Grantee Research Project Results
2006 Progress Report: Development of Alternative Approaches to Assessing the Impact of Pollutants on Environmental Systems: Part 2: Management of Environmental Quality in Urban Watershed Ecosystems
EPA Grant Number: CR830912Title: Development of Alternative Approaches to Assessing the Impact of Pollutants on Environmental Systems: Part 2: Management of Environmental Quality in Urban Watershed Ecosystems
Investigators: Driscoll, Charles T. , Effler, Steven W.
Institution: Syracuse University , Upstate Freshwater Institute, Inc.
EPA Project Officer: Packard, Benjamin H
Project Period: June 27, 2003 through June 30, 2007 (Extended to June 28, 2009)
Project Period Covered by this Report: June 27, 2006 through June 30, 2007
Project Amount: $2,993,493
RFA: Targeted Research Grant (2002) Recipients Lists
Research Category: Targeted Research
Objective:
Syracuse University (SU), in collaboration with Upstate Freshwater Institute, the New York Indoor Environmental Quality (NYIEQ) Center, Tetra Tech, Smith College, Cornell University, and the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation (ALSC), is conducting an interdisciplinary research program strategically targeted at developing the fundamental science and enabling technologies and technology transfer pathways for intelligent environmental quality systems (i-EQS) appropriate for aquatic ecosystems. Such systems would integrate advances in monitoring and modeling to yield dramatic improvements in information available for decisionmaking concerning the management and control of water quality in a variety of aquatic ecosystems, including urban and forested settings that are subjected to multiple disturbances.
The research program takes a unified approach to develop i-EQS that will monitor and improve environmental quality across a broader range of spatial and temporal scales than are possible with current approaches. Central to our vision is the coupling of monitoring activities with models through intelligent control and data management. By linking monitoring with modeling it is possible to obtain insight on the role of disturbances in regulating the structure and function of ecosystems and the interactions of multiple disturbances. The approach is being applied to two distinct aquatic ecosystems: the Seneca River watershed in Central New York, which is a predominately urban ecosystem, and the Adirondack region of New York, which is predominately forested. For each ecosystem, the objectives of the research project are to: (1) develop reliable quantitative and timely information concerning water quality status; (2) improve scientific understanding of the processes and drivers that regulate water quality and ecological conditions; and (3) develop models that effectively integrate the scientific understanding of ecosystems and monitoring information to provide a quantitative representation of processes and their interactions, as well as reliable predictions. For the Seneca River ecosystem, we are investigating the interactions of elevated nutrient inputs (from domestic waste and agricultural activities), industrial wastes, and the invasion of zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha), an exotic bivalve. For the Adirondack region, our research is focused on the deposition and cycling of mercury within a lake and forest ecosystem that is representative of the numerous lakes in this region, including the interactions between atmospheric deposition of mercury and strong acids with the bioaccumulation of mercury in fish.
Progress Summary:
Seneca River Ecosystem
Urban areas, with their dense populations and concentrated industrial activities, place great demands and stress on proximate aquatic resources and ecosystems. Associated waste discharges require adequate assimilative capacity in receiving waters. Surface waters serving as water supplies for these urban areas represent proximate striking contrasts. The pressure of ever-increasing growth and associated needs to maximize utilization and protection of our urban aquatic resources requires innovations in monitoring, information transfer and dissemination, and mathematical modeling. In response to these needs, we envision an intelligent urban environmental system (i-UES) that monitors water quality of an array of aquatic systems within an urban ecosystem and supports control decisions for the use of these resources while protecting ecosystem and human health. The i-UES would include: (1) a network of robotic water quality monitoring units deployed in both water supply surface waters and receiving waters; (2) near-real-time (NRT) data delivery, analysis, and model forecasting capabilities; and (3) a robust communication system linking sensor and model output to automated control sites or resource managers to support actions. The capabilities of the i-UES can be expanded where the results of related process studies are available. The overall goal of the research is to advance an i-UES for an urban network within the Seneca River watershed through the development, testing, and implementation of a robotic monitoring network, a related data transfer system and mathematical models, the conduct support process studies and limnological analyses, and the demonstration of NRT modeling.
