A project to determine maritime pollution in advance through a system that will monitor seawater temperature, pH level, turbidity and conductivity values was developed by Akdeniz University faculty members.

The project titled "Remote Access Real-Time Wireless Sensor Network System for Positional Monitoring of Seawater Parameters," supported by Akdeniz University Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit, will enable monitoring and analysis of water quality parameters in real time with the remote access wireless sensor network the members working on the project have set up in coastal areas.

The project is carried through the common efforts of researchers and professors employed in the Informatics, Environmental Engineering and Engineering departments of Akdeniz University in Türkiye's southern province of Antalya.

Elaborating on the project details, Fırat Yücel, the director of the informatics department, stated that within the framework of the project water quality parameters can be monitored and analyzed in real time with the remote access wireless sensor network they have set up in the coastal areas of the sea.

Explaining that they started this project due to mucilage caused by pollution in the period when mucilage was just beginning, he said that they started with the idea of trying to answer the question they placed in front of themselves: "Can we design a system that will detect the effects of these pollutants on the sea beforehand and warn the relevant institutions?"

Yücel, who stated that mucilage emerges due to marine pollution, noted they determined four parameters to be checked within the framework of their project: temperature, pH, conductivity and turbidity. In addition to these pieces of information, the location of the collected seawater parameters come from is also important, and for this, a location sensor was added to the system.

Test measurements

Discussing the system they set up on the seashore to measure the quality of water in the project, Yücel said that during the trial measurements, with the wireless network created in the form of a star topology in Antalya's Küçük Çaltıcak region, they established a system consisting of three sensor nodes floating at a certain distance from each other on the seawater surface, and they carried out the test measurements successfully.

"Thanks to this system, the parameter measurement values sent are instantly transferred to a central node on the land, and sent from the central node to the server computer,'' Yücel said, adding that the processed information can be instantly seen on a website, and its details can also be displayed on a map on the website.

Parameters from the four sensors are collected from each node, as well as the location information of the relevant node. Yücel outlined that, thanks to the system created in the project, changes that may occur in seawater parameters can be monitored instantly and the necessary interventions can be made by authorized institutions and organizations in a timely manner.

Easily portable, low-power system

Stating that the use of new technologies has gained importance in the monitoring and evaluation of seawater and coastal areas in terms of environmental impacts, Yücel said that in the traditional system, measurements are made by taking samples from certain points at predetermined periods, and that in this system, water quality changes can be monitored instantly.

He also noted that with this project they aim to lift the complications experienced in routine water control processes and to find solutions to problems such as transportation problems, labor surplus, financial resources and time losses at sea points, which are difficult to analyze but need to be analyzed.

Underlining that the most important difference from other measurement systems is that it is an easily portable, low power consuming system and that it is a wireless sensor network system that can be easily installed in sea, lake and river environments, Yücel said that the energy needs of the sensor nodes are met with the help of batteries during the project phase.

Early prevention

Stating that the system can be used for water analysis to be made in sea coasts, swimming waters, ports, sea areas of tourism facilities, fish farms on the sea and river deltas, Yücel said that it would be possible to detect changes in seawater parameters beforehand in order to avoid problems such as the mucilage problem in the Marmara Region.

He also stated that thanks to the proposed system, factors that may cause marine pollution such as oil spills and industrial harmful wastes that may occur in the sea will be detected early, and timely and adequate measures can be taken for the problem to be eliminated before it grows.

Emphasizing that necessary measures can be taken to prevent problems such as the extinction of sea creatures affected by pollution and the deterioration of sea ecosystems, Yücel noted their project ''will also contribute by preventing requirements for additional manpower and additional costs."

Stating that the project started as a master's thesis in the Remote Sensing and Geographical Information Systems Department of Akdeniz University, and that they designed a more comprehensive system with the experience gained after the completion of the thesis, Yücel added that the project was supported by Akdeniz University Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit.