Programs — Hydrology

Water pervades every aspect of our lives. Surface water resources comprise the obvious natural systems such as lakes and rivers and support the fishing and tourism industries, 50 percent of the irrigation use, and all of the state's recreational water sports. Ground water resources support over 90 percent of the state's drinking water, 70 percent of the industrial water use and the other 50 percent of agricultural irrigation. Less obvious is the ground water contribution to maintaining annual flow in surface water streams, wetlands, and other natural systems.

While each component of Florida's water resources is important, the whole is greater than the sum of these parts. This is evident in the extensive natural resources in Florida which are dependent on a healthy interplay between surface and ground waters. Because water consumption has steadily risen in Florida, the study of hydrology is crucial for ourwater and related environmental impacts is critical for optimal water management.

The School of Natural Resources and Environment funds a number of research initiatives in hydrology and water management through the Hydrology and Water Resource Minigrants Program (see SNRE Minigrants). These initiatives, and the research faculty involved, are described below.

• To view the 2002-2003 SNRE-sponsored hydrology projects (which are the basis for SNRE's Spring 2004 Seminar Series), scroll down or click here.

• To view the 2001-2002 SNRE-sponsored hydrology projects, click here.

Click on a researcher's name to go to their personal webpage and read more about their specialization and research interests

Putting Science back into the Water Transfer Debate: Modeling the Feasibility and Impacts of Water Transfer in Florida using Linear Programming and GIS

Grenville Barnes - Geomatics & SNRE
Peter Hildebrand - Food and Resource Economics & SNRE
James W. Jones - Agriculture and Biological Engineering
Clyde Fraisse - Agriculture and Biological Engineering
Nitesh Tripathi (email) - SNRE

According to former Alachua County Commissioner Robert Hutchinson, the debate over water distribution is lacking "solid science." “Politics has gotten so far ahead of the science that politics might determine the science.” This project proposes to narrow the gap between science and politics and contribute to a broader understanding of regional water dynamics.

For about three decades, there has been a debate about moving water from North Florida to Central/South Florida to supplement south Florida's depleting water resources. Recently this debate has heated up. Sending water from North to Central/South Florida would have a major impact on related ecosystems. Springs would stop flowing and river levels would be much lower, causing stagnation and increased algae growth. High exports of water to other regions of the state would mimic the impact of drought, affecting fisheries and shellfishers as well as aquatic vegetation.

There is a need to better understand the implications and consequences of this proposed transfer. The researchers will use linear programming and GIS to model the current water situation in North and Central Florida. The GIS will be used to inventory and analyze water transfer characteristics. It will also be used to identify and select constraints for the Linear Programming (LP) model and to display LP inputs and outputs. Spatial analysis will be used to classify the study area into water management zones for studying the current water status (flow) and proposed transfer. GIS will be helpful in visualizing the various transfer scenarios. The GIS will also verify and validate the spatial feasibility (adjacency, proximity) of the LP solution on the basis of various land uses and other factors relevant to the study. Finally, the GIS will be applied to produce maps of the various water transfer scenarios.

This project was funded during the 2003-'04 academic year.

Relationship between Soil Compaction & Measured Infilration Rates & the development of a small-scale, physically-based Hydrological Model

Michael D. Dukes and Pierce H. Jones - Agriculture and Biological Engineering
Grady L. Miller - Environmnetal Horticulture Department

Currently, new home construction in Florida accounts for approximately one-eighth of all new home construction in the U.S. Along with the proliferation of commercial and industrial construction, this leads to an increase in water use and the amount of impermeable surfaces such as buildings and parking lots. Construction activity compacts soils such that areas that are not paved or built on have lower infiltration rates, which leads to more runoff and decreases the amount of groundwater recharge. The increased runoff of water, nutrients, and other chemicals bypasses the natural filtering effect of the soil system and can cause pollution problems in surface water bodies.

During the last few years a number of techniques that aim to reduce the volumes of stormwater generated on a lot have been proposed. To evaluate the effect of some of these techniques and to develop guidelines for builders, developers and homeowners to use in North Central Florida, a hydrological simulation model will be developed that can be used to test various combinations of techniques, various sizes of infiltration structures and the effect of other site conditions such as levels of soil compaction.

