O objetivo precípuo desta investigação foi potencializar ações em educação ambiental e efetuar uma análise multivariada da percepção ambiental de diferentes grupos sociais como instrumentos de apoio à gestão de pequenas bacias. Este trabalho foi norteado por pesquisa-ação, baseado em pesquisas qualitativa, quantitativa e estudo de caso da microbacia do córrego da Capituva, Macedônia, SP. As metodologias foram divididas nas fases: exploratória ― escolha e caracterização da área de estudo e público alvo, histórico da ocupação e dinâmica do desenvolvimento do município; estudo preliminar e de diagnóstico ― caracterização da estrutura fundiária e dos usuários da terra, sistema de produção agrícola, caracterização da qualidade ambiental e análise multivariada de dados e; ações em educação ambiental. Optar pela participação de produtores rurais na pesquisa, teve o propósito de identificar problemas concretos, definir prioridades, escolher soluções viáveis em função das condições sócio-econômicas e do saber popular existente. Envolver professores, alunos e profissionais do município em ações de educação ambiental, teve por objetivo verificar a percepção da comunidade e despertar seu interesse e participação em projetos de proteção e recuperação de recursos naturais. A investigação mostrou que a população identifica os principais problemas ambientais, mas necessita informações de saneamento básico e técnicas para alterações no processo produtivo para possíveis soluções preventivas e corretivas. Esses produtores rurais, segmentos sociais diretamente onerados pelo ato de gestão ambiental, não têm condições para intervir em processo decisório. Os processos de gestão são complexos, por envolverem profundos conflitos entre os diversos usuários das bacias e por não estarem em consonância com a realidade econômica da maioria desses produtores. Os proprietários rurais não formam categoria homogênea: possuem características, opiniões e sistemas produtivos diversos. Por isso, este trabalho propõe que as intervenções educacionais sejam amplas o suficiente para contemplar diversos públicos e procedimentos. A participação dos alunos foi estimuladora; dado seu interesse no assunto, eles expressaram grande preocupação com o córrego e sua nascente. Desse modo, acreditamos ter contribuído para: o processo de gestão de microbacias; o estudo do meio ambiente com tema centralizado em microbacia; prover algumas necessidades de informações de problemas ambientais na microbacia; e reconhecer problemas existentes. O instrumental estatístico usado ― via análise fatorial de correspondência múltipla e análise de Cluster ― permitiu mostrar a complexidade da realidade estudada pela identificação de três tipos de produtores rurais. O que foi depreendido nesta investigação, revela que esses métodos estatísticos constituem interessante caminho metodológico para estudos futuros sobre percepção, avaliação e análise de impactos ambientais, sociais e econômicos / The main objective was oriented procedures in environmental education and to make perception environmental of different social group multivariable data analysis. This work was focused on field research, qualitative and quantitative research and, the Capituva watershed study. The methodology was divided into three stages: the exploratory – choice and characterization of the study area and the people involved in it; the preliminary and diagnostic study ― characterization of the landed system, the land users, the system of agricultural production, and the environmental quality and multivariable data analysis; the environmental education procedures. The participation of rural producers in this research had the purpose of identifying actual problems, determining priorities, and finding solutions considering their socioeconomic conditions and rudimentary knowledge. The enrollment of municipal district teachers, students, and professionals in the environmental education procedures was intended to verify the community's perception, and stimulate their interest and participation in projects of environment management. This investigation has showed that the population can identify their main environmental problems, but they need information on basic sanitation and techniques to alter their production process to acquire feasible, preventive and corrective solutions. These rural producers are socially harmed and directly overburdened by the environment management procedures and they cannot take part in the decision-making processes. Management processes are complex because they involve conflicts among the several users of the basins and also because they are not fairly consistent with the economic reality of rural producers. This project focuses on assisting these producers to overcome the difficulties enabling them to reach a consensus, to develop the habit of cooperation, and to receive fair subsidies so that the small producers can implement their goals. The land owners are not a homogeneous category. They have different characteristics, opinions and productive systems. In view of this, this study suggests the educational sector to take an effective action to benefit the producers. The participation of the students was exciting since they expressed interest in the subject and concern about the stream of Capituva. Thus, we believe to have contributed towards the process of watershed management, the study of the environment focusing on watersheds, the provision of relevant information about the watershed environmental problems, and the acknowledgement of difficulties. The statistics multiple correspondence factorial analysis and Cluster analysis permitted to identify three groups rural producers and to show methodological procedure to study environment impact, social and economic analysis

Orientador: Ricardo de Lima Isaac / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Civil e Arquitetura / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-12T00:26:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ribeiro_CristianFonseca_M.pdf: 4603338 bytes, checksum: a0aa88f1b11066e7f0cd58dc278ad5f9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / Resumo: O presente trabalho aborda a utilização de um Sistema de Informações Geográficas (SIG) - recurso hoje indispensável para a análise de dados espacializados, amplamente utilizada no auxílio à tomada de decisão em diversos campos - como ferramenta de gestão do lodo gerado em Estações de Tratamento de Água (ETA) localizadas em uma mesma bacia hidrográfica. Esta gestão, em geral, é baseada em dados convencionais, ficando a mesma condicionada a informações estáticas. Os custos logísticos de transporte e disposição final em aterro sanitário, na maioria dos casos, são preponderantes em relação aos custos operacionais do sistema de tratamento do lodo. Diversos usos benéficos têm sido propostos por vários pesquisadores como melhor forma de destinação, do ponto de vista da sustentabilidade ambiental e econômica. Nesse caso, o material é considerado não mais como resíduo, mas como matéria-prima. O uso de informações espacializadas objetiva nesse caso facilitar a busca e seleção da alternativa mais adequada, tendo a localização geográfica dos potenciais usuários como critério diferencial em relação aos demais aspectos envolvidos na decisão. A área de estudo foi a das bacias hidrográficas dos rios Piracicaba, Capivari e Jundiaí (BH-PCJ). Diversos cenários foram gerados e avaliados. O gestor considerado foi ora uma determinada companhia de saneamento, ora um consórcio de todas as companhias de saneamento presentes na área ou um agrupamento delas. Para fins demonstrativos, as indústrias cerâmicas - para as quais a viabilidade técnico-econômica e ambiental já foi cientificamente comprovada - foram comparadas como destinação alternativa à disposição nos aterros licenciados existentes nessas bacias. Demonstrou-se, assim, o enorme potencial do SIG para a resolução de problemas de planejamento e gerenciamento de resíduos de ETA, tarefa essa que tende a se tornar cada vez mais difícil e complexa no contexto de uma bacia hidrográfica apresentando inúmeros geradores destes e de outros tipos de resíduos sólidos - tais como os resíduos urbanos, de estações de tratamento de esgoto, industriais - que competirão entre si sob as regras de livre mercado pelos já escassos e limitados aterros sanitários e também pelos diversos usuários dessa matéria-prima. / Abstract: Present work investigates the use of geographic information system (GIS) - nowadays a necessary technique for spatial data analysis, broadly used as decision-making aid in many fields - as a tool for watershed management for disposal or beneficial use of water treatment plants (WTP) sludge. Most of times, residuals management is based in conventional data, conditioned to stationary information. Logistic costs for transportation and landfill disposal, usually overcome sludge treatment system operating costs. Several beneficial uses have been proposed for many researchers as better solution rather than landfilling in terms of environmental and economical sustainability. This way, it is considered as raw material rather than residual. GIS appliance aims ease the search for best available alternative, having potential users geographic location as main criteria among other aspects involved in decision process. The territory studied was that of Rivers Piracicaba, Capivari and Jundiaí watershed, in southeastern region of Brazil. Several scenarios were generated and evaluated. The manager here was either a single water company, the consortium of all water companies or a small group of them. For demonstration purpose, ceramic brick plants - whose technical, economical and environmental sustainability was previously demonstrated - were compared to sanitary landfill as final disposal. GIS high potential for WTP sludges planning and management, task that trends to become more and more difficult and complex in a context of a watershed containing several generators of these and other kinds of solid wastes - as municipal wastes, wastewater treatment plant sludge, industrial wastes - that struggle each other under free market rules for scarce and limited sanitary landfills and also for every users of these materials - was demonstrated. / Mestrado / Saneamento e Ambiente / Mestre em Engenharia Civil

