Coastal Observer | SPOTTERON4.3.2 - App Store

Climate change will impact where and how humans live. As tides rise and storms intensify, humans will be forced to adapt to the changing environment and increase resiliency by learning more about local impacts of rising tides and intensified storms. The Coastal Observer App encourages citizens to become active in monitoring weather and water locally, and will help researchers build a pathway for a sustainable future.

The citizen scientists may choose from 4 activities:
1) basic environmental observations by sharing how the current setting makes you feel.
2) weather observations to document the current weather and its impacts.
3) water level to document where the water levels are and how this might impact infrastructure, life, or property.
4) water quality to document how our environment is impacted by human practices.

Observing Weather Events
Weather events can have devastating effects on local communities. Using this application, the observer can make note of stormy conditions and its associated affects. This information will be documented through photographs and user documentation.

Measuring Water Level
If there is an installed and fixed water level gauge near you, feel free to use that gauge to enter your water level. For help locating existing gauges, please visit this link. If there are no installed, fixed gauges, you can report a value from a nearby automated gauge at the time of your observation, or simply take a picture to document the water level visually. NOTE - Never attempt to measure water levels during unsafe conditions or without proper training.

Monitoring Water Quality
Users may use a Secchi Disk to make manual observations of water clarity. For more information, visit the Secchi Disk Project at www.secchidisk.org

Coastal Observer for Schools
Schools can easily include the Coastal Observer App in their curriculum. Educators can utilize the app to teach reading water levels or using a Secchi Disk to increase environmental awareness in students, while also providing the opportunity to express feelings about water and weather events.

The project runs on the SPOTTERON Citizen Science platform for participatory research and awareness building.

Version History * Platform upgrade to SPOTTERON 4.3

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* Bug fixes and improvements 4.3.2 12/12/2025 * Platform upgrade to SPOTTERON 4.3

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* Bug fixes and improvements 3.5.1 12/05/2025 * Message Boards: you can now get into conversations with others on their user profiles by posting comments or replying to answers
* Push Notifications for Comment Replies: stay informed by receiving a push message when someone posts a reply to you
* New, improved look of your User Profile and Spot Collection
* New Parental/Guardian Consent System for youth participation
* Bug fixes and improvements 3.5.0 12/29/2022 * Updated observation input dialogue
* Mention other users in comments by writing @Username. The person mentioned receives a notification in the news feed.
* Make text stand out by writing something in bold or * something * in italics.
* New Data Visualization Interface: heat map view & dot map view of the data.
* New button for easier spot updates and nearby spot suggestions
* Detection of existing metadata (time and place) in photos when uploading them from your photo album for use in the spot.
* Bug fixes and improvements. 3.0.4 11/24/2021 * New: It’s now possible to add the Water Level Value and Vertical Datum to a fixed gauge
* New blocking feature: you can now block unwanted user-generated content and users you don’t wish to engage with
* New button feature to update Spots more easily
* Bug fixes and minor language changes 2.9.2 05/13/2021 • Validated data: the administrators can now set your observation to "checked" and build a validated data set for scientific research directly in the app
• Event improvement: events like workshops or community meet-ups are longer visible on the map
• Bugfixes and minor improvements 2.9.1 12/06/2019 Hotfix Update for Login Bug 2.8.1 10/12/2019 * Event component: the project can put events and workshops on the map
* Spot filter improvement
* New pollution observation types
* More information about the Secchi Disc methode
* Bugfixes and minor updates 2.8.0 10/08/2019 2.7.2 08/07/2019