TY - JOUR
T1 - Technical note
T2 - An open-source, low-cost system for continuous monitoring of low nitrate concentrations in soil and open water
AU - Bulusu, Sahiti
AU - Prieto García, Cristina
AU - Dahlke, Helen E.
AU - Levintal, Elad
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Author(s) 2024.
PY - 2024/6/25
Y1 - 2024/6/25
N2 - Nitrate (NO− 3 ), mainly leaching with soil porewater, is the primary nonpoint source pollutant of groundwater worldwide. Obtaining real-time information on nitrate levels in soils would allow for gaining a better understanding of the sources and transport dynamics of nitrate through the unsaturated zone. However, conventional nitrate detection techniques (e.g., soil sample analysis) necessitate costly, laboratory-grade equipment for analysis, along with human resources, resulting in a laborious and time-intensive procedure. These drawbacks raise the need to develop cost-effective and automated systems for in situ nitrate measurements in field conditions. This study presents the development of a low-cost, portable, automated system for field measurements of nitrate in soil porewater and open water bodies. The system is based on the spectrophotometric determination of nitrate using a single reagent. The system design and processing software are openly accessible, including a building guide, to allow duplicating or changing the system according to user-specific needs. Three field tests, conducted over 5 weeks, validated the system’s measurement capabilities within the range of 0–10 ppm NO− 3 –N with a low RMSE of < 0.2 ppm NO− 3 –N when comparing the results to standard laboratory nitrate analysis. Data derived from such a system allow for tracking of the temporal variation in soil nitrate, thus opening new possibilities for diverse soil and nutrient management studies.
AB - Nitrate (NO− 3 ), mainly leaching with soil porewater, is the primary nonpoint source pollutant of groundwater worldwide. Obtaining real-time information on nitrate levels in soils would allow for gaining a better understanding of the sources and transport dynamics of nitrate through the unsaturated zone. However, conventional nitrate detection techniques (e.g., soil sample analysis) necessitate costly, laboratory-grade equipment for analysis, along with human resources, resulting in a laborious and time-intensive procedure. These drawbacks raise the need to develop cost-effective and automated systems for in situ nitrate measurements in field conditions. This study presents the development of a low-cost, portable, automated system for field measurements of nitrate in soil porewater and open water bodies. The system is based on the spectrophotometric determination of nitrate using a single reagent. The system design and processing software are openly accessible, including a building guide, to allow duplicating or changing the system according to user-specific needs. Three field tests, conducted over 5 weeks, validated the system’s measurement capabilities within the range of 0–10 ppm NO− 3 –N with a low RMSE of < 0.2 ppm NO− 3 –N when comparing the results to standard laboratory nitrate analysis. Data derived from such a system allow for tracking of the temporal variation in soil nitrate, thus opening new possibilities for diverse soil and nutrient management studies.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85196887485&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.5194/bg-21-3007-2024
DO - 10.5194/bg-21-3007-2024
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85196887485
SN - 1726-4170
VL - 21
SP - 3007
EP - 3013
JO - Biogeosciences
JF - Biogeosciences
IS - 12
ER -