Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur has developed a self-sustained Aquatic Autonomous Observatory named ‘Niracara Svayamsasita VedhShala (NSVS)', for in situ monitoring, real time data transmission and web based visualization of the river Ganga.
AR Harish, Dean of Research and Development, IIT Kanpur, inaugurated the system at Laxman Ghat, Bithoor.
In its current capacity, the system can sense three important parameters -- pH, conductivity and dissolved oxygen capacity of water.
This can be further utilized to estimate Total Dissolved Solid (TDS), specific gravity and presence of metallic ions in water, IIT Kanpur said.
“The system autonomously collect the data in every fifteen minutes and report it through wireless network to the Institute. For self-sustenance, the platform is equipped with energy harvesting systems consisting of solar cells and a unique Vortex Induced Vibration (VIV) system which can extract energy from the flow of river,” it added.
The project has been implemented by a team of earth scientists, mechanical, electrical, and aerospace engineers from the institute, led by Prof Bishakh Bhattacharya as the principal investigator.
IIT Kanpur said NSVS system has been developed as a “low-cost, multi-parameter, water quality monitoring platform that would consist of array of sensors and auto sampler placed on a stationary platform which is semi-submersible, all-weather, robust, and perfectly stable.”
Prof Abhay Karandikar, Director, IIT Kanpur said, “The Ganga is not just a river but a cultural heritage for us, and therefore it is our responsibility to safeguard it from any harm. IIT Kanpur has been doing rigorous research and developing various mechanisms to study the ecosystem of the Ganga and the impact of climate change on it. I congratulate the team led by Prof Bishakh Bhattacharya on the inauguration of the NSVS system, which will ensure real-time, in-situ monitoring of the river Ganga for ensuring its good health.”
IIT Kanpur has also recently launched a ‘Ganga Atlas' and a workflow that allows users to process and analyse declassified imagery of riverine environments at minimal cost, using an open-source software.
IIT Kanpur said it had earlier conducted a research on the high resilience of dissolved heavy metals in the Ganga river, impact of immersion of dead bodies in the river and held a roundtable discussion on the rejuvenation of rivulets in the Ganga river basin, among other initiatives.
