Updates to the NARS Data Extraction Tool for 2022

This presentation provides an update to the status of an existing tool for the National Aquatic Resource Surveys (NARS). This R Shiny application allows crews that have saved copies of the JSON data files submitted to NARS IM from a mobile iPad app to extract the data from these files. The crew can then save the extracted data to a spreadsheet format and even create a basic field visit summary. Updates to the app allow crews to extract data for the National Wetlands Condition Assessment of 2021 and the National Lakes Assessment for 2022. 

Impact/Purpose

Field crews that collect data for the National Aquatic Resource Surveys (NARS) use a mobile app developed for use on iPads. To submit the data to NARS Information Management (IM), where data are stored, an email with the data in the form of .JSON files (one for each form in the app) is sent to a central EPA NARS IM email address. Most field crews split the work between two iPads, so no single iPad contains all the data for a site. Though crews can still view the data in the mobile app after submission, many expressed an interest in being able to examine the data for the whole site visit in a spreadsheet format, because multiple iPads are typically used the collect the data from a single site visit. The NARS Data Extraction Tool is a publicly accessible web application developed using R Shiny code to allow NARS field crews to extract and save the data they have submitted from a NARS mobile application. It also allows the user to create a simple summary of field activities that can be provided to landowners after sampling. This presentation on updates to the tool will remind potential users of its availability. 

Citation

Blocksom, K. Updates to the NARS Data Extraction Tool for 2022. NARS National Workshop, NA, Virtual, April 05 - 07, 2022.