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- Book of Abstracts - 2nd Sustainable Campus Conference (CCS2020)Publication . Barros, F.M.; Barros, Manuel; Santos, Natércia; Nata, Ana; Rodrigues, Ana; Mora, Carlos; Gonçalves, RuiThis book contains the extended abstracts of the scientific communications presented in the 2nd Sustainable Campus Conference (CCS2020), an event promoted by the Portuguese Sustainable Campus Network (RCS, Portugal) that was held online (by videoconference) on October 30 th , 2020, and hosted by Instituto Politécnico de Tomar (IPT), Portugal.
- Study of the requirements of an autonomous system for surface water quality monitoringPublication . Barros, F.M.; Granchinho, Pedro; Ferreira, Carlos; Neves, Pedro; Magalhães, Hugo; Santos, Luis; Lopes, Brígida; Marques, João; Pinho, Henrique J. O.; Mourato, S.; Martins, A.In recent years, there has been increasing awareness of the preservation, protection and sustainable use of natural resources. Water resources, being one of the most important natural resources, face major threats due to contamination by pollutants of various types and origins. Maintaining the quality of water resources requires more robust, reliable and more frequent monitoring than traditional techniques of data collection based on sporadic, discontinuous and manual processes. The management of large geographical areas, the insufficient spatiotemporal discretization of the values of samples collected by traditional processes and the unpredictability of natural phenomena, require a new approach to data collection procedures. This article, which is the result of ongoing research, defines the technical requirements and technologies used in a continuous and regular monitoring of surface water quality in freshwater systems, whose data acquisition system helps to identify the sources of pollution and the contaminants flow along the waterways. The design of a versatile real-time water quality monitoring system, which, due to its environmental constraints should be based on renewable energies and wireless transfer of energy, will contribute to improve the management and effective protection of water resources.
- Remote Monitoring of Energy-autonomous Constructed WetlandsPublication . Lopes, Simão; Barros, F.M.; Ferreira, Carlos; Mateus, D. M. R.; Matos, Pedro; Neves, Pedro; Pinho, Henrique J. O.Constructed Wetlands systems (CW) are nature-based and sustainable technology for treating wastewater, contributing to the management and protection of freshwater resources. Moreover, CW can contribute to valorizing waste materials, producing reclaimed water for diverse applications, and producing plant biomass that can be material and energetically valorized. Because CW efficiency depends on several mechanisms such as physical, chemical, and biological, its real-time monitoring is essential to provide a better use of this technology. This work describes a smart framework for monitoring CW based on IoT devices and sensors, and data science tools providing real-time processing of gathered water quality parameters and environmental variables. Furthermore, the framework manages renewable energy sources to provide the required energy for CW operation and monitoring. Data collected from the sensor network show significant daily variations in water quality parameters. The future processing of these data can provide the development of models to improve the efficiency of the CW.
- Autonomous patrol of water resources in natural and artificial systemsPublication . Barros, F.M.; Pinho, Henrique J. O.; Magalhães, Hugo; Ferreira, Carlos; Matos, PedroWater resources, being one of the most important natural resources, face major threats due to contamination by pollutants of various types and origins. Consequently, preservation, protection and sustainable use of natural resources is increasingly important. The “DragonFly” project aims to develop a system that solves the need for monitoring the quality of surface water in natural and artificial systems of different types, on a continuous and regular basis. It is intended to acquire water quality data in order to identify sources of pollution or to estimate the discharge and dispersion of contaminants along water courses. The system was specified to allow the acquisition of a specific set of environmental data that characterize the aquatic environment and help to detect variations (deviation) in water quality, such as temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, redox, conductivity, salinity, and dissolved solids. The Castelo do Bode reservoir, was adopted in this work as a data acquisition area and for the development and testing of the system, due to its geographical proximity. It is the main national water reservoir for public supply, with a maximum extension of 60 km, it occupies an area of about 3 300 ha. The acquisition of real-time data is an essential condition in this type of application, as it will allow the immediate detection of pollution points and timely action on it. The available data continuity and regularity will allow the support of the aquatic environment studies and the forecasting systems modelling of future conditions, guiding the decision processes. To achieve this objective, a physical prototype was developed based on a floating electric vehicle (ASV ), to which several modules and/or satellite vehicles can be added, and which is already implemented at an advanced stage. In order to guarantee the continuity and regularity of the available data and to reduce system maintenance times and costs, it is necessary to ensure the autonomous operation of the supply system. Energy storage systems, autonomous refueling systems and independent energy conversion and storage systems are now being designed. The design of a versatile real-time water quality monitoring system contributes to the management and protection of water resources thus it can increase security in the water supply of populations and turn the resources management more efficient and sustainable.
