Water Resources Center, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, 27858, USA.
Department of Engineering, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, 27858, USA.
Ground Water. 2021 Jan;59(1):123-130. doi: 10.1111/gwat.13019. Epub 2020 Jun 12.
Public participation in groundwater projects is increasing, however, the efficacy of the data collected in such studies, is not well-documented in the literature. In this study, the authors describe a citizen science project focused on measuring and recording groundwater levels in an aquifer and evaluate whether the groundwater data collected by the participants are trustworthy. A total of 31 participants were initially recruited to measure and record groundwater levels from 29 monitoring wells on a barrier island. Following recruitment, the authors provided training to the citizen scientists by introducing groundwater concepts, and showing the participants how to measure, record and report groundwater level data (over an 81-day period) with an electronic water level meter. The water level data recorded by the citizen scientists (i.e., 35 time series datasets with over 450 unique measurements) were then compared to high frequency data recorded by automated water level loggers that were already deployed in the groundwater monitoring wells to assess the trustworthiness of the data. Trustworthiness was evaluated using measures of reliability (i.e., consistency in measuring the same thing), validity (i.e., degree to which results are truthful), and other standard graphical and statistical techniques. The results suggest that with proper training, guidance, and motivation, citizen scientists can collect trustworthy groundwater level data that could be useful for monitoring the sustainability of aquifers and managing of groundwater levels. It is noted however, that such positive outcomes require significant investments of time and effort on the part of the project managers.
公众参与地下水项目的情况日益增多，然而，此类研究中收集的数据的有效性在文献中并未得到很好的记录。在本研究中，作者描述了一个专注于测量和记录含水层地下水位的公民科学项目，并评估了参与者所收集的地下水数据是否可靠。最初招募了 31 名参与者，要求他们从一个屏障岛上的 29 口监测井中测量和记录地下水位。在招募之后，作者通过介绍地下水概念并向参与者展示如何使用电子水位计测量、记录和报告地下水位数据（在 81 天内），对公民科学家进行了培训。然后，将公民科学家记录的水位数据（即 35 个具有超过 450 个独特测量值的时间序列数据集）与已经部署在地下水监测井中的自动水位记录仪记录的高频数据进行比较，以评估数据的可信度。通过可靠性（即测量同一事物的一致性）、有效性（即结果真实程度）以及其他标准图形和统计技术来评估可信度。结果表明，通过适当的培训、指导和激励，公民科学家可以收集可靠的地下水位数据，这些数据对于监测含水层的可持续性和管理地下水位非常有用。然而需要指出的是，此类积极成果需要项目管理人员投入大量的时间和精力。
