The Jefferson Project at Lake George: Advancing our ecosystem knowledge of an oligotrophic lake through a coupled observatory and environmental modeling system.

Harry R. Kolar, Ph.D. IBM Research, Yorktown Heights, NY USA
IBM Distinguished Engineer concentrating on sensor-based solutions
in IBM Research with a focus on environmental monitoring and management
Tuesday, October 13, 2015 4:00 PM
Billings North Lounge

Abstract:

Taking a holistic approach to understanding large lakes requires spatially and temporally extensive data on the relevant physical, chemical, and biological parameters that drive ecosystem function. With this goal in mind, a collaborative endeavor, known as the Jefferson Project, will be described that involves a complex environmental monitoring and modeling system capable of real-time observations and interactive modeling of weather, hydrology, hydrodynamics, and food web dynamics. The Jefferson Project began by conducting a state-of-the-art high resolution bathymetric survey of the lake and an associated topographic survey of the surrounding watershed. An advanced cyberphysical system was developed that encompasses multiple sensor platforms and a tightly integrated cyberinfrastructure that utilizes high-integrity telemetry, embedded and distributed intelligence, and a comprehensive information platform. The sensor platforms quantify physical, chemical, and biological parameters. To ensure the highest levels of data integrity and quality and to support dynamic event-driven autonomous operations such as adaptive sampling techniques, we have also developed a number of new approaches and technologies within the Internet of Things (IoT) domain. The latest results of our weather, hydrological, and hydrodynamic models will also be presented.

Bio:

Dr. Kolar is an IBM Distinguished Engineer concentrating on sensor-based solutions in IBM Research with a focus on environmental monitoring and management. Dr. Kolar currently leads IBM’s efforts in the Jefferson Project at Lake George, NY with a team of researchers from four IBM global labs working to develop an intelligent and distributed coupled observatory and modeling system for a freshwater ecosystem. He was also the technical lead of the Marine Institute of Ireland’s SmartBay Galway project, a complex underwater acoustic monitoring project for sustainable ocean energy with the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, and the River and Estuary Observatory Network with the Beacon Institute in the US.