Robotic Monitoring Network. Robotic monitoring platforms have successfully collected important water quality information on components of this study network and delivered the data, in NRT, to an array of stakeholders at http://www.ourlake.org Exit . These activities have served to: (1) educate the public; (2) provide key information to managers; (3) advance the protocols for maintenance and operation of robotic monitoring networks; and (4) demonstrate the attributes of the robotic platforms for addressing research issues related to the functioning of aquatic ecosystems. Research and ecosystem management capabilities documented in the peer-reviewed literature that integrated the robots have addressed: (1) the impacts of zebra mussel metabolism on the water quality of a river; (2) the diagnostic value of robotic monitoring of turbidity in a polluted lake; (3) the utility of a reference lake to assess progress for a lake targeted for rehabilitation; and (4) the effective integration of robots into a “dual discharge scheme” that would allow temporal variation of the point of waste discharge.
Mathematical Models. Mathematical models are being developed to serve as quantitative predictive tools to support research activities and management applications. Models serve to integrate multi-disciplinary information and test our understanding of ecosystems and processes. A two-dimensional hydrodynamic model has been set up and is undergoing testing for four lakes of the study network: (1) Onondaga, (2) Otisco, (3) Skaneateles, and (4) Owasco. These models are invaluable in simulation of transport processes (e.g., conservative analyses of spill-response) and can serve as the physical/transport submodels for water quality models. Modeling analyses were conducted (documented in a peer-reviewed journal manuscript) with existing frameworks to evaluate an innovative alternative for the discharge of domestic waste from the metropolitan Syracuse area that involves seasonal variations in discharge to Onondaga Lake and the Seneca River. Additionally, a two-dimensional dynamic surface wave model (Donelan/Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory) has been set up and successfully tested against direct measurements of wave pressure. The tested model was applied to the sediment resuspension issue for the southwest corner of Onondaga Lake where the in-lake waste deposit from the Superfund site is located. The predicted dynamics of wave-induced shear stress were found to be significantly positively correlated with direct measurements of sediment resuspension, supportive of certain elements of the agreed-to cleanup plan.
Remote Sensing. To advance the development of mechanistic approaches for remote sensing for inland waters, the research team has focused on partitioning the contributions of various constituents to light absorption and scattering and assessment of the related emergent light flux signatures. These efforts have addressed several of the network systems and have yielded insights on optical characteristics. The study systems have been found to represent a rich range with respect to magnitudes and dynamics in these optical features. A related manuscript documented the dominant role minerogenic particles play in regulating the large differences in light scattering observed among the study systems. This work reported a breakthrough in the characterization of particle size distributions, indicating previous studies had overrepresented the role of submicron particles.
Process Studies and Limnological Analyses. Mercury fluxes to three of the network lakes have been assessed through a combination of mercury and lead-210 analyses of sediment cores. The recently reported (peer-reviewed publication) findings demonstrated a range of anthropogenic effects: two lakes demonstrated increases from land use effects, whereas all were affected by regional atmospheric inputs. Paleolimnological analyses of Otisco Lake depicted increased sedimentation rates starting in the early 1900s, shifts in the contributions of inorganic carbon (e.g., calcite) to sedimentation, and the effect of application of copper sulfate as an algicide.
Sixteen years of archived sediment trap collections have been processed and are undergoing various chemical analyses that will extend the overall record of downward flux of an array of constituents to approximately 25 years—the longest known continuous deposition (from traps) record. The major changes in related drivers over this period offer a unique opportunity to identify and quantify cause and affect relationships for this fundamental limnological process, a key feature of the cycling of many important constituents.
The utility of zebra mussels as a biological monitor of mercury is under evaluation, through the analysis of collections from mercury impacted and three reference lakes within the urban network. Collections were made in Oneida, Skaneateles, Otisco, and Onondaga lakes. Tissue concentrations were the highest by far in contaminated Onondaga Lake. However, the second highest levels were in Skaneateles Lake, the most oligotrophic of the network study lakes. Related analyses and interpretations continue, and the salient findings will be published in the peer-reviewed literature.
Adirondack Ecosystem
Mercury cycling in lake-watershed ecosystems involves the interactions of complex biogeochemical processes. Recent studies have indicated that the concentrations of mercury in water and fish are strongly influenced by atmospheric deposition of mercury and strong acids and the geochemical and biological processes occurring in lakes and their surrounding watersheds. Several mechanisms may contribute to the linkage between the enrichment of fish mercury and atmospheric deposition. Sulfate inputs may enhance conversion of inorganic mercury methylation by sulfate-reducing bacteria. Acidification may decrease lake biological productivity, resulting in higher concentrations of mercury in aquatic biota. Finally, increases in concentrations of dissolved organic carbon may increase binding of inorganic mercury and/or methyl mercury, thereby decreasing bioavailability of mercury. We envision that these processes affect the response of fish mercury concentrations to recent and future declines in atmospheric mercury and strong acid deposition within remote watersheds.
