Lake Environmental Data Harvester (LED) for Alpine Lake Monitoring with Autonomous Surface Vehicles (ASVs)

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The paper "LED - Lake Environmental Data-harvester: Towards Alpine Lake Monitoring with Autonomous Surface Vehicles (ASV)" may have several key issues:

 

Lack of Empirical Results: The paper details the design and implementation of the LED system but fails to present a detailed analysis or results of data collected during field tests. This makes it challenging to assess the system's effectiveness and reliability.

 

Practicality and Mobility Issues: The weight of the SWAMP ASV and the complex assembly/disassembly process could pose significant difficulties for use in areas with limited access, such as high-altitude regions. This is a crucial consideration for the system's field applicability.

 

Lack of Analysis on Technical Challenges and Limitations: The paper lacks a critical analysis of the technical challenges and limitations faced during the development and deployment of the system. Factors such as system stability in extreme weather conditions, data accuracy, and maintenance requirements are not sufficiently addressed.

 

Lack of Discussion on Sustainability and Environmental Impact: The sustainability aspects, such as the energy consumption of the LED system and the environmental footprint of deploying such systems in natural environments, are not adequately considered.

 

Absence of a Long-term Development Direction and Roadmap: There is no clear plan or roadmap presented for the long-term potential development of the system, particularly on how to achieve portability and lightweight for monitoring in high-altitude areas.

 

Addressing these issues would require further research and development, with a particular emphasis on empirical data analysis based on real-world testing results.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

There is no problem.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

We appreciated your valuable comments and suggestions on our manuscript. Enclosed within the attached document, you will find our responses addressing each of your points.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Best regards,

The Authors

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The system described in this paper is basically complete, but lacks content on data analysis and disturbance detection. It is recommended to add more.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Moderate editing of English language required.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

We appreciated your valuable comments and suggestions on our manuscript. Enclosed within the attached document, you will find our responses addressing each of your points.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Best regards,

The Authors

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The article is devoted to a detailed description of an automated monitoring system based on a surface drone. In general, the content of the article corresponds to the profile of the journal, and the scientific and technical level of the research performed is at a high level.

Suggestions for improving the article:

Sections not directly related to development can be shortened (3.7, 3.9, 3.10). Instead, it is better to add the results of full-scale tests of the system.

The intersection of lines in Figure 4 should be removed (from Apache and Argos to Network Daemon)

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

We appreciated your valuable comments and suggestions on our manuscript. Enclosed within the attached document, you will find our responses

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Best regards,

The Authors

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 4 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Hello.

Devices of this type are in great demand nowadays due to their use for monitoring the state of the environment, including for assessing the state of phytoplankton. Since the problem of eutrophication of water bodies around the world is currently acute.

My personal opinion, it would be possible to write an article on the use of this type not only for Alpine Lakes, but in general for any reservoirs.

In future work, I would like to see the use of such tools unified for different tasks, including the collection of biological samples.

Thank you and creative achievments.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

We appreciated your valuable comments and suggestions on our manuscript. Enclosed within the attached document, you will find our responses

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Best regards,

The Authors

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 5 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The manuscript describes the design of a portable robotic platform for monitoring remote Alpine lakes. The manuscript in general is well written. I however would like the authors to address further the following issues:

1. What are the new unique features of the LED system in comparison to existing system? 

2. Is the LED system cost-effective in comparison to traditional monitoring approaches?

3. Has the LED system been in practical operation or tested? Or, is it under conceptual design? I expect to see data collected by the system, and quality of the data as compared against traditional observation facilities. 

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

We appreciated your valuable comments and suggestions on our manuscript. Enclosed within the attached document, you will find our responses

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Best regards,

The Authors

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf