Journal of Hydrology, 51 (1981) 339--345

Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam -- Printed in The Netherlands

339

NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN AUTOMATED BIOSENSING FROM REMOTE WATER QUALITY STATIONS AND SATELLITE DATA RETRIEVAL FOR RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

E.L. MORGAN 1 , K.W. EAGLESON 2 , R. HERMANN 3 and N.D. McCOLLOUGH 4

1Environmental Biology Research Program, Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville, TN 38501 (U.S.A.) 2 North Carolina Department of Natural Resources, Raleigh, NC 2 7611 (U.S.A.) 3National Park Service, Atlanta, GA 30349 (U.S.A.) 4Advanced Technology Corp., Clinton, TN 37829 (U.S.A.)
(Accepted for publication October 10, 1980)

ABSTRACT Morgan, E.L., Eagleson, K.W., Hermann, R. and McCollough, N.D., 1981. New developments in automated biosensing from remote water quality stations and satellite data retrieval for resources management. In: L.R. Beard (Guest-Editor), Water for Survival. J. Hydrol., 51: 339--345. Maintaining adequate water quality in a multipurpose drainage system becomes increasingly important as demands on resources become greater. Real-time water quality monitoring plays a crucial role in meeting this objective. In addition to remote automated physical monitoring, developments at the end of the 1970's allow simultaneous real-time measurements of fish breathing response to water quality changes. These advantages complement complex in-stream surveys typically carried out to evaluate the environmental quality of a system. A u to m a t e d biosensing units having remote capabilities are designed to aid in the evaluation of subtle water quality changes contributing to undesirable conditions in a drainage basin. Using microprocessor-based monitors to measure fish breathing rates, the biosensing units are interfaced to a U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (N.A.S.A.) remote data collection platform for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (N.O.A.A.) GOES satelfite retrieval and transmission of data. Simultaneously, multiparameter physical information is collected from site-specific locations and recovered in a similar manner. Real-time biological and physical data received at a data processing center are readily available for interpretation by resource managers. Management schemes incorporating real-time monitoring networks into on-going programs to simultaneously retrieve biological and physical data by satellite, radio and telephone cable give added advantages in maintaining water quality for multipurpose needs.

INTRODUCTION

Increasing demands for maintaining the environmental integrity of multipurpose water resources has stimulated considerable interest in developing new methods for rapidly evaluating biological and physical/chemical water quality. Effective methods for interpreting multivariate water quality
0022-1694/81/0000--0000/$02.50 1981 Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company

340 information, with the objective of meeting fishable and swimmable requirements are major problems confronting resource managers. Questions of particular concern include: (1) what water quality standards must be achieved to accomplish resource priorities?; (2) will established standards provide reasonable protection for multiple-use needs?; {3) what type monitoring strategies should be employed?, will they generate the necessary feedback?, and how extensive must these be?; and (4) is biological information needed or will physical water quality give sufficient data for decision needs? Recognizing the nature of a water resource and the hydrological relationships, estab.lishing realistic standards that meet resource objectives and providing cost-effective monitoring efforts are all important considerations in optimizing multiple-use water systems. Through sound planning and management, and the implementation of monitoring programs, reasonable water quality for multipurpose water projects may be realized. Existing monitoring programs incorporating real-time site-specific stations capable of remote transmission of an array of physical parameters have added advantages not found in most management plans. Typically, selected physical parameters may be continuously measured from remote stream stations at real-time intervals. Limitations encountered in evaluating physical data in light of ecological requirements include how to interpret combined factors not monitored. For example, synergisms and subtle combined effects not measured through physical monitoring could have profound influences that limit a watershed's intended uses. Realizing that biological responses to numerous interacting water quality parameters are not readily achievable through physical monitoring alone, and since it is generally recognized that biological systems act as integrators of those environmental factors which regulate their life processes, a method for rapidly detecting or predicting undesirable imposition is needed. Presently, one pilot study is on-going for remotely-sensing site-specific biological impact of complex interactions between multivariate factors encountered in a watershed (E.L. Morgan et al., 1977). This real-time automated biosensing unit has been designed and tested by using fish breathing rates as a measure of "biological response" or integration to water quality changes, since under stressful conditions a fish alters its typical breathing patterns. These responses can be continuously monitored, compared to reference breathing rates and used as a "biosensor" to help evaluate water quality conditions. Fish breathing rates were chosen as our method of measuring biological response to water quality fluctuations because these functions have been found to be good physiological measures of chronic levels of a broad spectrum of toxic substances and environmental stresses, as reported by Cairns et al. (1974a, b, 1977), and W.S.G. Morgan and Kuhn (1974). Our purpose in this work was to design, test and establish pilot applications of automated fish biosensing monitors having real-time capabilities at remote stream stations. Through these efforts, new dimensions into proposed watershed management schemes are realized. Specifically, regional drainages

341 utilizing a network of remote "bio-physical" monitors linked together by radiotelemetry to central processing centers, may operate from such devices as buoys, mobile trailers and stream-side stations.