Submitted by Aline Batista (alinehb.ufpel@gmail.com) on 2017-03-23T19:24:33Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Dissertação Cristian Veber .pdf: 4396179 bytes, checksum: e16ff0b1e5568507720a03591574c162 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Aline Batista (alinehb.ufpel@gmail.com) on 2017-03-23T19:24:55Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Dissertação Cristian Veber .pdf: 4396179 bytes, checksum: e16ff0b1e5568507720a03591574c162 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-23T19:25:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Dissertação Cristian Veber .pdf: 4396179 bytes, checksum: e16ff0b1e5568507720a03591574c162 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-10-07 / Alterações no meio ambiente e os efeitos naturais e antropogênicos resultantes têm chamado a atenção na comunidade científica em virtude do alto impacto sobre os ecossistemas, especialmente ligado a desastres naturais originados a partir de eventos extremos de precipitação. Uma das técnicas fundamentais, no que se refere ao gerenciamento dos recursos hídricos, do meio ambiente e, consequentemente, do manejo adequado de bacias hidrográficas, é a modelagem hidrológica. Contudo, uma das principais limitações de sua aplicação é a carência de dados hidrológicos, especialmente de vazões. Esta limitação tem estimulado o desenvolvimento e a calibração de modelos hidrológicos que possibilitam a estimativa do escoamento superficial direto (ESD). Neste sentido, as teorias do Hidrograma Unitário (HU) e do Hidrograma Unitário Instantâneo (HUI) têm se destacado no tocante à modelagem hidrológica de cheias. O principal objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a aplicabilidade de modelos conceituais (HUI de Clark – HUIC e HUI de Nash – HUIN), modelos sintéticos (HU Adimensional – HUA e HU Triangular - HUT) e modelos geomorfológicos (HUI Geomorfológico de Clark – HUIGC e HUI Geomorfológico de Nash – HUIGN) visando à estimativa de vazões de pico e de hidrogramas de ESD, tomando como base duas pequenas bacias hidrográficas experimentais (sanga Ellert – BHSE e ribeirão Lavrinha – BHRL), com características geomorfoclimáticas e comportamento hidrológico contrastantes. As informações básicas para este estudo foram obtidas a partir dos modelos digitais de elevação e de dados monitorados de chuva e vazão nas referidas bacias. As principais conclusões deste trabalho foram: a) Os modelos HUIC e HUIN foram os que tiveram melhor acurácia nas duas bacias hidrográficas; b) Os modelos HUA e HUT não foram adequados para a BHRL, mas estimaram de forma satisfatória a maioria dos eventos na BHSE; c) O HUIGC se sobressaiu em relação ao HUIGN para a BHSE, mas teve comportamento similar ao HUT e HUA; d) O HUIGN teve desempenho superior ao HUIGC, HUT e HUA para a BHRL. / Alterations in the environment and the resulting natural and anthropogenic effects have attracted attention in the scientific community due to the high impact on ecosystems, especially related to natural disasters originated from extreme precipitation events. Hydrological modeling is one of the main techniques used for the management of water resources, environment and watersheds. However, one of the major limitations of its application is the lack of hydrological data, primarily associated with stream flow. This limitation has stimulated the development and calibration of hydrological models intended for estimation of direct surface runoff (DSR). In this context, the theories of Unit Hydrograph (UH) and Instantaneous Unit Hydrograph (IUH) have stood out for the hydrological modeling of floods. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the applicability of conceptual models (Clark’s IUH - CIUH and Nash’s IUH - NIUH), synthetic models (Dimensionless UH - DUH and Triangular UH - TUH) and geomorphological models (Clark’s Geomorphological IUH - CGIUH and Nash’s Geomorphological IUH -NGIUH) for estimation of peak stream flows and DSR hydrographs, taking as reference two small experimental watersheds (Ellert Creek Watershed - ECW and Lavrinha Creek Watershed - LCW), which have contrasting geomorphoclimatic characteristics and hydrological behavior. The basic information for this study were obtained from digital elevation models and monitorated data (rainfall and stream flow) in these watersheds. The main conclusions of this study were: a) CIUH and NIUH models were those that resulted in the greatest accuracy for both watersheds; b) DUH and TUH models were not suitable for LCW, but estimated hydrographs satisfactorily for most of the events in ECW; c) CGIUH out performed NGIUH for ECW, but presented behavior similar to TUH and DUH; d) NGIUH had performance better than CGIUH, TUH and DUH for LCW.

