Citizen Science

Observations and measurements of environmental variables are the basis for answering all hydrological questions. The measuring devices for hydrological variables such as water level, runoff or soil moisture are taught in numerous bachelor and master courses. These 'classic' measuring devices and their stationary installation are expensive and require specialists to use them. This limits the data in space and time, although more data could improve e.g. early flood warnings. Citizen Scientists (CS) observations are an alternative data source. CS are people who want to contribute to science in their free time by submitting photos, recording observations or evaluatiang them via smartphones. The interface for CS observations are often smartphone apps to collect and store the data. CS data pose new challenges and require a special introduction, but will be an essential part of the data puzzle in the future (Big Data). Since CS data are thought neither in B.Sc. oder M.Sc. courses, the aim of this project is to teach how to handle CS data and to independently collect hydrological variables using existing CS apps, their use and evaluation.