Envisioning a Next-Gen Right-to-Know Environmental Monitoring Network

Abstract:

Advances in the Internet of Things, open hardware and software technologies, and citizen science now make it possible to envision future comprehensive environmental monitoring. Experience demonstrates that right-to-know can be a powerful force to drive environmental improvements. Yet only limited information has been available about real-time ambient environmental conditions at meaningful spatial resolution. Also, only very limited information has been available about pollutant releases at meaningful compositional, temporal, and spatial resolutions. Here, inspired by the meteorological domain, we will sketch out a high-level architecture for a next-generation RTK network that encompasses land, water, and air. The architecture, while focused on in situ sensing, will be designed to interoperate with remote sensing and be open, expandable, and evolvable. Potential interfaces with other domains such as ecosystem and public health data will be mentioned. Finally, data quality considerations will also be referenced.