This study provides an analysis of watershed response to climate change and forest fire impacts, to better understand the hydrologic budget and inform water management decisions for present and future needs. The study site is 2,365 km2, located in the upper Umatilla River Basin (URB) in northeastern Oregon. The Precipitation Runoff Modeling System, a distributed-parameter, physical-process watershed model, was used in this study. Model calibration yielded a Nash Sutcliffe Model Efficiency of 0.73 for both calibration (1995-2010) and validation (2010-2014) of daily streamflow. Ten Global Climate Models using Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 experiments with Representative Concentration Pathways 4.5 and 8.5 (RCP), were used to observe hydrologic regime shifts in the 2020s, 2050s, and 2080s. Mean center timing of flow occurs earlier in the year in both pre- and post-fire conditions, where there are increased winter flows and decreased summer flows throughout the 21st century. Change in temperature and percent change in precipitation is more variable in the summer than winter increasing over time, with a slight decrease in winter precipitation in the 2080s in RCP 8.5. Temperature increases 1.6°C in RCP 4.5 and 3.3°C in RCP 8.5 by the end of the 21st century. The ratio of Snow Water Equivalent to Precipitation decreases 96% in the 2080s in RCP 8.5 before forest cover reduction, and decreases 90-99% after forest cover reduction. Potential basin recharge and the base-flow index are both sustained throughout the 21st century with slight declines before forest cover reduction, with an increase in basin recharge and increase in base-flows in the 2080s after fire-burns. However, the simulated sustained base-flows and area-weighted basin recharge in this study, do not take into account the complex geologic structure of the Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG). A more robust characterization and simulation of URB aquifer recharge would involve coupling the PRMS model with a groundwater model in a future study. Although groundwater recharge in the CRBG in the URB is not well understood, the long-term decline of groundwater storage presents a serious environmental challenge for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and communities in the URB.

The Queen's Ditch is located three kilometers north of Comox on Vancouver Island and is roughly 1300 hectares in size. In 1998, the watershed experienced a 1 in 200-year rain event that flooded much of the lower watershed. The Regional District of Comox-Strathcona is responsible for land-use planning in the watershed and initiated an investigation into the stormwater runoff problem. This thesis is divided into two components: a planning phase to identify problems with watershed hydrology; and a design phase to illustrate urban design that manages stormwater runoff. Watershed assessments were conducted at the watershed and sub-watershed scale. Watershed assessments were descriptive and helped predict future trends in land-use change. These assessments were not able to identify site specific problems. Sub-watershed assessment was useful at quantifying and identifying stormwater problems. Planners should use sub-watershed hydrological performance to guide land-use planning decisions and assess hydrological and ecological effects of development. The planning phase provides planners with a process to prioritize candidate areas for development, conservation, and rehabilitation. The design phase compares urban design and stormwater performance standards of a proposed conventional design with a sustainable design. The goal of the sustainable design was to mimic the site's natural hydrology to help reduce off-site runoff, and to ensure adequate groundwater recharge. Objectives of the sustainable design were to preserve natural vegetation; maintain x>£ time of concentration; reduce and disconnect impervious surfaces,, and treatment first flush flows. Comparisons of conventional and sustainable designs indicate that stormwater runoff and pollution can be managed at the site level. The sustainable design provides forty-seven percent more dwelling units and exports no stormwater. The sustainable design achieves this without an expensive stormdrain infrastructure. Stormwater is managed at the site level using small infiltration depressions and swales. The design works with the natural hydrological processes of the site to generate a hydrologically sustainable design. Simulated stormwater outputs were used to test and size infiltration ponds and to assess flooding risks. The sustainable design effectively manages stormwater production, runoff, and pollution from storm events ranging from polluted first flush flows to large, flood producing rainstorms. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), School of / Graduate

Tropical forests are under continual threat due to deforestation and forest fragmentation processes which are driven by the economic activities growth, mainly agriculture. Replacing forest with other land uses can cause severe impacts on river water quality, altering its physical, chemical and biological characteristics. The Atlantic Forest, in particular, had its original vegetation cover reduced to about 11%, wherein the crop lands expansion and urban sprawl still threatening this important ecosystem and the ecosystem services that it provides. In this sense, the main objective of this study was to investigate the relation between forest cover and water quality of tropical agricultural watersheds. For that, six experimental watersheds with different percentage of forest cover were selected in the Sarapuí River watershed, State of São Paulo, Brazil. Water samples were collected during a hydrologic year to obtain water quality parameters that represent impacts induced by anthropic activities. According to the percentage of forest cover, the watersheds were denominated as \"forested\", when they presented more than 55% of forest cover, and \"degraded\", with less than 35%. Multivariate statistical models were applied to identify differences between these two groups. In a second moment, the relation of land use/land cover within the watershed and within its respective riparian zone, represented in this study by the Permanent Preservation Areas (PPA), with water quality was compared through mixed models and redundancy analysis to identify the main factors that influenced water quality variability. Lastly, a watershed simulation modeling was applied to verify the impact of riparian forest restoration on water quality of the Sarapuí River watershed, wherein each experimental watershed was represented by a sub-watershed in the model. The results showed that the degraded watersheds presented higher values of solids, turbidity, nutrients and coliforms, besides presenting greater temporal data variability compared to forested watersheds. This variation is associated with the stream flow changes during the year. In general, forest cover was related to good water quality, while agriculture and urban areas were responsible for the water quality degradation. Pasture presented mixed impacts, but it was not generally correlated with poor water quality. The water quality parameters responded differently to the influence of land-use/land-cover patterns in the watershed and riparian zone, but the overall water quality is better explained by the landscape composition within the watershed. Nevertheless, the watershed simulation indicated that PPA restoration reduces the sediment and nutrients loading into the river. Thus, it is possible to conclude that tropical forest plays a fundamental role in the water resources conservation, reducing impacts of human activities in watersheds and the watershed management with forest restoration strategies for the entire watershed is critical for the maintenance of water quality to water supply, despite the importance of the riparian zone. / As florestas tropicais estão sob constante ameaça devido ao processo de desmatamento e fragmentação florestal impulsionado pelo crescimento das atividades econômicas, em especial, a agricultura. A substituição de áreas florestadas por outros usos do solo pode causar impactos severos na qualidade da água de rios, alterando suas características físicas, químicas e biológicas. A Mata Atlântica, em especial, teve sua cobertura original reduzida a cerca de 11%, sendo que a expansão de terras cultiváveis e urbanização ainda ameaçam esse importante ecossistema e os serviços ecossistêmicos prestados por ele. Nesse sentido, este estudo propôs investigar a relação da cobertura florestal com a qualidade da água de microbacias agrícolas tropicais. Para tanto, foram selecionadas seis microbacias experimentais com diferentes porcentagens de cobertura florestal na bacia do rio Sarapuí, Estado de São Paulo, Brasil, onde foram feitas coletas de amostras de água por um ano hidrológico para a obtenção de parâmetros que representassem alterações na água induzidas por atividades antrópicas. Inicialmente as microbacias foram classificadas em \"florestadas\" e \"degradadas\", e modelos estatísticos multivariados foram aplicados para identificar diferenças entre os grupos. Em um segundo momento comparou-se a relação do uso e cobertura do solo na microbacia e na Área de Preservação Permanente (APP) com a qualidade da água utilizando-se modelos mistos e análise de redundância para identificar os principais fatores que influenciam a variabilidade da qualidade da água. Por último foi gerado um modelo hidrológico para simular o impacto da restauração da floresta ripária na qualidade da água da bacia do rio Sarapuí onde cada microbacia experimental desse estudo foi