EPA-ORD’s Nutrient Research

Anne W. Rea, Ph.D.Building Science Assessments for State Nutrient Reduction StrategiesDavenport , IowaNovember 14, 2012

Office of Research and Development - Office of Water - Office of Air & Radiation – EPA Regions

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Overview

•ORD research portfolios & cross cutting areas•Nitrogen Research Roadmap•Example projects/outputs from current portfolios•MARB-NGoM case study

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ORD’s Research Programs

SAFE & SUSTAINABLE WATER RESOURCES

HOMELAND SECURITY

HUMANHEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT

AIR, CLIMATE, & ENERGY

CHEMICAL SAFETY FOR SUSTAINABILITY

SUSTAINABLE & HEALTHY

COMMUNITIES

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Cross-EPA Nitrogen Research Integration

Nitrogen Research RoadmapA one-EPA perspective on sustainable nitrogen & co-pollutant management for research planning and management

• Optimizes the uses of nitrogen• Reduces environmental & health

impacts• Maximizes the benefits to society

Implementation PlanNeeds: Variety of tools, range of scales,

cost effective & practical

•Key Question: What would be the most economically efficient, socially acceptable, and environmentally sound ways to meet air and water quality goals?

Significant reductions in reactive nitrogen loadings are necessary to meet air and water quality goals.

N Roadmap: Vision for Integration

Ecosystem Goods & Services

SocialSystems

EconomicSystems

Decisions

Stressors &

Drivers

Environmental Systems

Assessment Scenarios

Sustainability: Triple Bottom-LineEnvironmental, Economic & Social Systems

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Ecosystem Goods & Services

SocialSystems

EconomicSystems

Decisions

Stressors &

Drivers

Environmental Systems

Policy Drivers

OW, Regions, States : TMDLs

USDA: BMPs, CRP, incentives

OAR, Regions: Emission

regulations

OAQPS/OTAQ: AQ standards

OW: Safe DW criteria

OAR & OW: Cost-Benefit

Analyses

OW-OST, States:

WQ criteria

Assessment Scenarios

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N dep effects on ecosystems

Successful N policies

Ecosystem Goods & Services

SocialSystems

EconomicSystems

Decisions

Stressors &

Drivers

Environmental Systems

OW, Regions, States : TMDLs

USDA: BMPs, CRP, incentives

OAR, Regions: Emission

regulations

OW: Safe DW criteria

OAR & OW: Cost-Benefit

Analyses

OW-OST, States:

WQ criteria

Assessment Scenarios

ORD Research

Atlas and Mapping

Deposition tools

GOM nutrients & hypoxia

Link condition to EGS

Algal blooms, HHWBHealth and Well-

being Functions

Valuation Functions

EGS valuation

Air-land-water Scenario models

Life Cycle Assessment

Nutrient Mgmt Toolbox

Nutrient Removal

Technologies N mapping tools

Streams in Ag RegionsGreen

infrastructure

Narragansett Bay & Watershed

Sustainability

OAQPS/OTAQ: AQ standards

Remote Sensing Tools

Evolving Energy Landscapes

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STAR Grants

ISA for NOxSOx secondary

NAAQS

IRIS review of ammonia

ACESHC

SSWR

HHRA

N Valuation Functions model predictions

of WQ in forested watersheds

(STAR)

•Development of Numeric Nutrient Criteria & Science-Based Interpretation of Narrative Standards for Inland Waters & Downstream Estuarine and Coastal Waters

•Development of Water Quality Simulation Modeling for Managing N & P Pollution

•Ecological Processes Affecting Water Quality & Quantity

•Decision Support System for Sustainably Managing Nutrients

Sustainable Nutrient Management

Conceptual model of nutrient impaired coastal system.

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ACE

–Promote understanding of how hydrologic alteration per se creates problems in agriculture-dominated regions

– Improve modeling tools, with a focus on the role of BMPs

–Explore climate-change interactions with hydrology and BMP design

•Key client contacts:

–OW: Roberta Parry, Bob Bastian, Rachael Novak

–R6: Brian Fontenot

9 Randy Bruins

Sustaining Water Resources by Understanding & Managing Stream Hydrology in Agricultural Regions

–Conceptual models of row crop hydrologic alteration• Causal diagrams supported by literature review (à la CADDIS), showing:

Impacts (sediments, nutrients, channel erosion, flooding)

Climate change as interacting factor

Improvement strategies (BMPs, floodplain restoration)

– Improved models, with a focus on the role of BMPs• Automated system to generate screening-level TMDLs (nitrogen example)

• Improved BMP models (wetlands and riparian zones); optimized watershed placement

• Monitor, model stream channel restoration via the removal of historic mill pond sediments

• (With R7 and USGS) Monitor, model “Iowa Initiative” tile replacement and constructed treatment wetlands (pending site selection)

–National maps of climate-scenario impacts on edge-of-field hydrology and nutrients

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Sustaining Water Resources by Understanding & Managing Stream Hydrology in Agricultural Regions

Products for 2012-13•Demonstration of automated TMDL

system (NRMRL-WSWRD)•Big Spring Run stream channel

restoration: monitoring data for hydrology, nutrients, sediments (NRMRL-GWERD)

•Comparative analysis of BMP effectiveness for nutrients (NRMRL-GWERD)

•Ag hydrology conceptual models and documentation (NCEA lead)

