monitoring Dangerous Goods in Container Yard Using the Internet of Things

The Internet of Things (IoT), a network of objects, has been regarded as the next revolution for the global information industry after the Internet. With IoT, many intelligent applications can be accomplished or improved. This paper presents a framework for dangerous goods management in container yard using IoT technology. The framework consists of three layers: perceptual layer, transport layer, and application layer. It offers an infrastructure for management and data analysis and utilization. According to the features of dangerous goods, the framework can be enhanced for container information forecast, container gate-in and gate-out management, environment parameters monitoring, and fire control as well. In order to verify our method, a prototype system is developed, which shows good performance. With our method, safe operation of dangerous goods in container yard can be accomplished.

Inkjet Printed Single use Humidity Threshold Monitoring Sensor Solution Employing a Mixed Nanoparticle and Salt Region

A continuous monitoring of critical environmental parameters to detect threshold or dosage violations is of strong interest throughout the life cycle of goods. The task is challenging, when there is no continuous supply of electric energy available and lowest cost sensor solutions are required - two common application constraints in wireless passive sensor applications, i.e., sensor enhanced RFID tags. Presented is an inkjet printed humidity threshold violation sensor, providing a permanent and pronounced electric resistance change due to a humidity exposure above a critical threshold. Exploited natural phenomena are the deliquescence of salts as humidity threshold detection mechanism, as well as chemical sintering of silver metal nano particles, in order to realize an irreversible state change. In difference to existing solutions based on spatially separated nanoparticle and salt reservoirs, it is possible to use an intermixed salt and nanoparticle region, in which a partially developed conductive percolation network exists after manufacturing.

Hydrological Systems in the Greater Virunga Landscape: Water Quality around Mikeno Sector

Monitoring of environmental parameters is one of the highest priorities in the evaluation of environmental status of water resources and in environmental protection policy. The main objectives are to understand and evaluate the water quantity and quality in order to provide water of appropriate quality to various water users. The water quantity was assessed by the measurement of runoff or discharge at specific river cross sections using floating method for surface water and bucket and stopwatch method for springs and boreholes. The quality of river water and spring was identified in terms of its physical, chemical, and biological parameters. The analyzed data were compared with standard values recommended by WHO. Macroinvertebrates were collected in the rivers using a plankton nets and 10 minutes of sampling. Identification was made at the laboratory of Malacology. Results revealed that the quality of water obtained from sampling points is generally good to use for different domestic purposes except the Idanta River and Rwembwe borehole, which need an appropriate treatment before use. All sampling points are located far from houses and latrines, which can contribute to fecal contamination. On the different sampling points, bathing and washing clothes were observed and could constitute the source of pollution of drinking water. In Idanta and Kamira Rivers animals used water for drinking while also people use this water for domestic and drinking. In the two sampling points high values of Escherichia coli were found. No pollutant-taxa tolerant were found in the two monitored rivers for macroinvertebrates. Since water quality and quantity remain a major challenge in rural areas, the government should provide safe water to the population around Mikeno sector after treatment using suitable techniques.

IoT Based Environment Parameter Monitoring Using Beaglebone Black

IoT based environment parameter monitoring using Beaglebone Black for monitoring the major concentration of air pollutants gas has been developed. This system measures air pollutant likes CO and CO2 using semiconductor gas sensor and temperature and humidity using Temperature-Humidity sensor. This various sensors are interface with Beaglebone Black ADC channels and I2C channels. Sense data are transmitted to the ThingSpeak IoT cloud by Beaglebone Black. Person can read the real time pollutants level using android application, which gets the data form Thing Speak. The system will provide the warning when the pollutant level goes beyond predefined maximum value. The system is developed with low cost for developing country.

Improving Energy Efficiency and Cost Reduction in Airports: Contributions from a Wireless Network Web-Based Monitoring Solution

In the present case study – an airport located at the southern region of Portugal with an increasing number of passengers (more than 5.7 million passengers) - a web-based monitoring system was installed, collecting, displaying and registering the information generated by a wireless network of sensors. The monitoring of indoor environmental quality parameters, along with billed energy data control and outdoor weather conditions observation, permitted a continuous tuning of the HVAC systems set- points. Through the comparison of a six month period in two consecutive monitored years, during the cooling season, energy savings up to 13.4% in the HVAC system were achieved.