PROCEDURES Efforts directed toward the goal of actually testing automated biosensing units at remote streazn-side stations for real-time monitoring followed several stages of development. Initially, we had to design a biosensing unit that would operate independently at remote stations by direct current (DC) and low power consumption. Once portable fish breathing rate detectors had been developed that met specified power restrictions, a second stage of design and testing was necessary to interface the biosensing detector to remote central data collection platforms (CDCP's). Cooperating with several levels of government and the private sector, interface techniques were bench tested before application to remote stations. In the final stages of development, portable biosensing units interfaced to remote CDCP's already operating as physical water quality monitors, had to be site tested and data retrieved by satellite radiotelemetry.
R e m o t e biosensing units

The CMOS family of integrated circuits were employed in specially constructed fish breathing signal detectors which generated an analog wave form representative of each fish breath. Thus, when a fish produced sixteen breaths over a 1-min. interval, the differential detector produced a proportionate analog voltage output. These biosensing detectors had the advantage of low power consumption at operating temperatures well within the thermal tolerance range of fish, were cost-effective and provided a remote unit with the potential for a wide range of applications. Fish were individually confined in holding chambers constructed of plastic pipe sections, having openings enclosed by nylon screen, and chambers positioned in the stream on an anchoring device such that exposure to continuous flow-through condition was achieved. Stainless-steel probes attached at both ends of each chamber were connected by co-axial cable to the breathing signal detector located at stream side. On-shore detectors, interface electronics and CDCP stations were housed in weather-proofed containers (Fig. 1).
Shore-based CDCP and physical monitor

Breath signals generated by fish were submitted to the CDCP in analog voltage or digital form, depending on the type interface strategy used. This information was then stored for any number of preselected monitoring

342

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Fig. 1. Remote water quality monitoring network.

periods in the m e m o r y of the CDCP. Time periods were preset by program to the CDCP, ranging from several minutes to hours, depending on the particular monitoring needs. Data stored in CDCP m e m o r y were submitted to the over-passing U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration GOES satellite on four occasions each day. Broadcast data received by satellite were retransmitted to a data coordinating and processing center (Fig. 1). Simultaneous transmission of up to five water quality parameters were submitted, including: temperature, dissolved oxygen, hydrogen ion concentration, conductance and oxidation--reduction potential. These data were provided by a model 6D Hydrolab unit, interfaced to the CDCP. The sensors were housed in a single rack and positioned instream along side the fish holding chambers.

Remote site-specific applications

Biosensing chambers housing rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) were interfaced to t w o separate CDCP physical water quality monitoring stations established on Abram Creek drainage of Cades Cove in the Great S m o k y Mountains National Park. These stations were positioned along the drainage such that the upstream CDCP served as a reference station by monitoring head water runoff and the second station was located downstream at a point just prior to the stream's exit from the cove. Historically, Cades Cove has been managed for pasture and light agricultural purposes, thus the downstream reaches were subject to non-point-source inputs (Hermann et al., 1978).

343 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

P r o t o t y p e biosensing monitors, tested at remote stations on a small watershed managed for cattle grazing purposes in a National Park of the southeast U.S.A. have added a new dimension and insight into the advantages of realtime water quality monitoring (Fig. 2). Pilot studies carried o u t in the watershed m e t the objective of interfacing portable biosensors to remote CDCP, physical monitoring stations and by acquiring fish breathing rate data from t w o stream-side platforms via satellite. Various problems were encountered at all stages of the biosensing project. Among those of particular concern was that of designing a breath rate detector for trout with sufficient gain for meeting water conditions of low conductance. This was overcome b y increasing the number of amplification stages b u t with the trade-off of higher noise to signal artifacts created by fluctuating water currents. To eliminate these noise problems caused by water turbulence through the fish holding chambers, a baffling system had to be considered. Interfacing the biosensing detector to the CDCP encountered a series of problems which had to be evaluated. For example, of the two types of interface units designed and tested, the analog o u t p u t system proved to be the most effective in application to the particular CDCP in use. However, this technique would sample fish breaths for only 72 s during each CDCP sample mode. This meant that a CDCP programmed to sample data once each hour for a 6-hr. period between satellite by-passes, would yield ~ 7 min. of fish

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Fig. 2. Regional watershed monitoring network.

