Blog one
Excitement and challenges for the fog collection project.
September 16, 2022
In this drought time in California, having the knowledge of creative solutions for solving water scarcity is vital. I am interested in finding how much fog water can be collected and how fog water can be used for a multitude of purposes.
Over this semester, I will be collaborating with my group and the partner entities. One partner city is Daly City. The second partner entity, the North Coast County Water District (N.C.C.W.D.), provides water for Pacifica, California. We will be collecting fog, wind, rain, and solar data but, mostly just fog data. We are going to have a zoom meeting with the employees of both of our partners and we students will ask what data or results our partners want.
Data suggests that California will be more arid in the coming years due to climate change. During the last class session, we chose our groups and two subtopics under the broad umbrella of fog data collection and interpretation. As of September 15, 2022, we are considering two topics. The first subtopic question is, “Could fog be used for drinking water?” The second subtopic is the question, “How can the general population in these cities become enthusiastic about collecting fog in in their own yards for personal use?” My group and I will be analyzing graphs from fog data collection. My group and I will be also reading fog related articles to deepen our understanding of our project and seek answers to our questions.
The challenges I anticipate while working on this project will be, first, correctly interpreting the data in the R application. Second, I am also concerned about my work efficiency: of how long I will take to work on parts of the project. I do not want to hold up my group. Eventually, we will have to discuss how I present the portion of my project at the capstone festival. But the presentation is the least of my worries. At the beginning of the semester, I was concerned about working with fog data in R studio. At our last capstone meeting, I was reassured that I only had to know the basics of R studio. Like all hardships in life, I imagine this semester will bring challenges and I enjoy being challenged and challenging myself. I also will enjoy learning more about how to communicate professionally with our community partners and other professionals. I am looking forward to seeing how to interpret data with my group.
Blog 2: project update
September 30, 2022
My group and I have just started to get ideas for the best way for our city partners to use the fog water that they collect. My group colleagues are, Jacob Morales, Yesenia Segovia, and Chloe Meteigner. Researching my first scholarly article on fog, the literature suggest that fog water is safe for use throughout the environment. A couple of our group members are interested in using the fog water to irrigate gardens and trees and I agree with them. But I am equally interested in using the fog water in more ways. I wonder how fog water could be used for the benefit of the community. For instance, what kinds of agricultural practices are being utilized in these cities or entities whom we are collaborating with? Can recycled water, fog water, and graywater be considered synonymous? According to Pacifica north pulse fog graph site, Pacifica had significant fog events. As a result, this water could be used for a multitude of purposes, including watering gardens. Although our class and our groups have great ideas about how to use fog water, we need to follow how our community partners, or the general community want to use the fog water for.
We will collect and analyze data from each of the three fog collector sites through a data website called Zentra. By using the fog data, we can assist our city partners understand how the fog water can be valuable for many purposes and community needs. This kind of research is new to me, but I am excited for this new experience. One of my career ideas after college is working with Channelkeeper, a non-profit organization that protects watersheds, beaches, and creeks. This project would help me with analyzing data that would allow me to make professional recommendations for water conservation. Another job I would also love to work on is to help make nature trail and beaches more wheelchair accessible, combining my academic and community knowledge.
Gus Albertsen 