A model home has been designed in the Madera subdivision in Gainesville, FL, to demonstrate practices to increase on-site infiltration. Specifically, practices include: porous driveway, a rainfall capture and infiltration system for roof runoff, and a shared driveway to minimize impervious area. In addition, a lot level hydrological model has been developed and is ready for verification and testing. It is anticipated that results of this model will lead to recommendations to maximize infiltration. This information will be disseminated by the creation of fact sheets, through workshops, and demonstration events.

This project was funded during the 2003-'04 academic year.

Occurrence and Fate of Steroidal Estrogen Hormones in Dairy Manure-Impacted Soils

Don Graetz ,Soil and Water Science

Resulting from livestock manure applied to agricultural land, elevated concentrations of estrogens have been reported in manure-impacted surface runoff, ponds, streams, and groundwater.The loading of estrogens to waterways is of environmental and regulatory concern because there is good evidence that low amounts can adversely affect the reproductive biology of aquatic vertebrates (fish, turtles, frogs, etc.) by disrupting the normal function of their endocrine systems.

A continuation of last year's sponsored project, Dr. Graetz continues his study of manure-borne estrogens. Last year (see 2002-2003 SNRE-sponsored hydrology projects), Graetz and his graduate student, Travis Henselman, successfully developed a novel sample preparation method involving the extraction of estrogens from environmental matrices (manure, soil, and water) using a combination of liquid and solid phase extraction with Carbograph and C18 adsorbents. Completion of this project should provide valuable insight about the potential risk of estrogen contamination of groundwater from land-applied dairy manure. View the 2002-2003 Research Abstract

This project was funded during the 2003-'04 academic year.

Remote sensing for improved estimation of ET, biomass, and soil moisture in crop models

Jasmeet Judge - Center for Remote Sensing, Agricultural and Biological Engineering

Currently,Most of the crops grown in Florida are heavily irrigated. Irrigation water use efficiency is crucial to conserving water resources. The long-term objective of this investigation is to significantly improve predictions of evapotranspiration (ET), soil moisture, crop biomass and yield by utilizing emerging technologies in microwave remote sensing. Crop growth models are used to estimate biomass and yield for different cropping systems. One of the most important factors governing these estimates is the moisture fluxes at the land-atmosphere interface (ET) and in the root-zone.

The objective of this project is to conduct a second field experiment to observe microwave brightness, soil moisture, ET, canopy biomass and yield for the entire growth season of cotton grown in North Florida. The data from this experiment will be used to develop and validate assimilation algorithms that would allow periodic incorporation of microwave observations in the coupled cotton growth-MB model.

This project was funded during the 2003-'04 academic year.

Development of a Rapid Assessment Protocol  to Determine the Conditions of Everglades Tree Islands Impact By Hydrology and Exotic Invasive Species

Frank Mazzotti - Wildlife Ecology and Conservation

The purpose of this study is to develop a method for making a rapid assessment of the condition of tree islands in the face of current hydrologic practices and invasive exotic species at A.R.M. Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge. Comprising 13.7% of the total refuge area, tree islands have been designated a performance measure for Everglades restoration success under the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. A vital component of the Everglades ecosystem, tree islands provide terrestrial habitat, nesting and foraging sites for many species of wildlife including deer, wading and migratory birds, turtles, and small mammals.

Through the development of a rapid assessment protocol based on appropriate indicators and the development and testing of appropriate sampling methods, the project will provide managers with a set of standardized tools that can be used to rapidly assess and respond to threats to tree island health.

This project was funded during the 2003-'04 academic year.

Hydraulic Performance Evaluation of Periphyton Treatment Cells for the Removal of Phosphorus from Surface Waters Entering the Everglades

Joseph Prenger, Mark Clark and Matthew Cohen - Wetland Biogeochemistry Lab of the Soil and Water Science Department

Effective natural resource management increasingly requires high-resolution mapping of system-scale biogeochemistry. For large systems, this presents significant logistical and financial challenges, particularly in regions with high spatial variability. The proposed research explores Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (DRS), a new method for environmental monitoring and assessment of heterogeneous media, as a tool for extremely rapid and cost effective characterization of a broad suite of wetland biogeochemical indicators.

Advances in Visual-to-Near Infrared Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (VNIR DRS) have shown promise for rapid non-destructive estimation of soil and plant conditions. The far-reaching implications of this approach are most apparent where high-density surveys of soil or plant condition are required over large areas, often to compliment remote sensing applications, or where existing soil maps are unavailable or incomplete. The approach proposed for this study will facilitate rapid inference of a suite of soil physical and chemical properties directly from reflectance properties. In addition to providing a tool for rapid assessment of standard soil functional characteristics (e.g. pH, soil organic carbon, texture, cation exchange capacity, base saturation, total nitrogen, total phosphorus), the spectral approach to soil functional assessment offers the potential to move beyond direct physical-chemical indicators of condition.

