OpenOBS: Open‐source, low‐cost optical backscatter sensors for water quality and sediment‐transport research

Optical backscatter sensors (OBSs) are commonly used to measure the turbidity, or light obscuration, of water in fresh and marine environments and various industrial applications. These turbidity data are commonly calibrated to yield total suspended solids (TSS) or suspended sediment concentration (SSC) measurements for water quality, sediment transport, and diverse other research and environmental management applications. Commercial sensors generally cost > $1000–3000. Here we leveraged simple, low‐cost microprocessors, electronics, and housing components to design and construct open‐source OBSs for