The research objective is to evaluate the response of fish mercury to changes in atmospheric deposition of mercury and strong acids by investigating mercury in lake-watersheds in the Adirondack region of New York and applying a complex mercury biogeochemical cycling model. Detailed mercury cycling studies of atmospheric mercury deposition and fate have been conducted at two intensive lake-watersheds in the Adirondacks, with a primary focus on the Arbutus Lake watershed at Huntington Forest, New York. Sunday Lake water chemical parameters differ from that of Arbutus Lake, providing a comparison of the effects of water chemistry on watershed mercury flux. These studies have included investigation of upland flux processes and watershed fate, including an assessment of event flux. The upland study involves a characterization of atmospheric mercury deposition, throughfall, plant leaf tissue and litter, soil and soil solutions, and evasive flux. Investigation of watershed flux process involved an extensive wetland porewater and surface water sampling in addition to soil, vegetation, and evasive flux analysis. Mercury dynamics were also assessed within each lake. Event sampling was also conducted to assess their influence on mercury flux processes. Field experimentation was conducted over a 2-year period, ending in August 2006.
Mercury accumulated in plant leaf tissue over the growing season, with concentrations varying by species. Litterfall constituted the primary annual input to upland forest soils, approximately double the throughfall input. Litter decomposition studies, supported by soil and soil water depth profile results, suggested that mercury largely remained in the surficial soil layer. Soil water drainage mercury losses, as determined through model estimation, were low, with concentrations of total mercury and methyl mercury near the analytical detection limit. Evasive mercury flux dominated the ecosystem losses, demonstrating the importance of understanding temporal variability in assessing upland flux processes.
Within the watershed study, wetlands strongly influenced mercury flux, particularly for methyl mercury, relative to that for the upland stream. Porewater collected within the wetland exhibited high mercury concentrations, particularly for the methyl mercury. Dissolved organic carbon and sulfate influenced stream and porewater concentrations of mercury species with wetland waters demonstrating seasonal effects. As in the upland ecosystem, evasive flux was dependent on environmental conditions, particularly incident radiation and temperature, reinforcing the temporal dependence of measurement. Event results demonstrated the importance of flow conditions on sampling time, as flux increased substantially for elevated discharge conditions relative to base conditions. Dissolved organic carbon and total suspended solids were both important drivers for increasing mercury flux. However, volume-weighted methyl mercury concentrations increased only for the upland watershed, demonstrating the importance of hydrologic conditions on mercury flux. Results from these detailed studies continue to be interpreted.
In this research we seek to apply the understanding developed from the intensive studies of lake-watershed ecosystems to sites throughout the Adirondack region. This initiative involves a resurvey of 26 lakes for concentrations of mercury in the water column and fish that were previously surveyed in 1993. For each of the 26 resurveyed lakes, patterns of water column mercury species and fish mercury are being analyzed to evaluate if changes in lake concentrations of mercury species or fish mercury have occurred. Levels of total mercury in fish tissue also varied according to the lake surveyed. In general, preliminary data from the nine lakes resampled in 2005 and analyzed for fish tissue thus far show a net decline in total mercury in age classes 1-7 years since 1993. However, total mercury content increased for 8- to 9-year-old fish. Such differences demonstrate the importance of examining the connection between deposition and bioaccumulation within fish. Lake-watershed characteristics, including food web links, affect the response of each individual ecosystem to the recent declines in atmospheric strong acid and mercury deposition. A better understanding of the actual response of fish in the Adirondacks to declines in mercury and strong acid deposition will be gained as the project progresses and all 26 lakes have been resurveyed and analyzed.
