How Better Data, Cheaper Tech Expand Climate Change Impact Research

Studying the impact of climate change and related factors on other social science outcomes has been hampered by lack of good data which can be captured across systems broad enough to provide an holistic overview. 

New tools, access to data and the means to cross-reference them are increasingly available and making it possible to assess in ways that offer deeper insights into both the affects and potential means of mitigating them. JL

Jackie Snow reports in the Wall Street Journal:

Startups are developing open-source technology built to monitor the environment, from equipment that records the sounds of the forest to devices that collect data on weather conditions. The hope is that open-source tech will make it cheap enough to gather data. In turn, the data could lend greater insights into where to focus efforts to save endangered species and tackle the effects of climate change. Researchers can adapt the tools without worrying about breaking a user agreement or warranty. With more adaptable tools, projects could range from learning about a single species to ecosystems

Cameroon’s Dja Faunal Reserve is one of the largest undisturbed areas in Africa. Elephants trample through the trees, monkeys call to one another, and insects hum, all with barely any human interference. The lack of roads and dense forest have protected the biodiversity there, but the same remoteness has left the impact of climate change on the area little understood. Instead of trying to set up camp for a few weeks at a time, researchers are turning to tools they hope will gather data delicately and indefinitely.

“So often the science stops when you leave these places,” says Shah Selbe, a former rocket scientist and the co-founder of FieldKit, a Los Angeles nonprofit building open-source tools to gather conservation data. “If we can create low-cost tools that make monitoring easier, we can start to get more data.”

Big Data has transformed industries from finance to drug discovery. Conservationists, however, haven’t had the same access to deep data sets because of the difficulty and cost involved in gathering data in the wilderness.

To help, startups are developing open-source technology built to monitor the environment, from equipment that records the sounds of the forest to devices that collect data on weather conditions. The hope is that open-source tech will make it cheap enough to gather data. In turn, the data could lend greater insights into where to focus efforts to save endangered species and tackle the effects of climate change.

The open-source movement advocates sharing design information so that anyone can inspect and improve upon the tools that are built. Often, the groups behind the tech are nonprofits, typically resulting in hardware and software that are cheaper than commercial counterparts. Researchers can adapt the tools without worrying about breaking a user agreement or warranty. With more adaptable tools, projects could range from learning about a single species to ecosystems as large as the polar regions.

FieldKit makes a water-resistant device about the size of a coffee-table book that allows users to gather data on water temperature, weather conditions, pH levels and more. Launched this month, the $150 device includes a computer chip that can accommodate a variety of environmental sensors and add-ons, which run $50 to $205 each. FieldKit also offers two prebuilt models, one for water quality and another for weather conditions. A prebuilt model for air-quality is coming soon. Prices include a small margin to support Conservify, FieldKit’s parent nonprofit, which currently relies on grants to fund its operations.

The units were built to withstand environments from rainforests to freezing tundra, and to collect data for weeks or even months at a time, says Mr. Selbe. He expects that many users will be full-time researchers affiliated with nonprofits or universities, but he says it was important to sell prebuilt kits to expand the potential audience to students and individuals without technical backgrounds.

“You can take the FieldKit out of the box, download the app, and be monitoring in five minutes,” he says.

FieldKit’s website hosts the data collected on the devices. Mr. Selbe says that he hopes that most researchers will put their data on the platform, enabling even researchers and enthusiasts without FieldKits to use it. There is an option to disguise location information to protect endangered species or sensitive locations, Mr. Selbe says.

Part of a FieldKit prototype

PHOTO: SHAH SELBE

Much of the conservation technology builds on open-source tools made for more general uses, such as Raspberry Pi’s simple, single-board computer chips and Tensorflow, Google’s machine-learning platform. These advances have been essential for the cash-strapped environmental research community, says Alasdair Davies, co-founder of the Arribada Initiative, a nonprofit that builds open-source technology with partners who require technical expertise.

“We are riding the wave going on in the commercial space and repurposing it for conservation,” Mr. Davies says.

More devices in the field mean more data, but analyzing all of it can prove impossible for solo researchers and small teams. Citizen scientists have volunteered to label, transcribe or otherwise organize data on scores of different projects, including labeling wildlife caught on camera in a New York forest and transcribing old weather logs from the U.S. Navy. Some research even requires volunteers, such as Arribada’s Carnivore Bytes project, which aims to learn more about wild dogs in part by gathering data on people’s pets.

Carnivore Bytes in January sent recording devices that clip onto collars to hundreds of dog owners. With an app, volunteers note when their dogs are doing things like panting, playing or eating. Eventually, the data is meant to help train an algorithm to go through wild-dog noises for insights into how climate change is impacting their lives. For example, wild dogs making fewer eating noises could suggest that prey is scarce and hunger is becoming an issue.

Open Acoustic Devices, based in the U.K., sells acoustic recording devices called AudioMoths for $60, compared with hundreds or thousands of dollars for a commercial version. Since launching in 2018, AudioMoth has sold about 20,000 units, according to co-founder Andy Hill. The sales, along with occasional work building custom software to go along with AudioMoth projects, allow Mr. Hill and another founder to work on the technology full-time, he says.

AudioMoths have been used to record thousands of hours of sound. In one project, researchers are recording marine mammal vocalizations in an effort to decode the different sounds that dolphins, manatees and whales use to communicate. Mr. Hill estimates that projects have, on average, used 10 to 100 AudioMoths, which has greatly improved the quality and quantity of data.

“Without open-source technology, you are going to be limited to one-species studies with one device,” he says. “That hasn’t really gotten us anywhere when it comes to conservation.”

Open-source technology is also allowing more people to engage in environmental research, says Lydia Gibson, an ecologist and National Geographic explorer who uses it in her fieldwork.

Still, conservation isn’t just about technology, she says. It is also about the people who use the tools and the local communities that participate, actively or not. Conservation has gotten better about including more voices and respecting local expertise, and those strides can’t be lost as shiny new tools are added to research tool kits, Ms. Gibson says.

“A focus on technology needs to include a holistic view of how it’s used,” she says. “Technology on its own is not the solution.”