Water Quality
Agriculture
Fertilisers used by farmers often contain Nitrates and Phosphates for promoting plant growth; however, with the water in the rivers, these fertilisers flow off into the oceans which causes nutrition enrichment in the waters. The substances promote algal growth and cause a phenomena termed as "Eutrophication", which in turn increases Chlorophyll-A concentration in the region.
Atmospheric CO2 Concentration
It makes the condition to photosynthesise underwater more suitable just like terrestrial photosynthesis. Increase in this would boost algal growth as well.
Atmospheric NO2 Concentration
Compounds of Nitrogen are dangerous for the water as well since they can combine with water and soil and form nitrates which is a good substance for promoting algal growth. This usually increases with human activity.
Turbidity
This caused by presence of suspended matter in the water column. Low Turbidity allows light to penetrate creating stable conditions for blue-green algae to grow.
Temperature of Water and Sunlight
This too just like terrestrial photosynthesis is required in abundance for good phytoplankton growth. Sunny days and warm waters can boost algal growth reducing the water quality.
Unprecedented Velocity. Impeccable Reliability.
What are we doing as a team?
Over the course of the hackathon, we have realised that during COVID-19, water quality didn't improve in a way that everyone expected it to. Several factors continued impacting it and it couldn't be ruled out that which ne had the dominant impact.
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Our team, WQ, arrived at a conclusion that sometimes a closer look is all it takes. Though satellite imagery may be versatile, developing and dispatching Miniature Data Collectors (MDCs) into water bodies may give us a better understanding of the situation. Equipped with multiple probes, it can give us a regional perspective instead of a generalised one which can aid our understanding of phenomena that may be limited to a particular area.
Numbers that remind us of the harsh reality
2 Million
Tons
Of Waste- Industrial, Agricultural and Domestic, is dumped into water bodies each day
Only 2.5%
Freshwater, when the planet is 75% Water
3.575 Million People
Die from water borne diseases each year
