SGER: Deployment of Wireless Sensor Network for Analysis of Irrigation Effects on Subsurface Redox Conditions and Arsenic Mobilization in Bangladeshi Aquifer

University Of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles CA

Investigators

Abstract

0605515 Jay This award supports travel and field expenses for the PI and colleagues, including two graduate students, to conduct research in Bangladesh as part of a multi-university and interdisciplinary team investigating the factors causing toxic concentrations of arsenic in shallow ground water of the Ganges Delta. High concentrations of arsenic in ground water constitute a major public health problem in Bangladesh, as tens of millions of people rely on contaminated ground water supplies for drinking water. Numerous cases of arsenicosis and arsenic-induced skin cancer have been reported, and this is regarded as one of the largest environmental poisonings in history. Specific goals of the project are to (i) deploy a wireless sensor network to test three hypotheses regarding mobilization of arsenic in shallow aquifers under rice paddies; (ii) field test a new software tool designed to aid in debugging run-time problems in sensor networks; and (iii) use the collected data to develop a reactive-transport model of subsurface redox conditions and how they are affected by irrigation. The proposed work is aimed at improving scientific understanding of the factors giving rise to arsenic mobilization in ground-water aquifers, a topic of considerable interest in environmental science and practical concern for management of this widespread problem. Previous studies have established that redox conditions play an important role in arsenic mobilization, but the nature of that role and how irrigation affects this remain unclear. The work also is aimed at advancing our experience with sensor networks in environmental systems and dealing with problems that arise in deploying sensitive sensors under harsh conditions. This experience will be useful relative to deployment of sensor networks for environmental observatories in the U.S. In addition, the study should improve general understanding of arsenic mobilization in aquifers that applies beyond Bangladesh; arsenic contamination of ground water also is a common problem in the U.S. This award is funded jointly by the Environmental Engineering Program and OISE.