Developing Geospatial Tools for the Siting and Design of Artificial Nitrogen Sinks in Agricultural Watersheds.

Artificial sinks, including constructed wetlands and carbon bioreactors, have great potential to reduce nitrogen loading to surface waters in agricultural watersheds.  Artificial sinks intercept N-rich groundwater and remove N by promoting denitrification.  When designed to meet site-specific conditions, these systems can remove N in a variety of landscapes and climates. The objective of this research is to develop web-based geospatial tools to aid in the strategic placement and design of bioreactors and constructed wetlands for specific spatial/geographic conditions and climate regimes.  This research is part of a multi-state effort to advance adoption of artificial N sinks in the Upper Mississippi and Chesapeake Bay watersheds.  With support from the NRCS, we are developing new Web Soil Survey interpretations for Maryland and Illinois based on Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) data.  The output of these interpretations will be integrated with geospatial datasets, including data on climate, land drainage, land use and cover, cropping systems, surficial geology, elevation, orthophotography, and either direct or surrogate (i.e., physiography, stream order) data on aquifer characteristics.  Geospatial data will be used to generate maps to inform adoption, placement, and design of bioreactors and constructed wetlands and to model N delivery in common agricultural systems in the Upper Mississippi and Chesapeake Bay watersheds.