Opportunistic Sensing Networks: A Study in Amsterdam
Lotte Wilhelmina de Vos, Arjan Droste, Mar J. Zander, Aart Overeem, Hidde Leijnse, Bert G. Heusinkveld, Gert‐Jan Steeneveld, Remko Uijlenhoet · Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society · 2020
raditionally, hydrologists, meteorologists, and other scientists and practitioners have relied on dedicated measurement equipment.Such instruments, typically owned and operated by government agencies, are installed and maintained according to (inter)national standards.They offer accurate and reliable information about the state of the environment, but often lack the required spatial and/or temporal density for high-resolution monitoring or forecasting, particularly in urban areas.Yet, with rapid development in wireless communications, sensors are now omnipresent.These are opportunistic sensors-not installed with intention to generate large-scale weather observations.While generally not as accurate or reliable as the dedicated equipment we are used to, opportunistic sensors are typically available in large numbers, and their measurements are often readily accessible online.When combined with smart retrieval algorithms and statistical treatment, these sensors could greatly benefit environmental monitoring, science, and management.Here we make a 17-day analysis for the Amsterdam metropolitan area (the Netherlands) by employing opportunistic sensors to complement conventional dedicated equipment.Our aim is to showcase the availability and meteorological capability of several opportunistic sensing techniques.