past faculty RESEARCH
Each year, the Montana Water Center awards funding to Montana University System faculty through the Faculty Seed Grant Program. See below for more information on past Faculty Seed Grant projects.
2017 FACULTY SEED GRANTS
DR. ben colman: effects of floating treatment wetlands on the abundance and removal of contaminants in waste water lagoons
In Montana, more than 84% of assessed stream miles are impaired, with metals and excess nutrients accounting for 40% and 32% of these impaired stream miles, respectively. Typically measured as total metals, nitrogen, and phosphorous, these contaminants can have deleterious effects on aquatic life, which ultimately drives the sportfishing economy of Montana, estimated as a nearly $500 million industry in 2011 alone. Municipal wastewater discharges serve as a substantive source of these contaminants in Montana surface waters. In particular, wastewater lagoons are used in many of the state's small-to-medium-sized municipalities, and nearly 40% of these wastewater lagoon systems have had numerous violations of the Clean Water Act in the past three years. A potentially cost effective way of adding to the capacity of existing infrastructure to remove nutrients and metals is through the use of floating treatment wetlands. These floating islands serve as biogeochemical hot spots that allow increased nutrient and metal removal rates compared to island-free lagoons. This work will increase our understanding of how contaminants move through wastewater lagoons systems, as well as highlight the mechanism and efficacy of a comparatively inexpensive ancillary treatment that could supplement existing wastewater infrastructure rather than fully replacing it.
Dr. Ben Colman is an Assistant Professor of Aquatic Ecosystem Ecology in the Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences, W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana.
(Dr. Ben Colman is currently an Associate Professor and runs the Ecosystems Lab at University of Montana)
DR. Jia hu: Rocky mountain juniper influences on stream flow dynamics
Invasion of Rocky Mountain Juniper is of great concern across the inter-mountain west, especially in riparian areas, where they are believed to remove large quantities of water from streams. However, we currently lack data to assess if and how much water junipers are using compared to other native shrubs/trees, such as willows and cottonwoods. To address the question, we are conducting an experiments study at the Snowcrest Ranch, located in south-central Montana, along with the Greenhorn River. In this study, we are using three independent measurements to assess water use, water source, and water status between junipers and willows. After one year, we will remove juniper from the riparian areas and assess if any of the water use and quantity parameters have changed. This research will help improve our understanding of water-use dynamics between juniper and willow, as well as assess the outcome of juniper removal on stream hydrology.
Dr. Hu is Assistant Professor in the Department of Ecology and affiliate faculty in the Montana Institute on Ecosystems at Montana State University. She will be conducting this research with the help of Nathan Korb, Montana Freshwater Director at The Nature Conservancy and Carter Kruse of Turner Enterprises, Inc.
(Dr. Hu was formerly at Montana State University; she is currently at Oregon State University)
DR. payton gardner: Exploring hydrologic connectivity between shallow and deep groundwater flow systems in upland catchments
The primary goal of this project will be to investigate the interaction between shallow soil flow and deep bedrock groundwater in upland catchments, and to determine the dominant physical processes controlling their interaction in space and time. The partitioning of water between surface, soil and groundwater reservoirs determines the volume of storage and the rate of transmission of water through a watershed. Surface water and shallow soil water reservoirs have lower storage volumes and faster response times than groundwater reservoirs, and the partitioning of water between these reservoirs will exert primary control on watershed response to weather and climate. Little is known about the connection of soil flow and deep bedrock groundwater systems in mountainous areas where these interactions are complicated by high slope angles and complex topography and geology. Greater insight into the dominant processes that contribute to spatial patterns of groundwater recharge from shallow soil flow systems, and how these interactions vary with wetness conditions will be crucial for adaptive management and apriori assessment of Montana's water resources. The knowledge generated from this project will enhance MT water resource managers' ability to manage water supplies for human and ecological benefits and predict sensitivity to land use and climatic change.
Dr. Payton Gardner is Assistant Professor of Hydrogeology in the Department of Geosciences at the University of Montana. He will be conducting this research in partnership with Kelsey Jensco, Assistant Professor of Hydrology and State Climatologist at the Montana Climate Office, University of Montana.
(Dr. Gardner is currently Associate Professor and Chair of the Dept of Geosciences at the University of Montana)
DR. Laurie yung: improving climate information to enhance the drought preparedness of montana agricultural producers
Growing demand for water resources couple with climate-driven water scarcity and variability present critical challenges to agriculture and food production. One of the priorities outlined in the State Water Plan (DNRC, 2015) is to increase Montana's drought preparedness. Extensive resources are being allocated to downscaling climate projections and climate scientists have made important advances in understanding past, current, and future climatic conditions. However, despite expected benefits, climate information is rarely used by agricultural producers and therefore has little impact on drought preparedness. Thus, there is a critical need for research focused on improving climate information and effectively integrating that information into producer decision-making. To fill this gap, we propose an interdisciplinary research project that transforms existing climate and forecast data through new analyses and more effective science communication to produce prototypes that better meet the needs of agricultural producers in Montana. These prototypes will then be field tested with end-users to examine how producers trade off different aspects of climate information, such as accuracy, uncertainty, and spatial and temporal scale, to determine usefulness. Research results will inform revision of prototypes so that climate information is relevant to producers' decision context and more likely to be integrated into decision-making.
Dr. Laurie Yung is a Professor of Natural Resources Social Science at the W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana. She will be conducting this research in conjunction with Kelsey Jensco, Assistant Professor of Hydrology and State Climatologist at the Montana Climate Office, University of Montana; Libby Metcalf, Associate Professor of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources at the the University of Montana; Nick Silverman, Hydroclimatologist at University of Montana; Michael Sweet, Research and Information Systems Specialist at the Montana Climate Office, University of Montana.