Biofuels and the Hydrologic Cycle

CBET-0829023R。艾诺克斯，爱荷华州立大学-随着美国生物燃料产量的大幅增加，一系列研究提出了关于生物质原料生产的环境影响和可持续性的问题，原因是对水的使用、土壤侵蚀、养分运输和温室气体排放的担忧。这一跨学科项目的重点是对未来生物燃料生产系统中土地利用、气候变化和环境的相互作用进行建模。了解生物燃料在水循环中的作用是了解生物燃料对环境的许多影响的关键。这项研究将解决生物质原料生产驱动的水文循环变化的影响，如产量可靠性、土壤侵蚀、溪流和溪流可靠性的变化。将使用一套相互关联的模型来评估生物燃料生产情景对水驱动的环境影响。MM5气候模拟和诺亚陆面模式将用于预测天气模式和生物燃料种植模式之间的相互作用。土壤和水评估工具(SWAT)将利用MM5/NOAH系统产生的天气情景，分析对密西西比河上游流域营养物质和沉积物迁移以及地表水质量的影响。爱荷华州每日侵蚀项目(IDEP)模型还将使用MM5输出来预测整个爱荷华州田间尺度的侵蚀。这些高度发达的模型的整合将提供新的视角，了解受人类对系统的景观和气候-土壤-植被动态的影响而通过水文循环进行的动态相互作用。该项目包括四项旨在增加不同教育水平的多样性和学习的活动。这些活动是：指导爱荷华州AGEP方案的本科生暑期实习生，针对人数不足的少数族裔；指导通过妇女参与科学和工程方案招聘的本科生研究助理；开发和实施基于生物燃料和水文循环的探究式学习活动；以及指导研究生。

CBET-0829023R. Anex, Iowa State UniversityAs the U.S is embarking on a dramatic increase in biofuel production, a series of studies have raised questions about the environmental impacts and sustainability of biomass feedstock production due to concerns about water use, soil erosion, nutrient transport, and greenhouse gas emissions. The focus of this interdisciplinary project is on modeling the interplay of land use, climate change, and the environment in future biofuel production systems. Understanding the role of biofuels in the water cycle is key to understanding many of the environmental impacts of biofuels. This research will address impacts of alterations in the hydrologic cycle driven by biomass feedstock production, such as changes in yield reliability, soil erosion, stream flow, and stream flow reliability. Water-driven environmental impacts of biofuel production scenarios will be assessed using a set of interconnected models. The MM5 climate simulation and Noah land surface model will be used to predict interactions between weather patterns and biofuel feedstock cropping patterns. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) will be used to analyze impacts on nutrient and sediment transport and surface water quality in the Upper Mississippi River Basin using weather scenarios produced by the MM5/Noah system. The Iowa Daily Erosion Project (IDEP) model will also use MM5 outputs to predict erosion across Iowa at the field scale. The integration of these highly developed models will provide new insight into dynamic interactions through the hydrologic cycle as influenced by human manipulation of the landscape and climate-soil-vegetation dynamics of the system. The project includes four activities designed to increase diversity and learning at different levels of education. These activities are: mentoring undergraduate summer interns from the Iowa AGEP program for underrepresented minorities; mentoring of undergraduate research associates recruited through the Program for Women in Science and Engineering; developing and implementing an inquiry-based learning activity based on biofuels and the hydrologic cycle; and mentoring graduate students.