Hacking Ecology - Nayad - Water Quality Monitoring Sondes

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Nayad

The Open source Freshwater Monitoring System

Nayad is an affordable and reliable tool specifically designed for the analysis of freshwater in rivers, lakes and urban waters. The user-oriented and highly customizable hardware can be used in a wide range of applications within diverse fields such as research, education, and industry.

PRODUCT TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION

The Nayad consists of a robust and waterproof methacrylate cylinder measuring 30cm with a diameter of 9cm. This tough casing protects an electronic circuit board and up to 7 customizable sensors to monitor the main chemical characteristics of water and a cable that carries the collected information to the data display and database. Its adaptable design facilitates its use in a wide range of freshwater environments including indoor pools, shallow lakes and rivers.

HOW IT WORKS

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Benefits

Modular System
With a range of up to 7 variables, you can customize your system and add or change sensors whenever you want.
Integration
Access your data easily with WiFi or USB connection.
No barriers
Connect using GNU/Linux, Mac or Windows. Visualize the data on your mobile remotely.
Accessibility
Our open source & environmental impact approach allows us to offer high quality tools at a fair & accessible cost.
High Compatibility
Access and analyze data with Python, R, Matlab and more.

Sensors

CONDUCTIVITY
Electrical conductivity is an important indicator of water purity as it can help locate potential pollution sources such as road salt, septic systems, wastewater treatment plants, and urban or agricultural runoff.
OXYGEN
Oxygen is vital to aquatic life and provides a basic indicator of ecosystem health. Low oxygen levels can indicate eutrophication: a phenomenon which occurs when there is an excess of agricultural nutrients due to agricultural fertilizer runoff. This causes overgrowth of aquatic plants which use more oxygen to survive, thereby decreasing the water’s optimal amount of oxygen.
pH
The pH of water is vital as most aquatic life can only survive within a narrow range of pH. Water’s pH has a direct effect on the permeability of organisms’ cell membranes, altering their ability to assimilate nutrients and oxygen, so even tiny changes can limit their growth and reproduction, lead to physiological stress and even produce conditions toxic to aquatic life.
TURBIDITY
Insoluble particles and the proliferation of algae can cause a phenomenon called water casing, where light is prevented from reaching the bottom of the ecosystem, impeding photosynthesis and leaving the water without enough oxygen for flora and fauna to survive. This makes turbidity an important water quality indicator.
TEMPERATURE
This is one of the most significant water quality parameters and is a useful tool to detect thermal pollution. This occurs when water temperature increases due to the release of hot water from power plants and other industrial activities, which decreases water’s capacity to contain oxygen, thereby determining which animals and plants can survive in a given river or stream.
SALINITY
Salinity is the measure of the concentration of dissolved salts in water. Aquatic life is highly vulnerable to even tiny changes in salinity, which can cause stress, death and ultimately devastating effects on ecosystems. Consequently, salinity should be monitored closely in fish farming and industrial discharge.
ORP
ORP is the measurement of a solution’s capacity for electron transfer (oxidation or reduction) and can be used to track metallic pollution in groundwater or surface water or to determine the chlorine content of wastewater effluent.