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Iowa Nutrient Research Center Fall 2024 seminar series highlights water quality trends across the country

August 28, 2024
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Stream with bridge and trees on streambanksAMES, Iowa – The Iowa Nutrient Research Center seminar series for Fall 2024 will focus on “Recent trends in surface and groundwater nutrients across the US,” highlighting the status of nutrients and water quality around the country, including in the Mississippi River, Lake Erie and the Chesapeake Bay.

Seminars will take place the second Wednesdays of each month, September 11, October 9, November 13 and December 11, from 3:10-4:00 p.m. CDT. The hybrid sessions will be presented online and in-person at 1306 Elings Hall, 605 Bissell Road, on the Iowa State University campus.

“We are excited to learn from researchers around the country, who are all leading efforts to track nutrient trends in selected watersheds that are recognized as important locally and nationally,” said Iowa Nutrient Research Center Director Matt Helmers. ‘I believe their experience and data can provide important insights for our work in Iowa and other work in the Mississippi River Basin.”

All talks during the fall seminar series will be presented virtually.  

September 11 - Nitrate in Nebraska
Presenter: Troy Gilmore, associate professor and groundwater hydrologist, University of Nebraska
Most Nebraskans rely on groundwater for drinking water. Therefore, monitoring and managing groundwater nitrate levels are important tasks in Nebraska. In this talk we will provide an overview of nitrate levels in the state and highlight recent research focused on monitoring methods and impacts of groundwater nitrate.

October 9 - Long-Term Nutrient Trends from the Mississippi River Basin into the Gulf of Mexico
Presenter: Lori Sprague, national program manager, Integrated Water Availability Assessments (IWAAs) Program, U.S. Geological Survey
The USGS has monitored nutrients in the Mississippi River since the 1970’s.  This long-term observational record is updated with new data each year, and it is used to both forecast and understand the size of the hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico each year as well as to track progress toward nutrient reduction goals set by the interagency Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Task Force. This presentation will delve into long-term trend assessment methods, results and possible causes.

November 13 - Nutrient and Sediment Loads Measured from the Chesapeake Bay River Input Monitoring Network
Presenter: Jimmy Webber, hydrologist, U.S. Geological Survey
Nutrient and sediment loads are changing over time in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. This presentation will describe how the USGS uses a river monitoring network to assess these water-quality trends. Recent load and trend results from this monitoring network will be presented and discussed in context with Chesapeake Bay water-quality goals.

December 11- Agricultural Phosphorus and Lake Erie
Presenter: Laura Johnson, director, National Center for Water Quality Research, Heidelberg University
The western basin of Lake Erie has been plagued by seasonal harmful algal blooms for the past 20 years, culminating in the Toledo drinking water crisis 10 years ago. While it's clear these blooms are linked to phosphorus loading from agricultural watersheds, solving this issue is a wicked problem that requires collaboration and patience. This presentation will show how stream and river monitoring can help us better understand the effectiveness of practices aimed to reduce phosphorus at multiple scales.

INRC seminar sessions are free and open to the public. To participate online, register at: https://go.iastate.edu/WYDMXJ.  

Download the Fall 2024 seminar series flyer to post or share.

More information on each session is available at www.cals.iastate.edu/inrc under Events. Any updates will be provided there. Each session will be recorded, with speakers’ permission, and posted on the INRC’s website.

For questions, contact Malcolm Robertson, INRC program specialist, at malcolmr@iastate.edu.

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