10 Dec 2025
“How is short-term pollution forecasting achieved?”
At the Suzhou Environmental Monitoring Center, a student raised this question in front of the center’s real-time monitoring screen—marking the beginning of an immersive learning experience.
On the morning of November 21, 2025, Led by Dr. Qing Mu, module leader of ENV319 Humans and Environmental Pollution, and Dr. Xueqing He, module leader of ENV312 Environmental Impact Assessment, senior students from the Department of Environmental Science, School of Science, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University visited the Jiangsu Suzhou Environmental Monitoring Center for an educational field trip.
As the center’s staff explained the layout of monitoring stations, showcased aquatic species commonly found in Suzhou, and demonstrated automated water-quality monitoring systems, students gained their first close-up encounter with the technical backbone of environmental monitoring—opening a pathway from classroom theory to hands-on understanding.
1. Entering Environmental Monitoring: From Data to Early Warning—A City’s “Red Line” of Protection
The first stop of the visit was the air-quality monitoring unit. Through real case examples, staff members presented the complete workflow of “monitoring–analysis–assessment–warning”:
• How are monitoring stations distributed across the city?
• How are pollutants collected, analyzed, and compared?
• How does monitoring support emergency response during environmental incidents?
• How does automated sampling work in practice?
Concepts previously introduced in class became concrete and clear through the detailed explanations of the center’s senior staff, along with instrument demonstrations, charts, and operational workflows. Students gained insights into:
• The major responsibilities of environmental monitoring
• Seasonal monitoring priorities
• The challenges of monitoring water quality in Suzhou’s complex water network
• The emergence of new pollution sources, such as noise pollution, driven by social development
Following the briefing, students engaged in a lively Q&A session, asking about the feasibility of pollution forecasting, practical challenges in real-world monitoring, and the future potential of automated prediction and early-warning systems. The staff addressed each question patiently and praised the students’ curiosity and engagement.
Environmental monitoring, students realized, is no longer an abstract classroom topic—
It is a city’s lifeline, safeguarded by technical precision and dedicated monitoring professionals.
2. Exploring the Ecological Monitoring Unit: Watching “Small Worlds” in Operation
In the ecological monitoring section, staff members shared research outputs by first introducing the distribution of more than thirty butterfly species found across Jiangsu Province, using specimens and diagrams to explain how different species serve as indicators of habitat quality and environmental change.
Students then visited the center’s simulated ecological system, where the staff introduced its key features: microbial cycling, simulated sunlight, artificial rainfall, and controlled airflow. The system integrates aquatic, terrestrial, and wetland plants, as well as zooplankton, benthic organisms, and fish species from different regions of China—demonstrating both micro-environmental stability and the diversity and complexity of ecological processes.
Next, students observed rows of transparent tanks filled with aquatic plants commonly found in Suzhou’s rivers and Lake Taihu, such as Ottelia alismoides and Characeae. Under suspended lighting systems, water plants swayed gently while fish and shrimp moved through the tanks—forming miniature, observable ecosystems.
Staff members explained how these systems support ecological monitoring:
• Plant responses to environmental changes
• The use of constructed wetlands for aquatic ecosystem restoration
• Key indicators and experimental methods in urban water-body assessment
Students gathered around the tanks to take notes, photograph plant structures, and ask questions about experimental controls and ecological indicators.
Concepts like “ecosystem cycles” and “indicator species”, once confined to lecture slides, became visible, tangible, and interactive.
3. Entering the Analytical Laboratory: The Technical Backbone of Reliable Data
In the analytical laboratory, students witnessed the essential role of modern automated instruments in water-quality monitoring.
Unlike traditional laboratories with heavy reliance on manual handling, the automated lab significantly reduces human intervention—enabling high-throughput sample processing to meet Suzhou’s monitoring demands while minimizing human error.
Automated water-sample analyzers processed samples in batches. Mechanical arms transported vials along the conveyor system, while upstream instruments automatically carried out mixing, extraction, and analysis. Staff members demonstrated the complete workflow—from sample pre-treatment to total nitrogen measurement.
Students observed the procedures attentively and asked detailed questions about water-pollution indicators and analytical accuracy. Staff members provided clear explanations of the technical requirements and validation processes involved.
Through the visit, students understood that:
Every reliable data point is built upon strict protocols and repeated verification.
4. Ecological Protection Exhibition Hall: Understanding the Breadth of Environmental Governance
The final stop of the field trip was the Ecological Protection Exhibition Hall. Themes such as sponge-city design, electromagnetic radiation, waste decomposition, and resource recycling were presented through models, posters, and interactive displays. Students revisited common environmental topics from daily life—this time through a scientific and visual lens.
From Classroom to Reality: A Field-Based Learning Experience That Made Knowledge “Three-Dimensional”
The field trip to the Suzhou Environmental Monitoring Center served as a bridge between theory and application.
Through observation, questioning, discussion, and hands-on engagement, students gained firsthand understanding that:
• Environmental monitoring relies on data, technology, and responsibility
• Ecological research requires careful observation of complex life processes
• Environmental impact assessment is closely linked to urban governance
• Environmental issues affect—and are affected by—everyone’s daily actions
More than a course activity, the visit was a transformative learning experience, enabling knowledge to grow beyond textbooks and into lived understanding.
（Written by: School of Science, Department of Health and Environmental Sciences）
10 Dec 2025