Remote water quality monitoring “on-line” using LEO satellites

Low Earth Orbit Satellites (LEOS) provide world-wide “nomadic” data-communication using low-cost and low-power “cellular like” equipment. LEOS allow us to also exploit those regions, which up to now were inaccessible by land-based wireless or geostationary (GEO) satellite systems. First, this paper compares satellite systems and summarizes features of the ORBCOMM LEO-system used. In the main part, a detailed report is given on a hydrogeological prototype implementation for remote water-quality monitoring: setup, obtained results, conclusions and further aspects as well as cost comparisons. As a result, LEO satellite data transmission may be a reliable low-cost alternative even to GSM-SMS for low data volume applications.