Abstract

Citizen science has become a widely used approach in water quality studies. Although there are literature reviews about citizen science and water quality assessments, an overview of the most commonly used methods and their strengths and weaknesses is still lacking. Therefore, we reviewed the scientific literature on citizen science for surface water quality assessments and examined the methods and strategies used by the 72 studies that fulfilled our search criteria. Special attention was given to the parameters monitored, the monitoring tools, and the spatial and temporal resolution of the data collected in these studies. In addition, we discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the different approaches used in water quality assessments and their potential to complement traditional hydrological monitoring and research.

Keywords

Volunteer water quality monitoring; Spatial temporal resolution; Methods; Literature review

Published in

Science of the Total Environment
2023, Volume: 897, article number: 165436
Publisher: ELSEVIER

SLU Authors

• Seibert, Jan

  • Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    
  • University of Zurich

Sustainable Development Goals

Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all


UKÄ Subject classification

Oceanography, Hydrology, Water Resources


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165436

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/123775