CLEANER and NSF's Environmental Observatories (2006) / Chapter Skim
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3 Grand Water Challenges and Research Questions
3 Grand Water Challenges and Research Questions
Pages 21-33
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. These challenges were to improve our understanding of: · biogeochemical cycles and how they may be impacted by human activities; · biological diversity and ecosystem functioning and how they are impacted by human activities; · climate variability, and how it is being altered by human activity; · hydrologic forecasting to predict changes in surface water, groundwater, sediment, and interactions with land and aquatic ecosystems; · infectious disease pathogens and their relationship with the environment, ecosystems, other pathogens, hosts/receptors, and their threats to other living organisms; · institutional impacts on human use of environmental resources; · land-use interactions with hydrology, ecology, and human welfare; and · life cycle of materials used by humanity over space and time.
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innovative engineering approaches for improving water quantity and quality management; and (3) design of CLEANER's environmental observatories.
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These three broad research areas are obvious candidates for inclusion within the proposed CLEANER environmental observatory network program. Interactions among Humans, the Environment, and Ecosystems Research Question: How can we better understand biogeochemical cycling in river and estuarine systems?
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For example, the Everglades restoration project in south Florida is essentially an existing large-scale environmental observatory in which there is a range of environmental states and ecosystem conditions. Human activities have altered many of the Everglades water regimes and landscapes.
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Questions regarding land use change that alter landscapes and affect ecosystem function include: how much does strip mining affect water quality; what is the effect of paving in urban areas on ground water recharge; and how much of the nutrient load in an estuary is caused by poultry farming? Understanding how the nation's aquatic resources and their ability to provide ecosystem services will respond to changes in climate and land use is an important, but difficult research goal.
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could be developed that would incorporate comprehensive hydrologic data into the design and operation of complex water resources systems. An IECS would allow for water flow and water quality monitoring of an urban ecosystem and would help control the use of resources to enhance and protect ecosystem function and human health.
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Assessing ecosystem condition, modeling, and process-level studies are critical components in programs of environmental research and management. Assessing ecosystem condition establishes linkages to human and ecosystem health, provides insight into watershed processes, supports development, testing, and application of mathematical models, assesses efficacy of environmental management and control efforts, and provides a vehicle to educate students and engage the public in important local environmental issues.
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Containing or removing contaminated sediments is one of the most difficult site environmental remediation issues managers face today. Management actions typically are designed to reduce or eliminate the risk of contaminated sediments to humans and the environment.
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These design features of CLEANER's environmental observatories should: 1. include multiple types of sensors for collecting comprehensive and integrated environmental data over large spatial and long temporal scales; 2.
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Integrated Data Collection and Storage The individual environmental observatories under CLEANER should be problem-oriented and hence focus on data collection relevant to current and possible future problems. As problems change, scientists and engineers face a major challenge in predicting what data should be collected today that will meet the data needs of researchers and managers in the future.
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Harnessing the value that social science can bring will require reaching out to involve and fund the social science community and to help NSF articulate why social sciences are a vital part of the observatory mission. While all environmental observatory plans call for the integration of the social sciences and biophysical sciences and data measurement and collection capabilities, this may not happen unless NSF adequately funds such activities.
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Regarding the interactions among humans, the aquatic environment, and ecosystems, a CLEANER network of observatories could undertake research to: · better understand biogeochemical cycling in river and estuarine systems and how these cycles are influenced by human activities; · understand the extent to which humans can alter their environment and its ecosystems while still sustaining desired levels of ecosystem function and determine how far humans can alter water regimes and landscapes before recovery cannot be economically achieved; and · learn how changes in climate, land cover, and land use affect water quantity and quality regimes and how those changes will impact ecosystem health and other uses of water such as for drinking, irrigation, industry, and recreation. Regarding an increased understanding and improved management of our biophysical environment, a CLEANER network of observatories could undertake research to: · improve our capabilities in hydrologic forecasting and · find solutions to existing and emerging problems involving contaminants in the environment that affect ecosystems and human health.
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Grand Water Challenges and Research Questions 33 There are also research challenges associated with the design and operation of CLEANER's environmental observatories. These include issues related to: · the use, deployment, and evaluation of multiple types of sensors for collecting comprehensive and integrated environmental data over large spatial and long temporal scales; · the development of the components of a robust and adaptable cyberinfrastructure that can link to other databases; and · the collection and use of social science data along with physical, chemical, and biological data needed to address environmental problems caused by human activities.
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