Will Ohio's Lake Erie strategy work? Answers won't come soon
Ohio's attempt at slowing down the toxic algae turning Lake Erie green hinges on a plan that some environmental groups say relies too much on voluntary programs and lacks the sense of urgency needed to...
View ArticleImage: Southern Tibetan Plateau captured by Sentinel-2A
The southern-central edge of the Tibetan Plateau near the border with western Nepal and the Indian state of Sikkim is pictured in this Sentinel-2A image from 1 February 2016.
View ArticleResearch shows perennials would reduce nutrient runoff to the Gulf of...
A new study from an Iowa State University agronomist shows that an increase in perennial bioenergy grasses throughout the Corn Belt would lead to a significant reduction in nitrogen moving down the...
View ArticleModeling choices and the effects of water runoff on plant productivity
The starting point often changes the finish. A team led by researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory modeled runoff, that is, water's movement over the land surface and through the...
View ArticleTrading farmland for nitrogen protection
Excess nitrogen from agricultural runoff can enter surface waters with devastating effects. Algal blooms and fish kills are a just a couple of possible consequences. But riparian buffer zones - areas...
View ArticleStudy reveals hidden pollution exchange between oceans and groundwater
Researchers have uncovered previously hidden sources of ocean pollution along more than 20 percent of America's coastlines.
View ArticleMillions at risk from rising water pollution: UN
Increasingly polluted rivers in Africa, Asia and Latin America pose a disease risk to more than 300 million people and threaten fisheries and farming in many countries, a UN report warned Tuesday.
View ArticleProtecting streams that feed Lake Erie will take much work, study finds
While current efforts to curtail agricultural runoff will improve the health of Lake Erie, much more work will be needed to protect the streams that feed the lake, new research shows.
View ArticleTeam to test experimental floating marshland
A relatively low-tech method of imitating a natural marshland may help clean freshwater ponds contaminated by storm water runoff, according to research being funded by St. Tammany Parish Government in...
View ArticleNew research offers insights into managing agricultural runoff and coastal...
A study published today in Ecology Letters adds to a growing body of work examining the relationship between harmful algal blooms in the Gulf of Mexico and agricultural runoff. The article focuses on...
View ArticleRainfall variation complicates nitrogen runoff management
New research from two Carnegie scientists has serious implications for the development of management strategies to reduce nutrient runoff in waterways and coastal areas.
View ArticleStudy shows many lakes getting murkier, but gives hope for improvement
A study of more than 5,000 Wisconsin lakes shows that nearly a quarter of them have become murkier in the past two decades. It also shows this trend could get worse as a changing climate leads to...
View ArticlePublic willing to pay to reduce toxic algae—but maybe not enough
Scientists have found good strategies for curbing the toxic algae blooms that have threatened some of the nation's water supplies. Farmers are willing to adopt these strategies. The American public is...
View ArticleColorado's 834 million dead trees threaten to worsen fires (Update)
Colorado's beetle-infested forests are peppered with an estimated 834 million standing dead trees that threaten to worsen wildfires and degrade vital water supplies that flow from mountains, officials...
View ArticleVideo: The farm of the future?
There's a new trend in agriculture called vertical farming. As humans learned to farm, we arranged plants outside in horizontal fields, and invented irrigation and fertilizer to grow bumper crops.
View ArticleStudy quantifies effect of 'legacy phosphorus' in reduced water quality
For decades, phosphorous has accumulated in Wisconsin soils. Though farmers have taken steps to reduce the quantity of the agricultural nutrient applied to and running off their fields, a new study...
View ArticleA better way to manage phosphorus?
All living things - from bacteria and fungi to plants and animals - need phosphorus. But extra phosphorus in the wrong place can harm the environment. For example, when too much phosphorus enters a...
View ArticleComputer model to help water resource managers reduce damage in cases of...
Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are a biologically-inspired method of computing that can receive large amounts of data, find patterns, learn from them and then develop predictions for future events....
View ArticleWarmer temperatures cause decline in key runoff measure
Since the mid-1980s, the percentage of precipitation that becomes streamflow in the Upper Rio Grande watershed has fallen more steeply than at any point in at least 445 years, according to a new study...
View ArticleOne way to promote green infrastructure in your city
Natural assets – "green infrastructure"– can provide communities with invaluable ecosystem services that clean our air, filter our water, mitigate natural disasters and improve our quality of life.
View ArticleInjecting manure instead of spreading on surface reduces estrogen loads
With water quality in the Chesapeake Bay suffering from excess nutrients and fish populations in rivers such as the Susquehanna experiencing gender skewing and other reproductive abnormalities,...
View ArticleStudy finds no-tillage not sufficient alone to prevent water pollution from...
A new IUPUI study funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture answers a long-debated agricultural question: whether no-tillage alone is sufficient to prevent water pollution from nitrate. The answer...
View ArticleForest grazing counteracts the effectiveness of trees to reduce flood risk
Planting trees can reduce flood risk, but a high intensity forest land use, such as grazing, can counteract the positive effect of the trees, a recently published study suggests.
View ArticleA rainstorm generator assesses watershed rainfall under climate change...
The Colorado River tumbles through varied landscapes, draining watersheds from seven western states. This 1,450-mile-long system is a critical water supply for agriculture, industry and municipalities...
View ArticleSave stormwater at home with a veggie raingarden
After a storm, millions of litres of water wash off our roofs and roads into stormwater drains. This causes large flows of stormwater into local waterways, damaging these ecosystems.
View ArticleFarm runoff and the worsening algae plague
Harmful algae blooms have become a top water polluter, fueled by fertilizers washing into lakes, streams and oceans. Federal and state programs have spent billions of dollars on cost-sharing payments...
View ArticleAlgae plague raises doubts about voluntary runoff prevention
Competing in a bass fishing tournament two years ago, Todd Steele cast his rod from his 21-foot motorboat—unaware that he was being poisoned.
View ArticleReducing phosphorus runoff
Throughout the United States, toxic algal blooms are wreaking havoc on bodies of water, causing pollution and having harmful effects on people, fish and marine mammals.
View ArticleResearch outlines the interconnected benefits of urban agriculture
From a vacant plot in a blighted neighborhood springs neatly combed rows of plants put in by the neighbors. They meticulously care for this small piece of land and among the drab looking buildings...
View ArticleSo much depends on a tree guard
In a big city, trees, like people, like their space. In a new study, researchers at Columbia University found that street trees protected by guards that stopped passersby from trampling the surrounding...
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