- Análise da secção F. Cidades e Comunidades Sustentáveis realizada pelo Grupo de Trabalho Cidades e Comunidades SustentáveisPublication . Barros, F.M.; Pinho, Pedro; Ferreira, RitaEm muitos países, as universidades ou mais genericamente, as Instituições de Ensino Superior (IES), estão a assumir um papel cada vez mais ativo no desenvolvimento sustentável de uma região, contribuindo para a qualidade de vida e o bem-estar das comunidades, agregando valor aos processos de desenvolvimento regional, difundindo o conhecimento e a inovação regional ( GUNI Network , 2020 ). O papel tradicional das IES como criadoras e disseminadoras de conhecimento está a mudar, adotando gradualmente modelos colaborativos de envolvimento cívico e participação da sociedade para apoiar as comunidades a enfrentar os diversos desafios societais e globais da sustentabilidade (EUA, 2014). De uma forma geral, este é um processo de cocriação que, idealmente, tira partido da colaboração e partilha de conhecimento entre vários atores regionais envolvendo a academia, indústria, autoridades públicas e os cidadãos/comunidade. Na prática, o papel e a influência que as IES têm sobre o desenvolvimento sustentável das cidades e das comunidades difere de região para região. O tipo de universidade, a realidade económica, as políticas regionais e a capacidade das organizações públicas e privadas locais de absorver e utilizar o conhecimento criado nas universidades, são fatores determinantes que refletem uma diversidade de soluções, processos e abordagens. Foi neste contexto, que o Grupo de Trabalho em Cidades e Comunidades Sustentáveis da Rede Campus Sustentável (RCS) aceitou o desafio de colaborar na elaboração do Inquérito de caracterização do Ensino Superior em Portugal no que diz respeito à sustentabilidade, centrando a sua participação na área de atuação, efetuando o levantamento e o estudo de soluções inovadoras e de exemplos de boas práticas sustentáveis que estão a ser implementadas de forma colaborativa na interação entre o Campus e as Cidades ou Comunidades. Qual o papel das Instituições de Ensino Superior (IES) na sustentabilidade urbana? Que projetos promovidos pelas IES se dirigem à comunidade local e promovem uma sociedade mais sustentável? Como fortalecer esta interação de forma colaborativa, na interação entre o Campus e as Cidades ou Comunidades. O estudo que se segue, corresponde à análise da seção F - Cidades e Comunidades Sustentáveis, um dos 11 temas do Inquérito realizado às Instituições de Ensino Superior Portuguesas promovida pela RCS, Portugal. De forma a manter o compromisso de confidencialidade assumido com as Instituições participantes, o reporte dos resultados da análise do inquérito aqui apresentado, vai ser disponibilizado de forma anonimizada e por isso sem a comparação direta entre IES participantes.
- Towards a Practical and Cost-Effective Water Monitoring SystemPublication . Marques, João; Lopes, Brígida; Ferreira, Carlos; Pinho, Henrique J. O.; Barros, Manuel; Granchinho, Pedro; Neves, Pedro; Camarinha-Matos, L.; Almeida, R.; Oliveira, J.In recent years, there has been increasing awareness of the preservation, protection and sustainable use of natural resources. Water resources, being one of the most important, face major threats due to contamination by pollutants of various types and origins. Maintaining the quality of water resources requires more robust, reliable and more frequent monitoring than traditional data collection techniques based on manual sampling methods. This article, which is the result of ongoing research, proposes a practical and cost-effective solution for a surface water monitoring system, using a robotics platform and cloud services. The proposed solution allows for scalability and will accommodate a wide range of end-user specifications. To allow for continuous operation in longer activities, the design of a versatile real-time water quality monitoring system should also take into consideration the question of its energy requirements and self-sufficiency.
