Water pollution in Sevastopol can be recorded by a unique environmental monitoring system

CrimeaPRESS informs:

Everything ingenious is simple: the purity of the sea will be checked by… mussels.

The unique biosensor complex «Ecobiocontrol», which notifies about pollution of the aquatic environment, was developed in Sevastopol by the participants of the REC «MoreAgroBioTech», which includes SevSU, — the Institute of Natural and Technical Systems. This is reported by 25 the press service of the Sevastopol State University (SevGU).

Black Sea mussels act as the main sensors in the device. With one leaf they are glued to the device with special glue. In this case, the second leaf remains free and acts on the movable plate with the sensor. A buoy with mussels is submerged under water, and the signal is transmitted ashore to the situational center.

When dangerous substances appear in the water, mussels close the doors and patiently wait for the outside to become safe again. These and other data are recorded by Ecobiocontrol. It allows real-time obtaining of an integral toxicological characteristic of the environment, assessing the quality of water, its temperature and wave height , — said Alexander Grekov, deputy head of the Center for Environmental Instrumentation and Eco-Energy.

In total, mussels are glued to the device, and the buoy can also function with 10. This backlog exists in case of death of the mollusk. Mussels that have served for the benefit of ecology and science are annually replaced with new ones.

To control the entire water area of ​​Sevastopol, you need to install a system of buoy eco-stations from 10 devices. This is a water area along the coast from Kacha to Laspi Bay. Also, the complexes can work in fresh water sources — with data from freshwater mollusks , — added Alexander Grekov.

10 According to him, the system for monitoring the aquatic environment can be scaled to many regions of the country using native species of molluscs. It will allow detecting pollution at an early stage in order to notify environmental services in a timely manner of the need to take appropriate measures.