Products for 2014-16•Watershed modeling tools for

BMPs (NRMRL-LRPCD)•National maps of edge-of-field

runoff, interflow and drainage as well as N and P losses under

selected climate change scenarios (NERL-AMAD)

•Effect of redesigned agricultural tile drains and constructed

wetlands on hydraulic loads of sediments, nutrients and stream

water quality (NRMRL-LRPCD)

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Sustaining Water Resources by Understanding & Managing Stream Hydrology in Agricultural Regions

•Informing TMDLs and nutrient management - Better tracking and mapping of nutrient inputs

•Connect N loads to Ecosystem Services and Human well-being - LCA of costs of N using accessible units

•Informing NAAQS - N impacts on biodiversity and ES, interactions with climate change

•Nutrient management research & tools - buffer placement, river and groundwater restoration

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Integrated Management of Reactive N

Jana Compton

Products for 2012-13•Map and report on N inputs to

US at several levels of resolution. 2012

•Report: Using model comparisons to reduce uncertainties in sources of nitrogen to US surface waters. 2012

•Website, database and GIS servers for monitoring and modeling data related to nutrient flux in northeastern lakes. 2012

•Report synthesizing policy and management tools for reducing nutrients. 2013

Products for 2013-2014•N‐Sink: Simple geospatial tool

for managers to describe sources and sinks of N in a

watershed. 2013• Integrated scalable framework

of response relationships between N loads and the

ecosystem goods and service production, human health and

well-being, and economic benefits functions. 2014

•Report: Sustainability and efficiency in the N cycle:

Interventions to benefit human well-being and ecosystems.

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Integrated Management of Reactive N

•Develop an online, easy-to-use decision support tool allowing users to view and analyze the geographical distribution of supply, demand, and drivers of change in ecosystem services

• Incorporate sustainability metrics related to our built environment (e.g., transportation, land use, waste and materials management, and infrastructure)

•Develop foundational data to support the development of the National Atlas

•Develop methods and metrics to populate Atlas at three primary scales: national (i.e., ~83,000 12-digit HUCs), special study areas, and high resolution analysis for selected communities (i.e., census block group).

•Develop and incorporate tools that can help decision-makers analyze impacts of alternative decisions 14

Enviro Atlas

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o Ecosystem services includes clean water for drinking, recreation, and to support aquatic habitat

o Metrics include N sources (e.g., fertilizer, atmospheric deposition, point sources, etc)

o Metrics include N sinks (e.g., wetlands, riparian habitat, trees in urban setting)

o Includes metrics related to opportunities for nutrient reduction (e.g., areas with potential for wetland restoration, areas with high retention potential and draining high source area, identification of headwater basins, stream density)

o Atlas contains foundational data useful to N modeling o All data developed as web services so can be easily integrated

in other applications; also accesses web services (e.g., Enviromapper for Water)  

Enviro Atlas: N metrics

Anne Neale

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One-Environment Model Development

•Linked modeling system connecting air, land and water elements of the N cascade that can predict impacts of emissions, deposition, land use change and climate change on air and water quality endpoint

•Coupled air and agricultural models to asses the effects of agricultural management on air and water quality

•Modeling decision support tools to evaluate sensitivity of ecosystems to nitrogen deposition under changing climate

Robin Dennis

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CMAQInput

ProcessIncorporatedIn CMAQ

CMAQNH3

Bi-DirFlux

EPIC = Environmental Policy Integrated Climate Model (USDA)A crop management model with biogeochemistry

XCMAQInput

CMAQ NH3 Flux

National Scale Fertilizer Application (USDA EPIC)Coupled to NH3 Bi-directional Air-Surface Exchange

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MARB-NGoM Case StudyMARB Domain

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MARB-NGoM Case Study

•Modeling Aspect of Project–Develop integrated capability to address MARB-NGoM hypoxia

looking across air, land, water and ocean environments to demonstrate value of air-water integration

•Objective–Connect models to provide a screening capability for multi-media

assessment of broad management activities addressing Gulf hypoxia

•Goal–Provide insights into air and water benefits of proposed broad

actions to reduce Gulf hypoxia–Considering air, water and climate impacts on services

• Air: effects on Ozone and PM2.5 human health and visibility aesthetics• Water: effects on surface water load to NGoM, groundwater NO3

-, hypoxic zone

• Climate: N2O greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture

ACE SHC SSWR

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MARB-NGoM Case StudyModel Components

AgricultureManagement

EPICRiparian Tool

CombustionSMOKE

MARKAL

Air QualityCMAQ

HydrodynamicsNavy

MeteorologyWRF

HydrologyVIC

ClimateEPA/AMAD

WRFDownscaling

HypoxiaGoMDOM

GEM

Water QualityNEWSSWAT

NOX

VOC

NH3

NDeposition

NDeposition

N2O

N,PLoad

N,P Load

ACE SHC SSWR

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MARB-NGoM Case StudyServices and End Points

AgricultureManagement

Combustion Air Quality

Hydrodynamics

Meteorology

Hydrology

Climate Hypoxia

Water Quality

NOX

VOC

NH3

NDeposition

NDeposition

N2O

N,PLoad

N,P Load

GreenhouseGas (N2O) –Climate

O3, PM2.5 -Health;Visibility -Aesthetics

Recreation -Aesthetics;GroundwaterNitrate - Health

EcosystemHealth;EconomicHealth