- O papel da inovação tecnológica e da ciência aberta no desenvolvimento sustentável das cidades e regiões – Um caso práticoPublication . Barros, F.M. Manuel; Pinho, Henrique J. O.; Frazão Correia, Pedro; Panda, Renato; Silva, Gonçalo
- Robotic Vehicles For Fish Farming Applications - An OverviewPublication . Barros, F.M.; Neves, Pedro; Magalhães, Hugo; Ferreira, Carlos; Matos, Pedro; Diogo, HugoIndustrialization in the aquaculture sector is associated with the introduction of technology, since a large number of parameters have to be controlled in modern aquaculture systems. Some of these operations require sophisticated tools and specially designed facilities that have evolved through intensive research and great innovation (Mustafa 2016). Some of the custom-made technological inventions for aquaculture operations include, for example, the creation of semi-submersible cages, the implementation of automatic feeders and water recirculation systems. The use of robotics has increasingly found space among applications in the aquatic environment. The main objective is to collect information about the environment and, consequently, to manage resources better (Borović 2011). There have been reports of the use of robotic vehicles in aquaculture in applications such as: monitoring of water quality parameters, reduction of biological pests or unwanted predators and other agricultural and aquaculture applications. Boats, underwater vehicles and autonomous airplanes were designed and built to monitor and potentially manage aquaculture facilities, natural water bodies and drinking water (Dunbabin, 2009). The visible benefit of this technology is that it takes aquaculture systems to the next level, from the application of computer control and Artificial Intelligence to a greater degree of automation, effective management and decision making. The present work reviews some of the most recent robotic vehicles applied in fish farming applications and discusses its advantages and limitations.
- Smart Monitoring of Constructed Wetlands to Improve Efficiency and Water QualityPublication . Pinho, Henrique; Barros, Manuel; Teixeira, André; Oliveira, Luís; Matos, Pedro; Ferreira, Carlos; Mateus, DinaThe Smart monitoring of constructed wetlands to improve efficiency and water quality (SmarterCW) project aims to monitor biological wastewater treatment processes by gathering continuous data from remote water and environmental sensors. The acquired data can be processed and analyzed through data science tools to understand better the complex and coupled phenomena underneath wastewater treatment and monitor and optimize the system performance. The results will improve the efficiency and control of nature-based wastewater treatment technologies. The methodology comprises the following tasks and activities: Implementation of a set of electrochemical sensors in the input and output flow streams of pilot-scale constructed wetlands; Acquisition of water quality parameters such as pH, electrical conductivity, temperature, and ionic compounds; Acquisition of environmental parameters, such as temperature and humidity; Application of data analysis tools to design and optimize conceptual models to correlate pollutants removal with operative parameters in green technologies for wastewater treatment. This methodology was applied to a patent-protected pilot-scale modular constructed wetland in which filling media consists of a mixture of solid waste. A high-level IoT communication layer structure complements the system to support remote real-time water and environmental monitoring, system performance, and data dissemination.
- Sensor Networks For Aquaculture Monitoring SystemsPublication . Barros, F.M.; Magalhães, Hugo; Matos, Pedro; Neves, Pedro; Ferreira, Carlos; Baptista, Teresa; Ribeiro, AnaAquaculture is one of the fastest growing food producing sectors in the world, and its economic importance is increasing. Due to the increased demand for food, market pressure and growing concern about environmental and food quality issues, special techniques have been developed and applied to increase food production and improve product quality. Scientific advances in recent years in this sector have been facilitated largely by the application of science and the introduction of new technologies[1]. Emerging technologies in areas of sensor network, network computing and ubiquitous computing are enabling the development of practical and innovative solutions, improving monitoring and decision-making capabilities[2]. Innovations in water quality monitoring, fish feeding, biomass estimation, fish behavior monitoring, disease diagnosis and food waste management can not only improve the degree of automation of aquaculture and the level of scientific management, but also reduce the cost of production, improve environmental control and increase product quality[3]. Despite the great progress of science and technology, the optimization and management of production processes of aquaculture systems is facing great challenges[4]. The objectives of the present work are to review and analyze the currently scientific advances in technology applied in aquaculture systems, exploring the processes, architectures, the automation level and the role of sensors and new information technologies in this sector of activity.