Topographic controls on soil biogeochemistry and its impact on water pollution

英国65%的水道未能达到《水框架指令》的良好状态分类，而且在过去十年中，受污染的水道比例一直在增加。这个问题在英格兰更为明显，英国大部分人口都居住在那里。水体污染物主要为氮、磷和有机碳，其中最大部分来源于农用地的扩散源。为了充分了解扩散污染的动态并制定缓解措施，我们需要详细量化它们从陆地到地表水和地下水的流动路径。对这些流动路径的量化需要高质量的数据和模型。数据包括高分辨率土壤和地形图、土壤健康调查、高分辨率水质测量和土地管理做法，所有这些都不是广泛可用的。为解决这一问题，应采用简化的集中或半分布式方法来模拟水污染物在集水区的迁移。这种方法大大降低了我们量化土地地形对土壤微生物动态的影响，以及最终污染物从农田到地表水和地下水的传输时间的技能。对于这个项目，我们与Cool Farm Alliance合作，扩展我们的建模能力，开发一种工具，在相关规模上处理所有相关的生物物理过程，并将科学知识转化为农业指导方针，以优化农业土地管理。项目任务(1)模型开发在项目的第一个任务中，我们将开发一个三维生态水文模型。这项工作将建立在最先进的生态水文和土壤生物地球化学模型T&C的基础上。进一步的开发将包括并行计算，以便在非常精细的尺度上实现3D模型的快速计算。Cool Farm联盟及其广泛的合作伙伴网络将提供输入数据，以帮助模型开发，并提供数据收集和模型验证的网站。(2)转换为方法与Cool Farm Alliance合作我们的新型模型模拟将在多种土地管理实践下提供与复杂景观中的田间地形、土壤健康和土壤微生物活动相关的定量指标。这些将被用来为Cool Farm Tool(CFT)和农民可理解的指标开发经验法则实用算法，并将这些与明确的指导方针和相关的最佳耕作做法联系起来。注：CFT是一种计算工具，通过评估与他们的耕作实践相关的温室气体排放、碳封存、用水和生物多样性，支持农民做出明智的决策。(3)影响途径在项目的最后部分，我们将向Cool Farm联盟及其成员提供将这些结果纳入CFT的规范。技能和要求

Motivation65% of the UK's water courses fail to achieve a good status classification according the Water Framework Directive and the proportion of polluted water courses has been increasing the last decade. The problem is much more pronounced in England, where most of the UK's population resides. The main water pollutants are Nitrogen, Phosphorus and organic carbon and their largest fraction originates as diffuse source from agricultural land. To fully understand the dynamics of diffuse pollution and develop mitigation practices, we need to quantify in detail their flow path from the land to our surface and ground waters.Quantification of those flow paths requires high quality data and models. Data includes high resolution soil and topographic maps, soil heath surveys, high resolution water quality measurements and land management practices, all not widely available. To overcome this issue current generation models, adapt simplified lumped or semi-distributed approaches in modelling transport of water pollutants in catchments. Such an approach drastically reduces our skill in quantifying the impact of the land's topography on the microbial dynamics of soils, and ultimately the transit times of pollutants from agricultural land to surface and ground waters. For this project we collaborate with Cool Farm Alliance to expand our modelling capabilities, develop a tool that will tackle all the related biophysical processes at their relevant scales and translate scientific knowledge to farming guidelines in optimally managing agricultural land. Project Tasks(1) Model DevelopmentIn the first task of the project we will develop a three-dimensional ecohydrological model. The work will build on the state-of-the art ecohydrological and soil biogeochemical model T&C. Further development will include parallel computing in order to achieve fast computations for a 3D model at very fine scales. Cool Farm Alliance and its extensive partnership network will provide inputs data to aid model development and sites for data collection and model validation. (2) Translation to MethodsWorking in collaboration with Cool Farm Alliance our novel model simulations will provide quantitative indicators related to field topography, soil health and soil microbial activity in a complex landscape, under multiple land management practices. These will be used to develop rule-of-thumb practical algorithms for the Cool Farm Tool (CFT) and farmer understandable indicators and link those with clear guidelines and related best farming practices. Note: the CFT is a computational tool which supports informed decision making for farmers by assessing greenhouse gas emissions, carbon sequestration, water use, and biodiversity associated with their farming practices.(3) Route to ImpactIn the final part of the project we will provide the Cool Farm Alliance and its members with a specification for adoption of these results into the CFT.Skills & Requirements