WaterLinx | Citizen Science vs SIMILE - Lake Monitoring Usage & Stats
Water constitutes and connects all life forms on earth. However, current human water- and land-use patterns and emissions from our socio-industrial and consumption practices undermine the capacity of natural ecosystems in water and on land to regenerate themselves to remain a healthy basis for diverse forms of life. The health of interconnected water and soil systems is deteriorating at an ever-faster pace. Potential impacts from climate change threaten to accelerate this decline Just reducing our harmful impacts will no longer suffice. We need to take regenerative action. Restoring healthy water bodies is also a fundamental need to make the planet’s life support system with water and earth more resilient to the potential impacts of climate change. But where should we act first, and what actions promise success? EU Data sets relating to water quality are expensive to obtain and accordingly scantly distributed across time and space. Most data related to large rivers but not smaller streams that may flow through biodiversity-rich areas.
Citizen science can play an important role in complementing official data sets on water quality to identify pollution hot spots, in particular in small streams that are not usually monitored by experts (König et al., 2020). This APP provides a citizen science tool to explore water quality and ecosystem health where you stand and can take action. Data collected with this APP can
- inform you and any citizen in an accessible manner on where regenerative action for healthy water bodies might be most urgently needed,
- open new windows on compliance with EU water quality standards and on the effectiveness of Luxembourg policy making and implementation,
- be used by scientists (experts and citizens) to evaluate and learn from regenerative projects.
If you would like to engage in both monitoring with this APP and regenerative action, you can seek inspiration for practical projects with impact on www.transformation-lab.lu and www.aktioun-nohaltegkeet.lu .
- Apple App Store
- Free
- Education
Store Rank
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"SIMILE - Lake Monitoring" is an application developed by the Politecnico di Milano with the support of the Water Research Institute of the CNR (IRSA) and Arpa Lombardia within the Citizen Science activities of the SIMILE Interreg project (Integrated monitoring system for knowledge, protection and enhancement of subalpine lakes and their ecosystems). The project aims to improve the water quality of the lakes through integrated monitoring and raising the awareness of their frequenters.
KNOW YOUR LAKE - View the contents near your position on the interactive map and quickly and easily access the data collected by those who already take care of the lake and other users. You can also learn more about the lake environment and the organisms that inhabit it through a glossary. Receive important environmental alerts (bathing, weather alerts).
OBSERVE - Have you noticed anything strange, unusual or curious? Share it! Take a picture and add the information you think is important to identify what you observed. You will be able to indicate the presence of algae (phytoplankton), foams, oily stains, litters, odours, drains and aspects related to fauna. Improve your knowledge with each observation thanks to the supporting images and explanatory texts associated with each item.
MEASURE - Are you taking a boat trip or a canoe ride and want to help the environment? Some of the water parameters (Transparency, Temperature, pH) can be measured in a very short time and without the need for complicated tools or specific preparation. By taking measurements of some water parameters you can help to improve the monitoring by integrating the results coming from satellites and sensors.
REPORT - If you notice something serious you can send an official report to the authorities with the data of your observation. In this way you can help them to check the state of the lake by providing useful information to make a pre-assessment of the extent of the observed phenomena.
GO TO THE FIELD - Stay up to date on the initiatives planned in your area regarding the environmental issues of lake protection. You will be able to attend clean-up events, measurement campaigns, seminars, training courses and much more.
Spend a few minutes of your time on the health of the environment in which you live and help us to spread the application among your friends and family!
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Your opinion matters! If you have any comment, question or concern, write to us at the email address:
interreg-simile@polimi.it
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Operation co-financed by the European Union, the European Regional Development Fund, the Italian State, the Swiss Confederation and the Cantons as part of the Interreg V-A Italy-Switzerland Cooperation Program
- Apple App Store
- Free
- Education
Store Rank
- -
WaterLinx | Citizen Science VS. 
SIMILE - Lake MonitoringDecember 15, 2024