Integrating research and outreach education from UMass Amherst
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This project utilizes robotic submersible technology to characterize submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) blooms in the Charles River (MA) at the organismal, molecular and atomic levels. Data from this research will be useful in devising methodologies to control SAV contamination in the waterways of Massachusetts and other regions of the Northeast.
Global climate change is altering the Earth's natural cycling of water from the ground to the air and back again, what is known as the hydrologic cycle. In New England, climate change is predicted to increase temperatures and increase the frequency and strength of rain events. The increased temperatures will result in less snow accumulation in the winter and an increased need for irrigation in the hotter summer as evapo-transpiration increases. This will alter significantly the recharge/extraction cycle. Will less water enter groundwater aquifers because of reduced snow fall?
The UMass Amherst Blackstone River Water Quality Study was initiated in 2004 to develop a watershed management tool for the Blackstone River basin. This effort was funded by the Upper Blackstone Water Pollution Abatement District (UBWPAD) and was conducted with the support of the Cambridge, Mass. office of Camp Dresser and McKee (CDM), now CDM-Smith. The study was initiated to enhance the overall understanding of flow and water quality characteristics of the river.
There is concern over the presence of pollutants in our water supply. Among the pollutants that have elicited the greatest alarm are those that can alter the development and reproduction of aquatic organisms and potentially harm human health. These chemicals, generally referred to as endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs), enter waterways as runoff from farms, effluent from wastewater treatment and manufacturing plants, and leachate from septic systems.
Researchers will evaluate the potential use of field indicators of hydric soils to characterize wetland hydroperiods with respect to frequency, depth, and duration of water table fluctuations; test the effectiveness of proposed hydric soil indicators to identify 'problem hydric soils'; test monitoring protocols used to identify reducing conditions to determine if they are effective within a range of soil conditions within the Northeast; and investigate the hydraulic properties of hydromorphic soils with episaturation.
Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment Station Project MAS00999
Duration: October 2010 - August 2015
In order to compete in the marketplace, assure profitability and preserve the environment, cranberry growers must overcome barriers to sustainability. This project has three components related to increased sustainability in Massachusetts cranberry production:
This project will study and numerically model road salt impact on water quality in a typical aquifer in eastern Massachusetts. The study area is a public water well field in the Town of Norwell presently instrumented with 3 multiparameter sensors at different aquifer depths and one sensor located in the nearby stream. The well field is within a glacial outwash area with simple subsurface geology and lies a short distance from major road salt sources including MA Rt. 3, a mall, and lies downstream from a road salt storage shed.
Providing steady supplies of water, safe drinking water, and sustaining diverse, healthy aquatic ecosystems are objectives of watershed managers. Disruptions in water supplies and quality can have serious economic and ecological impacts. Addressing water security is becoming an important aspect of watershed management that can increase the sustainability and resiliency of watershed systems. Therefore the question arises: How can water managers plan for and maintain secure water supplies under uncertain conditions?
Presenter - Barbara DeFlorio, Environmental Toxicology Graduate Student
Best Management Practices are commonly implemented on golf courses to minimize the movement of pesticides and nutrients. One such practice is the use of vegetative filter strips (VFS) to intercept runoff and help protect the quality of groundwater and adjacent surface water. Research at UMass is ongoing to identify the best-suited plant material and most appropriate planting techniques to ensure effective vegetative filter strips.
Stockbridge Hall,
Civil Rights and Non-Discrimination Information
Mass. Agricultural Experiment Station
UMass Research and Education Center Farms
Water Resources Research Center