344 breathing data. This sample size may not be adequate for many applications and the CDCP would need to be programed to take data at closer time intervals, i.e. each 15 min. The limiting factor in this approach is not the interface unit but the available memory of the particular CDCP in use. The second type interface module used for biosensors could be programed to monitor fish responses for whatever time intervals were desired as long as the accumulative breaths did not exceed 999 counts. Should this level be reached, then the counter would reset to zero and begin counting again. This interface, which utilized an A/D voltage conversion, encountered problems with the particular CDCP parallel buffered inputs. Apparently these were not individually isolated as we were led to believe, creating disturbances between buffers and causing the physical data to be reported as maximum and minimum values only. Slight modifications in these CDCP should correct this difficulty. Aside from these problems and those typically experienced with physical sensors, i.e. instrument drift, temperature sensitivity and fouling, the major concern in remote stream monitoring appears to be man-induced. Recreational and commercial activities within multipurpose watersheds, such as boating, fishing, scuba diving, to mention a few, subject remote stations to accidental damage and vandalism not seen in grab sampling efforts. At the present state of development, long periods of unattended remote biosensing exceeding 30--50 days have yet to be demonstrated. Additional research needs to be carried out in this area in order to gain insight into optimum operating intervals. Important questions that remain to be addressed concerning remote biosensing are: how often should fish be replaced?, how sensitive are remote biosensors to developing toxic conditions?, and can the data provided be statistically treated with reasonable levels of confidence? Once achieved, will actual stream survey studies verify warnings presented by remote stations? These and other questions must be answered before reliable biosensing stations can be established for regional managements' needs. Given these limitations in light of present states of technological advancement, many pressing problems will be solved in the near future and new strides in remote biosensing will be accomplished. On-going studies are underway to test biosensing techniques in buoy configurations (Fig. 2). These remote buoys could transmit data from sitespecific stations to stream-side mobile units, relay stations or satellite. Combining these advantages with permanent stations, information could be interpreted on a real-time basis at a regional processing center or relayed to specific watershed centers and mobile operations. The advantages provided by portable biosensing units linked to microcomputer, telemetry equipped mobile laboratories are far-reaching, particularly in emergencies where a hazardous material spill has contaminated a multiple-use drainage. Mobile monitoring units dispatched to hazardous spill situations could also be outfitted with automated time-rated bioassay

345

systems. Not only could remote biosensing buoys be deployed along the contaminated region and transmit physiological responses of organisms to mobile units and relay stations, but water samples from regions identified as acutely toxic could be tested in the automated bioassay system giving minute-byminute mortality or response data. In so doing, realistic decisions based on real-time biological information, combined with physical/chemical data may be made concerning what mitigation action should be taken, if any.

ACKNOWLEDGEMEN~[S

Acknowledgement is gratefully extended to Raymond Burge, Raymond C. Mathews, National Park Service for their aid in technical and field work. Assistance by James Swigert in figure preparation and by Joanne Arway for typing the manuscript is acknowledged. Support provided for this study was provided by the Aquatic Ecology Fund, Environmental Biology Research Program, Tennessee Technological University and U.S. Department of the Interior (U.S.D.I.), Southeast Regional Office, National Park Service.

REFERENCES Cairns, Jr., J., Morgan, E.L. and Sparks, R.E., 1974a. The response of bluegills (Lepomis macrochirus Raf.) to temperature change. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc., 103(1): 128--140. Cairns, Jr., J., Hall, J.W., Morgan, E.L., Sparks, R.E., Waller, W.T. and Westlake, G.F., 1974b. The development of automated biological monitoring systems for water quality management. In: D.D. Hemphill (Editor), Trace Substances in Environmental Health, VII. A Symposium. University of Missouri Press, Columbia, Mo., pp. 35--40. Cairns, Jr., J., Gruber, D., Dickson, K., Hendricks, A. and Schalie, W., 1977. Developing an on-site continuous biological monitoring system for the chemical industry. Proc. 5th Annu. Ind. Pollut. Conf., McLean, Va., pp. 285--294. Herrmann, R., Stoneburner, D.L., Larson, G.L., Mathews, R.C. and Burge, R.E., 1978. Environmental monitoring for remote natural areas, Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Paper presented at Pecora IV, Application of Remote Sensing Data to Wildlife Management, Sioux Falls, S.D., Oct. 10--12, 1978 (unpublished). Morgan, E.L., Eagleson, K.W., Herrmann, R. and McCollough, N.D., 1977. Biological water quality monitoring from remote stations and N.O.A.A. GOES satellite. Proc. 4th Joint Conf. on Sensing of Environmental Pollutants, Nov. 6--11, 1977, pp. 885--887. Morgan, W.S.G. and Kuhn, P.C., 1974. A method to monitor the effects of toxicants upon breathing rate of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides Lecepede). Water Res., Vol. 8.