The University of Michigan Ann Arbor is awarded a grant to support a two-day workshop focused on planning, deployment and operation of advanced aquatic sensors. The workshop will be conducted by the Global Lakes Ecological Observatory Network (GLEON) and the Great Lakes Partner of the Alliance for Coastal Technologies (ACT), and will be hosted by the University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS). Aquatic sensor technology is developing rapidly, yet mechanisms and opportunities for limnologists and field biologists to receive exposure to and training in these new technologies are limited. The workshop will address several critical aspects of data collection and management, as well as instrument lifecycle, which are routinely encountered by users of aquatic sensors. These topics include: exchange of knowledge among leading aquatic sensor developers and the end-users of this technology; assembly of project teams for the purpose of deploying, operating and maintaining sensor networks; demonstration of the latest in aquatic sensor and sensor platform technology; development of sensor-oriented curriculum for limnologists and field biologists; fundamental skills needed for sensor deployments such as data logger configuration, data telemetry and data management. Products of the workshop will include a report on the technologies demonstrated and multimedia(recorded audio visuals) from panels and presentations will be made freely available online.
The workshop will, for the first time, bring together members of the Alliance for Coastal Technologies (http://act-us.info) and the Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network (www.gleon.org). The complementary missions of these organizations, sensor evaluation (ACT) and sensor applications (GLEON), affords opportunities for discussions on future collaborations. The workshop will also provide opportunities for graduate students and young researchers from diverse regions and backgrounds, including students and researchers working for upper Midwestern Native American tribal organizations, to gain skills in acquiring and applying data derived from state-of-the-science aquatic sensors. It will also provide students and young investigators with opportunities to collaborate across disciplinary and geographic boundaries.
This project involved a multi-disciplinary team of ecologists and engineers in planning of a two-day workshop focused on planning, deployment and operation of advanced aquatic sensors. The workshop, entitled "Freshwater Advanced Aquatic Sensor Workshop: Sensors, Platforms and Data Management", originally planned for May 2011, was held on September 11-13 at the University of Michigan Biological Station’s campus on Douglas Lake (www.lsa.umich.edu/umbs). This location is an environmental field station near the geographic center of the Great Lakes drainage basin in northern Michigan. Planning and execution of this workshop involved aquatic ecologists and environmental engineers from research institutions world-wide who interact in various networks, including especially the Global Lakes Ecological Observatory Network (GLEON) and the Great Lakes Partner of the Alliance for Coastal Technologies (ACT). The workshop brought together sensor developers from private industry and "end-user" researchers who make use of advanced aquatic sensors to study freshwater ecosystems, especially lakes ranging in size from small ponds to large water bodies such as the Laurentian Great Lakes. Funds were used to support travel and lodging costs of participants, production of multimedia for public release and administrative costs of organizing the workshop. Intellectual Merit-- This workshop provided a platform and opportunities for limnologists and field biologists to receive exposure to and training in these new aquatic sensor technologies. The workshop addressed critical aspects of sensor-derived data collection and information management with which users of aquatic sensors require expertise. Workshop topics included: Exchange of knowledge among leading aquatic sensor developers and the end-users of this technology; Assembly of project teams for the purpose of deploying, operating and maintaining sensor networks; Demonstration of the latest in aquatic sensor and sensor platform technology ; Development of sensor-oriented curricula for limnologists and field biologists; Fundamental skills needed for sensor deployments such as data logger configuration, data telemetry and data management. Products of the workshop are available freely available online. Broader Impacts-- The proposed workshop, for the first time, brought together members of the Alliance for Coastal Technologies (http://act-us.info) and the Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network (www.gleon.org). The complementary missions of these organizations, sensor evaluation (ACT) and sensor applications (GLEON), afforded opportunities for discussions on future collaborations. The workshop also provided opportunities for graduate students and young researchers from diverse regions and backgrounds to gain skills in acquiring and applying data derived from state-of-the-science aquatic sensors. It also provideded students and young investigators with opportunities to collaborate across disciplinary and geographic boundaries.
