{"id":652,"date":"2024-10-09T06:32:34","date_gmt":"2024-10-09T06:32:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/castco.wpenginepowered.com\/?post_type=ht_kb&#038;p=652"},"modified":"2025-04-16T16:47:27","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T16:47:27","slug":"mudspotter","status":"publish","type":"ht_kb","link":"https:\/\/castco.org\/knowledge-base\/mudspotter\/","title":{"rendered":"Method audit: Mud Spotter"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Overview of Mud Spotter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Mud or fine sediment entering river systems in excessive quantities can lead to serious problems for aquatic ecosystems by smothering and clogging coarser sediments, depleting the oxygen supply for aquatic organisms, and often binding with toxic or undesirable substances. Widespread concerns about the deterioration in ecological condition linked to fine sediments or mud entering sensitive rivers and streams have highlighted this as a physical pressure in many water environments together and a major gap in knowledge about mud sources and pathways. The Mud Spotter survey and tool provide a simple app-based methodology for volunteer citizen scientists and professionals to record the sources and pathways of mud being transported into rivers during or shortly after rainfall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"563\" height=\"353\" data-src=\"https:\/\/castco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/mudspotter.jpg\" alt=\"Diagram showing exposed mud locations. e.g. disturbed bank face, overland flow, ditch, pipe, culvert.\" class=\"wp-image-2776 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/castco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/mudspotter.jpg 563w, https:\/\/castco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/mudspotter-50x31.jpg 50w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 563px) 100vw, 563px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 563px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 563\/353;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Mud Spotter allows the rapid recording of water and fine sediment inputs from individual runoff sources such as culverts, pipes, ditches, overland flow pathways and eroding riverbanks. It allows inputs from these mud sources to be monitored as they respond to rainfall events and to be mapped along individual reaches of the river. In this way, Mud Spotter complements other Water Quality recording activities and allows surveyors to input, view, interrogate and export data. It also forms part of a modular approach to monitoring the physical characteristics of rivers, helping to explain their sedimentary structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignleft size-thumbnail\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" data-src=\"https:\/\/castco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/castco-purpose-all-150x150.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2738 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 150px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 150\/150;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/castco.org\/knowledge-base\/monitoring-purpose\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"570\" height=\"444\" data-src=\"https:\/\/castco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/castco-tier-012.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2735 lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 570px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 570\/444;width:193px;height:auto\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/castco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/castco-tier-012.png 570w, https:\/\/castco.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/castco-tier-012-50x39.png 50w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 570px) 100vw, 570px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Suitability for monitoring purposes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Monitoring purpose category<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Likely tier(s)<\/strong> <em><a href=\"https:\/\/castco.org\/resources\/overview-of-monitoring-methods\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">What&#8217;s this?<\/a><\/em><\/td><td><strong>Suitability<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Engagement: Education and raising awareness<\/td><td>0-1<\/td><td>\u2713<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Surveillance: Ecosystem health screening<\/td><td>1 (2)<\/td><td>\u2713<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Investigation: Helping to target further action<\/td><td>2 (3)<\/td><td>\u2713<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Evaluation: Assessing the impact of actions<\/td><td>2 (3)<\/td><td>\u2713<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Data System:<\/strong> \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/cartographer.io\/\">https:\/\/cartographer.io\/<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0Data can be recorded in Cartographer, but are\u00a0 currently only open to Mud Spotter surveyors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Cost: <\/strong>Moderate. App is available free of charge to users. Training and support available on request from Cartographer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ease of Use:<\/strong>&nbsp; There is a manual and a mobile app which guides users through the survey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Quality control:<\/strong> Local coordinators responsible for quality control<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Coverage \/ Scale:<\/strong> The scheme is available to use in UK and Ireland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Health &amp; Safety:<\/strong> Guidance manual includes health and safety guidance. The health and safety guidance is also separately downloadable from the modular river survey website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Method sponsor\/ owner \/ primary user:&nbsp; <\/strong>Cartographer Studios \/Angela Gurnell<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Weblink:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/modularriversurvey.org\/mud-spotter\/\">https:\/\/modularriversurvey.org\/mud-spotter\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Overview of Mud Spotter Mud or fine sediment entering river systems in excessive quantities can lead to serious problems for aquatic ecosystems by smothering and&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"ht-kb-category":[43],"ht-kb-tag":[],"class_list":["post-652","ht_kb","type-ht_kb","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","ht_kb_category-physical-habitat-methods"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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