Using Measured Indoor Environment Parameters for Calibration of Building Simulation Model- A Passive House Case Study

Simulation-aided commissioning is being increasingly used to address discrepancies between predicted and actual energy consumption in modern buildings. Calibration of building model, developed using Building Energy Performance Simulation (BEPS), represents a crucial part of the commissioning process. Most of current calibration methodologies focus on matching of measured and simulated energy consumption. The objective of the present study was to perform a calibration of a building model of a passive house located in Næstved, Denmark, using measured data for operative temperature (Top), relative humidity (RH) and concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2). Continuous monitoring of indoor environmental parameters was conducted in all zones for 30 days. The Coefficient of Variation of the Root Mean Square Error (CV(RMSE)) was used to evaluate agreement between simulated and measured data. CV(RMSE) did not demonstrate a continuous improvement along each iteration, however after all the required adjustments in the model, the initial limits were satisfied. A calibrated state was obtained after 10 significant iterations with respect to regulation of ventilation system, window opening and solar shading devices. Lowest value of CV(RMSE) was achieved in the southwest bedroom and was equal to 3% for Top, 11.3% for CO2 and 5.2% for RH.

Bacterial Pathogen Indicator Transport from Livestock Mortality Biopiles.

Biopiles can be used to dispose of slaughterhouse residuals (SLRs); however, the fate of pathogenic bacteria (e.g., pathogenic strains of , ) in these systems is not well understood. The transport of these bacteria in water leaching from the biopile could represent a significant contamination source. This research examined the transport of Enterobacteriaceae and Enterococcaceae indicator bacteria from SLR biopiles. Three biopiles (2.6 m wide by 4.6 m long by 1.8 m high) were formed on soil layers in concrete cells that allowed for real-time monitoring of environmental parameters, hydrologic flux, and indicator bacteria levels in effluent leaching from the piles. In biopile effluent, indicator bacteria populations decreased exponentially following biopile formation. Indicator bacteria loads in effluent constituted <0.01% of the initial indicator bacteria levels in the biopiles, which was attributed to retention, inactivation, and death. Nearly 90% of the total indicator bacteria loads coincided with large precipitation events (>15 mm d). Movement of the indicator bacteria through the biopiles and underlying soil appeared to be consistent with preferential flow phenomena. The populations of the Enterobacteriaceae indicators remained low in conditions of higher soil water content and lower biopile temperatures, whereas the Enterococcaceae indicator appeared to regrow in these conditions. This indicated that bacterial pathogen transport from a biopile could be a concern after the disappearance of conventional bacterial indicators, such as . Management considerations should attempt to divert excess water from entering a biopile, such as locating a biopile under a roof. Unsaturated biopile and soil conditions should be maintained to impede water flow through preferential pathways in the soil underneath a biopile.

Designing and Implementing the Remote-Environmental-Parameters-Monitoring-by-Internet KIT

Environmental monitoring plays a very important role in the activities of predicting and protecting environments and society. The activities are included of monitoring environmental parameters continuously, predicting and evaluating the effects of environments on society, warning immediately the abnormal phenomenon or pollution due to environmental changes, making data base etc. In the paper, we will present our proposal of design and implementation of a kit monitoring environmental parameters such as temperature, humidity, pH, salt percentage, water level, etc remotely through internet. Obtained data will be monitored, handled, managed, reported. The system has been used to monitor environmental parameters to evaluate the waste water in industrial zones in Hochiminh City, Vietnam.

Thermal comfort of multiple user groups in indoor aquatic centres

Aquatic centres are popular recreational facilities in Australia and other developed countries. These buildings have experienced exponential demand over the past few decades. The growing desire for better indoor environmental quality in aquatic centres has resulted in a marked increase in energy consumption in this sector. With the existence of multiple user groups, achieving thermal comfort has always been challenging. Even though several thermal comfort studies are conducted in other building types, such studies are very limited with respect to aquatic centres. This paper analyses the thermal comfort conditions of various user groups in seven aquatic centres in Australia. Comfort measurements are performed through monitoring environmental parameters and surveying swimmers, staff and spectators. The results revealed the variation of air temperatures among the buildings, resulting in high level of thermal discomfort for the spectators and staff in some of the buildings. The thermal sensation of the staff and spectators had good correlation with the indoor temperatures and PMVs. Altering temperature settings according to the seasons will help to improve the comfort with respect to the adaptation and expectation of the occupants.

Internet of Things Application using IP-enabled Sensor Node and Web Server

Internet has evolved from connecting computers to connecting everyday things that interacts with the environment. Embedded devices that are IP-enabled can be employed for real time remote monitoring in the Internet of Things (IoT) environment. This work demonstrates an efficient method of real time remote monitoring of environmental parameters using Intel Galileo –an IP sensor node that acquires the data from the environment like temperature, pressure etc. and a server that is connected to the Wi-Fi router that acts as a gateway for this network. The Web server provides the real time sensor information with dynamic updates in the form of webpage to the remote client.