International scientists use Cork Harbour to devise water quality measure

University of Galway researchers, in collaboration with Charles Sturt University in Australia, used artificial intelligence and data mining in the harbour to come up with the tool

Cork Harbour was used by an international team of scientists to develop a water quality index that measures pollution levels in a simplified fashion. Picture: Larry Cummins

Cork Harbour has been used by an international team of scientists to devise a new water quality index that measures pollution levels in a simplified fashion.

University of Galway researchers, in collaboration with Charles Sturt University in Australia, used artificial intelligence and data mining in Cork Harbour in order to come up with the new tool, which can now be adapted by other countries.

The research was conducted by University of Galway PhD researcher Md Galal Uddin, under the supervision of Indie Olbert, leader of the university’s EcoHydroInformatics Research Group, and Stephen Nash, in collaboration with the research team of Azizur Rahman from Charles Sturt University, Australia.

Using complex mathematical algorithms, the team developed a simple water quality tool that can be used to assess the level of pollution. The proposed model is so simple that it does not require extensive knowledge of chemistry, biology, or statistics, as opposed to other models, according to the University of Galway.

Dr Olbert said surface waters are considered to be at high risk of having poor water quality in the near future and it will be extremely difficult to maintain good water quality status.

“Water quality assessment allows to diagnose the health of a waterbody and provides necessary information for more effective water resources management, including relevant policies to ensure the "good" status of water quality. 

This research provides a state-of-the-art yet simple-to-use tool to provide the accurate assessment of water quality.”

Water quality has been on the decline across Europe for decades as industrialisation and population patterns change, with a decline in Irish surface water quality noticeable since 2015, according to data.