Sampling has been completed at the 26 lakes and watersheds. However, data continue to be analyzed. In addition, we are mapping six of these resurveyed lakes to define watershed characteristics and potential hydrologic flowpaths, as well as to sample and analyze atmospheric deposition, foliage, soils, wetlands, and lake water to determine pool sizes, concentrations, and speciation of mercury. We are also applying the Mercury Cycling Model for Headwater Drainage Lakes (MCM-HD) to the subset of resurveyed lake-watersheds. These sites are characterized by a range of biological, physical, and geochemical characteristics that have exhibited decreases in atmospheric deposition of Hg and strong acids. Rigorous uncertainty analysis will allow us to quantify the impact of limited data availability and put bounds on model results. Finally, we are developing an auto-calibration capability for the MCM-HD model that will allow for application of the model to lake-watersheds.
Future Activities:
Seneca River Ecosystem
Testing of hydrodynamic models is continuing for network systems and development of water quality submodels is underway for Onondaga Lake. Appropriate data sets for driving the water quality submodel are being configured and reviewed. Testing of the water quality submodel will commence in this next year. Applications of the models to test the understanding of the system and to provide management insights will follow successful testing.
Analyses of optical measurements from the network will continue, with a special focus on coupling the underwater light field and emergent flux. We expect our analyses to yield broadly applicable insights on the potential for remote sensing to resolve an array of constituents in time within individual systems, and between different inland waters.
Paleolimnological analysis of Otisco Lake, including the effects of various anthropogenic drivers, is continuing. Chemical analyses of the archived sediment trap samples for Onondaga Lake will be completed this year and will be followed by a detailed analysis of changes in deposition and the responsible drivers. Trends will be considered in the context of their significance with respect to ongoing rehabilitation efforts for the lake. Analyses of mercury concentration data for zebra tissue will continue to assess the utility of this invader for biomonitoring of this contaminant and the level of contamination of the study systems.
We will continue to disseminate the findings of this ongoing research to stakeholders and other researchers. In particular, related manuscripts will continue to be prepared for peer-reviewed professional publication.
Adirondack Ecosystem
Our field measurements of mercury dynamics at Huntington Forest and Sunday Lake watershed will be completed in October 2006 with the final evasion measurements. We envision that this coming year we will complete fieldwork for the fish survey and laboratory analysis for all phases. The mercury mass balances for the upland plots, the Archer Creek watershed, and Arbutus Lake will be updated using the remaining data. The resulting mass balance study will reveal mercury cycling patterns and processes in an upland wetland-lake ecosystem. Previous mass balance studies of mercury either did not consider evasion losses of mercury or calculated as this flux fraction of input to the land and water surfaces. Direct and continuous measurement of this output pathway will improve our understanding of mercury dynamics. The output from this study can be integrated with other studies on mercury cycling, and the generalized conclusions can be applied on a broader scale to the Adirondack region as a whole, to accomplish the objectives of this project. In addition, we will continue with model analysis. The MCM-HD model will be applied to each of the six watersheds selected for additional study in order to compare patterns of mercury deposition and cycling across the Adirondacks. Separate Monte Carlo analyses will be conducted for Sunday Lake watershed and Arbutus Pond using MCM-HD and for each of the extensive lake-watershed sites. The results of these simulations will be analyzed to assess the importance of individual parameters, the mutual contribution of different sets of parameters to model outcomes, and the role of different sets of parameters on model uncertainty.
Finally, we will conduct data analysis and publish our results in peer-reviewed journals.
Journal Articles on this Report : 1 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
Other project views: | All 47 publications | 18 publications in selected types | All 18 journal articles |
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Type | Citation | ||
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Effler SW, O'Donnell DM, Peng F, Prestigiacomo AR, Perkins MG, Driscoll CT. Use of robotic monitoring to assess turbidity patterns in Onondaga Lake, NY. Lake and Reservoir Management 2006;22(3):199-212. |
CR830912 (2006) CR830912 (2008) |
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Supplemental Keywords:
robotic monitoring, zebra mussels, nutrient dynamics, eutrophication, modeling, paleolimnology, mercury, atmospheric deposition,, RFA, Scientific Discipline, Water, Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Water & Watershed, Hydrology, Monitoring/Modeling, Environmental Monitoring, Ecology and Ecosystems, Watersheds, ecosystem modeling, model-based analysis, monitoring, watershed, near real time modeling, modeling, integrated watershed model, water quality, robotic monitoring, ecology assessment models, watershed assessment, ecological models, intellegent environment control system, real-time monitoringRelevant Websites:
http://www.ecs.syr.edu/faculty/driscoll/biocomplexity/index.asp Exit
http://www.ourlake.org Exit
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.