This project was funded during the 2003-'04 academic year.

Effect of Water Level Changes on Growth of Native Wetland Species

David L. Sutton - Department of Agronomy

Fluctuations in water depth often occur as a result of seasonal weather patterns and from the implementation of water management strategies. The effect of these fluctuations on the growth of aquatic wetland species, especially those along the upper regions of the shoreline, is unknown. This study will assess the effect of changes in water depth on the growth of selected native aquatic wetland species.

We hypothesize that growth of wetland species will be affected by water depth and that plants grown in different water depths will undergo differential biomass partitioning. A total of four species will be examined in this study. Two species – spikerush and pickerelweed – were selected to represent commonly utilized native aquatic wetland species, while two additional species – skyflower and buttonbush – were chosen based on the dearth of information available regarding their optimum water depth preference.

This project was funded during the 2003-'04 academic year.

Programs — Hydrology 2002-2003

The School of Natural Resources and Environment funds a number of research initiatives in hydrology and water management through the Hydrology and Water Resource Minigrants Program. During the 2002-2003 academic year, the following initiatives were sponsored by SNRE:

Impacts of Land Use on Mercury Levels and Fate in Wetland Settings

Jean-Claude Bonzongo - Environmental Engineering Sciences

The objective of this study was to address the fate of mercury (Hg) in wetland/lacustrine settings as a function of different land use types that could be found within watersheds. The study combined observational (i.e. environmental characterization) and experimental approaches to determine in situ levels/speciation and assess the potential for Hg transformation due to inputs of pollutants known to affect microbial activities linked to the aquatic cycling of Hg. Data from this preliminary investigation suggest that both natural and constructed wetlands, which are known collectors of pollutants (including Hg), are likely sources of water resource pollution by methyl-Hg, a highly toxic and readily bio-available form of Hg. Obtained data call for control of methyl-Hg production, primarily in the now widespread constructed wetlands used in runoff/flood control and pollutant abatements. View the Research Abstract.

This project was funded during the 2002-'03 academic year.

Sorption, Degradation, and Transport of Estrogen Hormones in Manure-Impacted Soils

Don Graetz , Ann Wilkie (Soil and Water Science), and Nancy Denslow (Biotech Program)

Recent literature has indicated that agricultural drainage waters may become contaminated with natural steroidal estrogen hormones when dairy or poultry manure is applied to the land at conventional agronomic rates. The loading of estrogens to waterways is of scientific and regulatory concern because there is good evidence that these hormones can adversely affect the reproductive biology of aquatic vertebrates (fish, turtles, frogs, etc.) by disrupting the normal function of their endocrine systems. The overall objective of this study is to examine the sorption, degradation, and transport of manure-borne estrogens in soils in order to better understand the potential risk of estrogen contamination of ground and surface water.

View the Research Abstract.

This project was funded during the 2002-'03 academic year.

Rn: A new Tracer for Assessing Surface Ground Water Interactions in Karst Aquifers

Jonathan Martin - Geological Science

Karst aquifers provide water to nearly a quarter of the world's - and most of Florida's - population, but are vulnerable to contamination because of extensive mixing of surface and ground water. The hypothesis that 222Rn acts as a good natural tracer for mixing processes of surface and ground water, including exchange of water between conduit and matrix porosity is tested.

View the Research Abstract

This project was funded during the 2002-'03 academic year.

Study of the Frog Pond area hydrology and water quality modifications introduced by the C-111 Project detention pond implementation

Rafael Muņoz-Carpena - Tropical REC, Homestead

The extensive boundary of Miami-Dade County (FL) with the Everglades National Park (ENP) is subject to the most expensive and ambitious restoration project in history. One of the elements that can help to fine-tune the balance between the many, sometimes conflicting, land uses in the area (agriculture, urban development and restoration) is an enhanced understanding through research and education of how the regional water management system (canals and structures) interacts at the small-watershed/farm scale with the extremely permeable Biscayne aquifer in the area. This project seeks to achieve this by establishing the effect of canal elevation and rainfall on local ground water flow and quality, and by calibrating and testing a field/farm watershed scale computer model as a potential management tool for the area. View the Project's Executive Summary.

This project was funded during the 2002-'03 academic year.