Assessing the Potential of Drones to Take Water Samples and Physicochemical Data from Open Lakes

Abstract

Water sampling remains a pivotal method for monitoring and understanding the condition of aquatic environments properly and effectively. Large-scale ecological water sampling and monitoring programmes require considerable field personnel and are hence resource intensive and time consuming and therefore expensive, while also posing many health and safety issues for personnel, as well as biosecurity risks. The application of drones to collect in situ hydrochemical data and retrieve water samples from freshwater environments provides the potential to fulfil some aspects of the biological and physico-chemical sampling required for large-scale water sampling programmes in a more efficient, safer and cost-effective manner.