Optical-based monitoring and characterization of natural water

A system for monitoring and characterizing natural waters, comprising:

• a device for characterizing natural waters, comprising:
• a waterproof housing;
• a processor enclosed by the waterproof housing;
• and
• a plurality of sensors, enclosed by the waterproof housing, wherein each sensor provides a time series of sensor data over a designated period of time, wherein each sensor measures a different characteristic of a water column, and wherein each sensor is submerged in the water column at a specific location;
• a processing device for predicting concentrations of a chemical of potential concern, comprising:
• a data storage for (1) storing the time series of sensor data received from each of the plurality of sensors, and (2) storing analytic data from a laboratory that measures a concentration of a chemical of potential concern (COPC) over the designated period of time based on samples from the water column collected at the specific location, wherein the (COPC) is a hydrophobic chemical and wherein none of the sensors in the plurality of sensors measures the concentration of the COPC;
• a processor
• a nontransitory memory, in communication with the processor, for storing instructions, which when executed by the processor, cause the device:
• to determine parameters, based on the sensor data and the analytic data, that describe a primary variance of the (COPC);
• to develop a model, based on the determined parameters, that predicts the concentration of the COPC over the designated period of time;
• to receive a time series of sensor data from the plurality of sensors, the time series of sensor data corresponding to a validation time period;
• to receive analytic data that measures the concentration of the COPC at the specific location over the validation time period;
• to run the model using the time series of sensor data corresponding to the validation time period, to predict concentrations of the COPC at the specific location over the validation time period;
• and
• to determine whether the predicted concentrations are within a threshold value when compared to the received analytic data that measure concentrations over the validation time period.