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The Astral project tested these microplastic sensors at multiple sites in Galway and plan to bring them to various aquaculture sites in the coming months.
Researchers from an EU project have deployed two sensors that test water for microplastics at an Irish Marine Institute site in Galway.
The research is part of Astral, a €7.93m EU-funded project that aims to improve the aquaculture through new technology and sustainable practices. The team deployed two AI-powered sensors at aquaculture sites at the institute’s Pool Marine Research Site in Connemara.
These sensors include various digital technologies such as photonics, computer vision and AI to monitor and measure water samples taken from the 21.7-hectare site. The sensors are designed to spot microscopic pieces of plastic by differentiating them from other natural particles that might be present in water samples.
The Irish Marine Institute is a partner on the project, which includes 16 different partners and three associates. The sensors were developed by Leitat, a Barcelona-based research and technology organisation.
Inma Sánchez Cantero, a Leitat principal investigator, said microplastic detection is “crucial” as it provides insight into the environmental properties of water and can be used to predict the environmental risks of microplastics.
“Technology like this is needed in aquaculture to monitor and control key parameters, prevent and manage diseases, manage waste, and to collect and analyse data,” Sánchez Cantero said. “This way farmers can optimise their performance and ensure sustainable and efficient aquaculture practices.”
The sensor was tested through repeated sampling at three sites in Galway’s Bertraghboy Bay. The researchers said these sensors can be easily adapted and deployed at other locations, such as moorings and research vessels.
The project aims to use these sensors as a type of portable lab, but the sensors currently face limitations in terms of size and power consumption, limiting their use when used with gliders, landers or other autonomous platforms.
The Astral consortium plans to deploy the sensors across various operational environments in the coming months, to bring real-time microplastic monitoring to various aquaculture sites.
“By combining off-the-shelf industrial cameras, tuneable optics, image processing and deep learning models, and in-situ detection equipment, these cutting-edge technologies developed by the project partners and tested in Connemara not only enhance accuracy and efficiency but also reduce costs, making microplastics monitoring more accessible and effective,” said Irish Marine Institute researcher Pauline O’Donohoe.
Microplastics are not the only threat for water supplies however. A report by the Environmental Protection Agency recently warned that, overall, there was no significant change in Ireland’s water quality last year and that nutrient pollution levels are too high in a large portion of our water bodies.
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