engleski

Validation of GLOBE limnological data in Croatia

The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) program is an international science and education program implemented by Croatian schools since 1995. The program encourages schools to use standardized protocols to study the local environment and enter the data into a global and publicly accessible database. The aim of this thesis was to validate the GLOBE limnological data measured by several Croatian schools in terms of accuracy, continuity and precision and to compare data from primary and secondary schools. I used the GLOBE database to download data on five water parameters (water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, electrical conductivity, and nitrates) for 15 hydrological study sites on rivers and streams measured over a 10-year period (2010-2019). Compared to official monitoring data, limnological data from GLOBE have higher temporal resolution and can reveal trends and changes that are overlooked in official monitoring. Primary and secondary schools showed almost the same level of continuity and precision. The pH and nitrate measurements are the least precise and accurate GLOBE measurements of the five tested. Limnological data collected from Croatian GLOBE schools can be used to analyse long-term trends in rivers and streams, but with quality control to eliminate possible mismeasurements.

GLOBE protocols ; primary schools ; secondary schools ; rivers ; streams

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