School of Freshwater Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee , 600 E. Greenfield Avenue, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53204, United States.
Environ Sci Technol. 2017 May 2;51(9):4755-4771. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.6b06171. Epub 2017 Apr 11.
Natural freshwater systems have been severely affected by excess loading of macronutrients (e.g., nitrogen and phosphorus) from fertilizers, fossil fuels, and human and livestock waste. In the USA, impacts to drinking water quality, biogeochemical cycles, and aquatic ecosystems are estimated to cost US$210 billion annually. Field-deployable nutrient sensors (FDS) offer potential to support research and resource management efforts by acquiring higher resolution data than are currently supported by expensive conventional sampling methods. Following nearly 40 years of research and development, FDS instruments are now starting to penetrate commercial markets. However, instrument uncertainty factors (high cost, reliability, accuracy, and precision) are key drivers impeding the uptake of FDS by the majority of users. Using nitrite sensors as a case study, we review the trends, opportunities, and challenges in producing and implementing FDS from a perspective of innovation and impact. We characterize the user community and consumer needs, identify trends in research approaches, tabulate state-of-the-art examples and specifications, and discuss data life cycle considerations. With further development of FDS through prototyping and testing in real-world applications, these tools can deliver information for protecting and restoring natural waters, enhancing process control for industrial operations and water treatment, and providing novel research insights.
自然淡水系统受到肥料、化石燃料以及人类和牲畜废物中过量加载的大量营养素（如氮和磷）的严重影响。在美国，估计对饮用水质量、生物地球化学循环和水生态系统的影响每年造成 2100 亿美元的损失。现场可部署营养传感器 (FDS) 通过获取比昂贵的传统采样方法目前支持的更高分辨率的数据，为支持研究和资源管理工作提供了潜力。经过近 40 年的研究和开发，FDS 仪器现在开始打入商业市场。然而，仪器不确定性因素（高成本、可靠性、准确性和精度）是阻碍大多数用户采用 FDS 的关键因素。我们以亚硝酸盐传感器为例，从创新和影响的角度回顾了生产和实施 FDS 的趋势、机会和挑战。我们描述了用户群体和消费者需求，确定了研究方法的趋势，列出了最先进的示例和规格，并讨论了数据生命周期考虑因素。通过在实际应用中进行原型设计和测试进一步开发 FDS，这些工具可以提供有关保护和恢复自然水域、增强工业运营和水处理过程控制以及提供新的研究见解的信息。
