Monday, January 5, 2009

Models simulate nitrate dynamics in a watershed

Science Daily: A new study details the first European application of two models that simulate the daily flow and dynamics of nitrogen in a watershed, which will help researchers prevent the over-enrichment of fresh, transitional, and marine waters with nitrogen, as well as understand the impacts of environmental change.

The over-enrichment of fresh, transitional, and marine waters with nitrogen (N) can lead to problems associated with eutrophication, such as a change in species composition of aquatic plants and nuisance algal blooms. In this context, dynamic models of flow and water quality are required to aid the implementation of the Water Framework Directive and to understand the impacts of environmental change.

Scientists from CNRS in Toulouse (France) and the University of Reading (U.K.) described the spatially and temporally complex flow and N dynamics of a major European watershed, the Garonne (62,700 km2) located in southwest France, using multivariate analysis before applying the linked rainfall-runoff HBV and the Integrated Catchment Model of Nitrogen (INCA-N) models to simulate daily flow and N dynamics…..

The Garonne river and a Pedestrian bridge in Agen, France. Shot by by Mike Peelwww.mikepeel.net), Wikimedia Commons, (under the Creative CommonsAttribution ShareAlike 2.5 License. Please visit Mike Peel's site to reward him for his generosity in making the image available

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