Adopt vs Coastal Observer | SPOTTERON

Adopt-A-Float allows users to access trajectory metadata and state-of-health parameters of the EarthScope-Oceans MERMAID fleet. MERMAID, short for Mobile Earthquake Recording in Marine Areas by Independent Divers, is a long-lived drifting autonomous float equipped with a hydrophone capable of recording acoustic waveforms generated by distant earthquakes. Most earthquakes occur at or near plate boundaries, yet most seismic monitoring stations are on dry land. Deployed but not recovered, telemetering data in near-real-time, MERMAIDs are uniquely positioned as a low-cost alternative for geophysical and environmental oceanic data collection. Diving down to a typical parking depth of 1500 m below the ocean surface, they passively drift with the ocean currents, recording the ambient acoustic wavefield, identifying earthquake signals, and surfacing to report those, on average every 4-7 days with the current settings, which are expected to give them a five-year life span. When at the surface, MERMAID collects GPS location and time information and communicates with the IRIDIUM satellite constellation using RUDICS. Using this iOS app you can: View the current location of all MERMAID instruments View their most recent trajectories and obtain information about ocean depth View instrumental metadata such as battery level and instrument pressure readings Identify the instruments by name and by operating institution Developed by Tenzing Sherpa ©2021 by Frederik J Simons (www.frederik.net) Let us know what you think! Give us feedback via https://github.com/tenzingsherpaa/AdoptAFloat-3.0/issues We acknowledge support from the U.S. National Science Foundation (www.nsf.org) under grants OCE-1917058 and EAR-1150145 (CAREER), and from Princeton University. MERMAID was designed by scientists and engineers and is now built by OSEAN SAS (www.osean.fr), from which it is commercially available. EarthScope-Oceans (www.earthscopeoceans.org) is an organization founded by a multidisciplinary group of geoscientists who are coordinating efforts to create a global network of sensors that monitor the Earth from within the oceanic environment. As other organizations are doing for the land-based seismological communities today, EarthScope-Oceans shepherds national projects into the international arena where globally relevant, applicable, and mutually agreed-upon decisions can be made on instrument development, science objectives, data management, and outreach.

Climate change will impact where and how humans live. As tides rise and storms intensify, humans will be forced to adapt to the changing environment and increase resiliency by learning more about local impacts of rising tides and intensified storms. The Coastal Observer App encourages citizens to become active in monitoring weather and water locally, and will help researchers build a pathway for a sustainable future. The citizen scientists may choose from 4 activities: 1) basic environmental observations by sharing how the current setting makes you feel. 2) weather observations to document the current weather and its impacts. 3) water level to document where the water levels are and how this might impact infrastructure, life, or property. 4) water quality to document how our environment is impacted by human practices. Observing Weather Events Weather events can have devastating effects on local communities. Using this application, the observer can make note of stormy conditions and its associated affects. This information will be documented through photographs and user documentation. Measuring Water Level If there is an installed and fixed water level gauge near you, feel free to use that gauge to enter your water level. For help locating existing gauges, please visit this link. If there are no installed, fixed gauges, you can report a value from a nearby automated gauge at the time of your observation, or simply take a picture to document the water level visually. NOTE - Never attempt to measure water levels during unsafe conditions or without proper training. Monitoring Water Quality Users may use a Secchi Disk to make manual observations of water clarity. For more information, visit the Secchi Disk Project at www.secchidisk.org Coastal Observer for Schools Schools can easily include the Coastal Observer App in their curriculum. Educators can utilize the app to teach reading water levels or using a Secchi Disk to increase environmental awareness in students, while also providing the opportunity to express feelings about water and weather events. The project runs on the SPOTTERON Citizen Science platform for participatory research and awareness building.