representada por uma sub-bacia do modelo. Os resultados mostram que as microbacias degradadas apresentam valores maiores de sólidos, turbidez, nutrientes e coliformes. Além disso, apresentam maior variabilidade temporal dos dados em relação às microbacias florestadas associada às alterações da vazão do rio. Em geral, a cobertura florestal foi relacionada à boa qualidade da água, enquanto que agricultura e ocupação urbana foram os usos do solo responsáveis pela degradação da qualidade da água. O uso pastagem apresentou impactos mistos, porém no geral não foi correlacionado à qualidade da água ruim. Os parâmetros de qualidade da água responderam de forma diferente quanto à influência dos padrões de uso e cobertura do solo na microbacia e na APP, porém, considerando-se todos parâmetros em conjunto, a qualidade da água é melhor explicada pela composição da paisagem da microbacia. Ainda assim, a simulação do modelo indicou que a restauração das APPs reduz a carga de sedimentos e nutrientes para o rio. Com isso, conclui-se que a floresta tropical tem papel fundamental na conservação dos recursos hídricos, reduzindo impactos das atividades humanas exercidas nas microbacias e que, apesar da importância das APPs na redução de poluentes para o rio, o manejo de bacias com estratégias de restauração florestal para toda a microbacia é extremamente importante para a manutenção da qualidade da água para abastecimento.

Orientador: Edson Luís Piroli / Resumo: No processo de produção do espaço geográfico, o homem promove mudanças no uso da terra e, consequentemente, alterações no ciclo hidrológico, que dão origem a impactos ambientais negativos, tais como o aumento das taxas de erosão do solo, da exportação de sedimentos das bacias hidrográficas e do escoamento superficial, principalmente quando reduz ou elimina a cobertura vegetal. Tais impactos são observados na bacia do Ribeirão São Domingos, localizada no município de Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo – SP, que passou pelos processos de expansão urbana e intensificação da ocupação agrícola a partir da década de 1970. Nesse contexto, o objetivo desta tese foi analisar a influência das transformações ocorridas no uso da terra da referida bacia hidrográfica desde a década de 1960 e em cenários futuros de uso na configuração dos processos de erosão, aporte de sedimentos e escoamento superficial, por meio de modelagem, como subsídio ao ordenamento territorial urbano e rural. Para tanto, foi necessário: caracterizar os usos da terra passados e atuais; simular os cenários futuros; levantar, caracterizar e mapear os solos da área de estudo; ajustar a equação Intensidade-Duração-Frequência (IDF) para utilização nos estudos hidrológicos; realizar as modelagens de erosão e hidrológica; analisar os instrumentos de ordenamento territorial e parcelamento do solo do Plano Diretor do município e propor as alterações necessárias à redução do escoamento superficial e do perigo de inundação na bacia. A met... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: In the process of producing the geographical space, humans promote changes in land use and, consequently, changes in the hydrological cycle, which generate negative environmental impacts such as an increase in soil erosion rates, sediment yield and surface runoff at the watershed outlets, especially when the vegetal cover is reduced or eliminated. These impacts are observed in São Domingos stream watershed, located in the municipality of Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo, in São Paulo state, which has undergone urban expansion and intensification of agricultural use since the 1970s. In this context, this thesis aims to analyze the influence of land use changes in this watershed, since the 1960s and in future use scenarios, in the configuration of erosion processes, sediment yield, and surface runoff by means of modeling, as a subsidy to the urban and rural land use planning. Aiming this objective, the following steps were necessary: to characterize the past and current land uses; to simulate future scenarios; to survey, characterize and map the soils of the study site; to adjust the Intensity-Duration-Frequency (IDF) equation to be used in hydrological studies; to perform erosion and hydrologic modeling; to analyze the land use planning and soil parceling instruments of the municipality’s master plan and to propose the necessary changes in order to reduce runoff and flood hazard in the watershed. The methodology was based on the production of land use maps for the years 1962, 1984, 200... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor

It is important that students understand not only how their local watershed functions, but also how it is being impacted by impervious surfaces. Additionally, students need experience exploring the scientific and engineering practices that are necessary for a strong STEM background. With this knowledge students can be empowered to tackle this real and local problem using engineering design, a powerful practice gaining momentum and clarity through its prominence in the recent Framework for K-12 Science Education. Twenty classes of suburban sixth-graders participated in a new five-week Watershed Engineering Design Unit taught by their regular science teachers. Students engaged in scientific inquiry to learn about the structure, function, and health of their local watersheds, focusing on the effects of impervious surfaces. In small groups, students used the engineering design process to propose solutions to lessen the impact of runoff from their school campuses. The goal of this evaluation was to determine the effectiveness of the curriculum in terms of student gains in understanding of (1) watershed function, (2) the impact of impervious surfaces, and (3) the engineering design process. To determine the impact of this curriculum on their learning, students took multiple-choice pre- and post-assessments made up of items covering the three categories above. This data was analyzed for statistical significance using a lower-tailed paired sample t-test. All three objectives showed statistically significant learning gains and the results were used to recommend improvements to the curriculum and the assessment instrument for future iterations.

No description available.

The contamination of rivers with nitrate from agricultural diffuse sources is not just a risk for ecosystems and their services, but also a health risk for water users. The Great Lakes (USA and Canada) are suffering from eutrophication problems. The Midwest is one of the richest farming land and one of the most productive areas on the planet. Thus, agriculture is one of the biggest drivers of local economies, accounting for billions of dollars of exports and thousands of jobs. The Midwest encompasses the Corn Belt region, a specialised system in corn production. Many of its agricultural basins drain into the Great Lakes. Corn requires a heavy amount of fertilizer to keep the best-yielding varieties. Some of the soils also require artificial drainage due to their low permeability, and to enable agriculture. The Cedar Creek watershed (CCW) in northeastern Indiana in the Corn Belt region is used as a case study area in this dissertation. Intensive agriculture in the CCW is characterised mainly by corn and soybean production. Tile drains are used, ejecting nitrate directly into the water. To find hotspots of nitrate is, then, crucial to avoid water quality deterioration. Identification of critical source areas of nitrate (CSAs) impairing waters is challenging. There are, mainly, two methodologies to identify hotspots of nitrate for the implementation of Best Management Practices (BMP): the targeting technique and the optimization approach. The targeting technique tends to identify hotspots based on loads of nitrate, omitting geomorphological watershed characteristics, costs for BMP implementation, and their spatial interactions. On the other hand, the parsimonious strategy does contemplate the trade-off of the economic and environmental contribution but requires sophisticated computational resources and it is more data-intense. This research presents a new framework based on the synergistic combination of both methodologies for the identification of CSAs in agricultural watersheds. Changes in watershed response due to alternative BMP applications were assessed using the model Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). Outputs in SWAT (nitrate export rates and nitrate concentration at the subbasin level) were used to evaluate the changes in water quality for the CCW. The newly developed targeting technique (HosNIT) considers SWAT outputs and intrinsic watershed parameters such as stream order, crop distance to the draining stream, and downstream nitrate enrichment/dilution effects within the river network. HosNIT establishes a workflow, based on a threshold system for the parameters considered, in order to spatially identify priority areas from where nitrate is reaching water. The more precise hotspots of nitrate are identified, the more improved the allocation of limited resources for conservation practices will be. HosNIT allows for a more spatially accurate CSAs identification, which enables a parsimonious optimization for BMP implementation. This parsimonious strategy will test BMP’s performance based on the environmental contribution and cost at the hotspots determined by HosNIT. The optimised solution for the CCW comes from the environmental contribution (decrease percentage of nitrate concentration at outlets) per dollar spent. For this case study means a year average of 3.7% of nitrate reduction with the optimised selection of scenarios for the studied period.