Term project | Sample Data | Final report content & format | Grading form.pdf | Background topics | Identification references

Urban watersheds Urban water resources U.N. Water

Background Topics

A review of literature on some aspect of aquatic microecosystems. This may include one of the following.

1. Impact and mitigation of storm drains on aquatic ecosystems.
2. How sensitive are these systems to human induced changes? At what time of year are human-induced deviations from optimal most damaging?
3. What is the impact of invasive species introduction on ecosystem function and service?
4. What are the dynamics of nutrient cycling in aquatic ecosystems? How important are wetlands to total nitrogen transport in rivers?
5. What are minimum water quantity and quality requirements for maintenance of a healthy ecosystem?
6. What are the inequities between supply and demand of water?
   a. Who are the relevant stakeholders that use water, how much do they use, and how much access do they have to this resource?
   b. How much is left for ecosystem functioning and if not enough, how will the lack of water affect ecosystem functioning?
   c. How can conflict among stakeholders, and those between stakeholders and nature's needs, be reduced and resolved?
   d, What are the feedbacks between water scarcity for human purposes and mismanagement?
   e. What are the connections between land and water quantity (land use/management change, large dams, channelization, changes in evapotranspiration, discharge)? How does the conversion of land to agriculture impact discharge timing and magnitude through energy and water balance changes? How has irrigation impacted local and regional discharge and how is this likely to change with more intensive agriculture and changing climate?
7. What are the connections between land and water quality (salinization caused by land use and water diversions, eutrophication, nitrogen and phosphorus loading, toxins)? How do fertilizer application practices and crop types affect the magnitude and variability of the flux of nitrogen in river systems and to the ocean? How are those likely to fluctuate in the future?
8. How does water management impact coastal zones (loss of land from sediment starvation and loss of habitat, saltwater intrusion, and altered biogeochemical fluxes) by reducing water flow rates?
9. What are the ecological consequences of inter-basin transfers (species transfer, wetlands/estuary alterations)?
10. What are the consequences of disruption of connectivity in time and space (upstream downstream, riparian)?
11. How does wetland destruction/restoration impact greenhouse gas production (CH₄, CO₂)?
12. What are feedbacks between species loss (due to invasive species, pollution, ecosystem change) and ecosystem health?
13. How might climate-induced changes in the cryosphere (glacial and snow) impact human and aquatic ecosystems dependent on them?
    a. What are the potential feedbacks to atmosphere, infrastructure, and ecosystems of future permafrost changes?
    b. What are the feedbacks to the planetary energy budget of future changes in snow and lake ice area?