Distributed hydrological modeling of total dissolved phosphorus transport in an agricultural landscape, part II: dissolved phosphorus transport

International audienceReducing non-point source phosphorus (P) loss to drinking water reservoirs is a main concern for New York City watershed planners, and modeling of P transport can assist in the evaluation of agricultural effects on nutrient dynamics. A spatially distributed model of total dissolved phosphorus (TDP) loading was developed using raster maps covering a 164-ha dairy farm watershed. Transport of TDP was calculated separately for baseflow and for surface runoff from manure-covered and non-manure-covered areas. Soil test P, simulated rainfall application, and land use were used to predict concentrations of TDP in overland flow from non-manure covered areas. Concentrations in runoff for manure-covered areas were computed from predicted cumulative flow and elapsed time since manure application, using field-specific manure spreading data. Baseflow TDP was calibrated from observed concentrations using a temperature-dependent coefficient. An additional component estimated loading associated with manure deposition on impervious areas, such as barnyards and roadways. Daily baseflow and runoff volumes were predicted for each 10-m cell using the Soil Moisture Distribution and Routing Model (SMDR). For each cell, daily TDP loads were calculated as the product of predicted runoff and estimated TDP concentrations. Predicted loads agreed well with loads observed at the watershed outlet when hydrology was modeled accurately (R2 79% winter, 87% summer). Lack of fit in early spring was attributed to difficulty in predicting snowmelt. Overall, runoff from non-manured areas appeared to be the dominant TDP loading source factor

Distributed hydrological modelling of total dissolved phosphorus transport in an agricultural landscape, part I: distributed runoff generation

International audienceSuccessful implementation of best management practices for reducing non-point source (NPS) pollution requires knowledge of the location of saturated areas that produce runoff. A physically-based, fully-distributed, GIS-integrated model, the Soil Moisture Distribution and Routing (SMDR) model was developed to simulate the hydrologic behavior of small rural upland watersheds with shallow soils and steep to moderate slopes. The model assumes that gravity is the only driving force of water and that most overland flow occurs as saturation excess. The model uses available soil and climatic data, and requires little calibration. The SMDR model was used to simulate runoff production on a 164-ha farm watershed in Delaware County, New York, in the headwaters of New York City water supply. Apart from land use, distributed input parameters were derived from readily available data. Simulated hydrographs compared reasonably with observed flows at the watershed outlet over a eight year simulation period, and peak timing and intensities were well reproduced. Using off-site weather input data produced occasional missed event peaks. Simulated soil moisture distribution agreed well with observed hydrological features and followed the same spatial trend as observed soil moisture contents sampled on four transects. Model accuracy improved when input variables were calibrated within the range of SSURGO-available parameters. The model will be a useful planning tool for reducing NPS pollution from farms in landscapes similar to the Northeastern US

A Discrete and Bounded Envy-free Cake Cutting Protocol for Four Agents

We consider the well-studied cake cutting problem in which the goal is to identify a fair allocation based on a minimal number of queries from the agents. The problem has attracted considerable attention within various branches of computer science, mathematics, and economics. Although, the elegant Selfridge-Conway envy-free protocol for three agents has been known since 1960, it has been a major open problem for the last fifty years to obtain a bounded envy-free protocol for more than three agents. We propose a discrete and bounded envy-free protocol for four agents

Distributed hydrological modelling of total dissolved phosphorus transport in an agricultural landscape, part I: distributed runoff generation

International audienc

A predictive transport modeling code for ICRF-heated tokamaks

In this report, a detailed description of the physic included in the WHIST/RAZE package as well as a few illustrative examples of the capabilities of the package will be presented. An in depth analysis of ICRF heating experiments using WHIST/RAZE will be discussed in a forthcoming report. A general overview of philosophy behind the structure of the WHIST/RAZE package, a summary of the features of the WHIST code, and a description of the interface to the RAZE subroutines are presented in section 2 of this report. Details of the physics contained in the RAZE code are examined in section 3. Sample results from the package follow in section 4, with concluding remarks and a discussion of possible improvements to the package discussed in section 5

Assessing winter cover crop nutrient uptake efficiency using a water quality simulation model

Winter cover crops are an effective conservation management practice with potential to improve water quality. Throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed (CBW), which is located in the mid-Atlantic US, winter cover crop use has been emphasized, and federal and state cost-share programs are available to farmers to subsidize the cost of cover crop establishment. The objective of this study was to assess the long-term effect of planting winter cover crops to improve water quality at the watershed scale (~ 50 km2) and to identify critical source areas of high nitrate export. A physically based watershed simulation model, Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), was calibrated and validated using water quality monitoring data to simulate hydrological processes and agricultural nutrient cycling over the period of 1990–2000. To accurately simulate winter cover crop biomass in relation to growing conditions, a new approach was developed to further calibrate plant growth parameters that control the leaf area development curve using multitemporal satellite-based measurements of species-specific winter cover crop performance. Multiple SWAT scenarios were developed to obtain baseline information on nitrate loading without winter cover crops and to investigate how nitrate loading could change under different winter cover crop planting scenarios, including different species, planting dates, and implementation areas. The simulation results indicate that winter cover crops have a negligible impact on the water budget but significantly reduce nitrate leaching to groundwater and delivery to the waterways. Without winter cover crops, annual nitrate loading from agricultural lands was approximately 14 kg ha−1, but decreased to 4.6–10.1 kg ha−1 with cover crops resulting in a reduction rate of 27–67% at the watershed scale. Rye was the most effective species, with a potential to reduce nitrate leaching by up to 93% with early planting at the field scale. Early planting of cover crops (~ 30 days of additional growing days) was crucial, as it lowered nitrate export by an additional ~ 2 kg ha−1 when compared to late planting scenarios. The effectiveness of cover cropping increased with increasing extent of cover crop implementation. Agricultural fields with well-drained soils and those that were more frequently used to grow corn had a higher potential for nitrate leaching and export to the waterways. This study supports the effective implementation of cover crop programs, in part by helping to target critical pollution source areas for cover crop implementation