Citizen science in Lebanon—a case study for groundwater quality monitoring
Over the past decade, several citizen science projects have been launched, with a smaller subset addressing citizen scientists' involvement in water quality monitoring. Most of these projects were conducted in developed countries and focused on qualitative assessment and measurements of a limit...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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The Royal Society
2019-02-01
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| Series: | Royal Society Open Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.181871 |
| _version_ | 1818341071163228160 |
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| author | Rima Baalbaki Serine Haidar Ahmad Wassim Kays Salma N. Talhouk Najat A. Saliba Mahmoud Al-Hindi |
| author_facet | Rima Baalbaki Serine Haidar Ahmad Wassim Kays Salma N. Talhouk Najat A. Saliba Mahmoud Al-Hindi |
| author_sort | Rima Baalbaki |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Over the past decade, several citizen science projects have been launched, with a smaller subset addressing citizen scientists' involvement in water quality monitoring. Most of these projects were conducted in developed countries and focused on qualitative assessment and measurements of a limited number of water quality parameters. Moreover, data generated by citizen scientists were mainly for monitoring purposes and rarely resulted in remedial measures. In this work, a collaborative citizen science approach involving local citizens and university researchers was applied to assess the groundwater quality in a Lebanese village. Using a mobile laboratory, winter and summer sampling campaigns were conducted and 12 physical, chemical and biological water quality parameters were tested. Results indicated that the data generated by the citizen scientists were comparable with those generated by university researchers for the majority of physical and chemical water quality parameters. However, the bacteriological test results showed a marked difference and may be attributed to the complexity of the testing procedure and quality of testing material. The collaborative and participatory approach resulted in building local capacity and knowledge and in the formation of a locally elected water committee which will be responsible for continuous monitoring of the groundwater resources. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T15:52:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2f99ea01473c46188c5bef11a410f48a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2054-5703 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T15:52:58Z |
| publishDate | 2019-02-01 |
| publisher | The Royal Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Royal Society Open Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-2f99ea01473c46188c5bef11a410f48a2022-12-21T23:39:24ZengThe Royal SocietyRoyal Society Open Science2054-57032019-02-016210.1098/rsos.181871181871Citizen science in Lebanon—a case study for groundwater quality monitoringRima BaalbakiSerine Haidar AhmadWassim KaysSalma N. TalhoukNajat A. SalibaMahmoud Al-HindiOver the past decade, several citizen science projects have been launched, with a smaller subset addressing citizen scientists' involvement in water quality monitoring. Most of these projects were conducted in developed countries and focused on qualitative assessment and measurements of a limited number of water quality parameters. Moreover, data generated by citizen scientists were mainly for monitoring purposes and rarely resulted in remedial measures. In this work, a collaborative citizen science approach involving local citizens and university researchers was applied to assess the groundwater quality in a Lebanese village. Using a mobile laboratory, winter and summer sampling campaigns were conducted and 12 physical, chemical and biological water quality parameters were tested. Results indicated that the data generated by the citizen scientists were comparable with those generated by university researchers for the majority of physical and chemical water quality parameters. However, the bacteriological test results showed a marked difference and may be attributed to the complexity of the testing procedure and quality of testing material. The collaborative and participatory approach resulted in building local capacity and knowledge and in the formation of a locally elected water committee which will be responsible for continuous monitoring of the groundwater resources.https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.181871citizen sciencewater qualitytotal coliformscommunity-based monitoring |
| spellingShingle | Rima Baalbaki Serine Haidar Ahmad Wassim Kays Salma N. Talhouk Najat A. Saliba Mahmoud Al-Hindi Citizen science in Lebanon—a case study for groundwater quality monitoring Royal Society Open Science citizen science water quality total coliforms community-based monitoring |
| title | Citizen science in Lebanon—a case study for groundwater quality monitoring |
| title_full | Citizen science in Lebanon—a case study for groundwater quality monitoring |
| title_fullStr | Citizen science in Lebanon—a case study for groundwater quality monitoring |
| title_full_unstemmed | Citizen science in Lebanon—a case study for groundwater quality monitoring |
| title_short | Citizen science in Lebanon—a case study for groundwater quality monitoring |
| title_sort | citizen science in lebanon a case study for groundwater quality monitoring |
| topic | citizen science water quality total coliforms community-based monitoring |
| url | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.181871 |
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