Polar On-Line Acquisition Relay and Transmission System (POLARATS)

• Main Author: Yuracko, K.
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2008
• Subjects: 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; ON-LINE MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS; DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEMS; DATA TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS; ENVIRONMENT; MONITORING; POLLUTANTS; ARCTIC REGIONS; REMOTE SENSING; FOOD CHAINS; EDUCATIONAL TOOLS; Arctic; Human health
• Online Access: http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/939890; https://www.osti.gov/biblio/939890; https://doi.org/10.2172/939890

POLARATS (Polar On-Line Acquisition Relay And Transmission System) is being developed by YAHSGS LLC (YAHSGS) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to provide remote, unattended monitoring of environmental parameters under harsh environmental conditions. In particular, instrumental design and engineering is oriented towards protection of human health in the Arctic, and with the additional goal of advancing Arctic education and research. POLARATS will obtain and transmit environmental data from hardened monitoring devices deployed in locations important to understanding atmospheric and aquatic pollutant migration as it is biomagnified in Arctic food chains. An Internet- and personal computer (PC)-based educational module will provide real time sensor data, on-line educational content, and will be integrated with workbooks and textbooks for use in middle and high school science programs. The educational elements of POLARATS include an Internet-based educational module that will instruct students in the use of the data and how those data fit into changing Arctic environments and food chains. POLARATS will: (1) Enable students, members of the community, and scientific researchers to monitor local environmental conditions in real time over the Internet; and (2) Provide additional educational benefits through integration with middle- and high-school science curricula. Information will be relayed from POLARATS devices to classrooms and libraries along with custom-designed POLARATS teaching materials that will be integrated into existing curricula to enhance the educational benefits realized from the information obtained.