Water-Energy Nexus: A Literature Review
Water in the West, a joint program of Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment and Bill Lane Center for the American West, Stanford University, August 2013
This literature review on the water-energy nexus provides an overview and analysis of the policy, scientific and technical research on the connections between water and energy conducted between 1990 and 2003. It is a comprehensive survey of the literature from the academic, government and nonprofit sectors, organized around water and energy life cycles. The first section explores energy used by the water and wastewater sectors, and the second section documents water used to generate different forms of energy. Critical findings are presented along with opportunities for future research in this area. The full report is available at http://waterinthewest.stanford.edu/.
Factors Affecting Public-Supply-Well Vulnerability to Contamination: Understanding Observed Water Quality and Anticipating Future Water Quality
Sandra M. Eberts, Mary Ann Thomas and Martha L. Jagucki. U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia, 2013
This new report from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) provides insight into which contaminants in an aquifer might reach a well, and when, how and at what concentration they might arrive. The study examined ten different aquifers across the nation and found that there are differences in public-supply-well vulnerability to contamination, even when contaminant sources are similar. This is because conditions specific to each aquifer affect how long contaminants remain in groundwater and how rapidly they move to wells. The study also found human-induced changes in recharge and groundwater flow caused by irrigation and high-volume pumping had changed aquifer geochemical conditions in numerous study areas. Study findings indicate that information on contaminant input, contaminant mobility and persistence, and the intrinsic susceptibility of the aquifer within the area that contributes water to a well can be used by water managers to protect water supplies from contamination. The report is available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1385/.
New Visions, Smart Choices: Western Water Security in a Changing Climate
Carpe Diem West, 2013
This short report spotlights successful, sustainable and economically sensible steps 10 communities are taking to ensure they will have water in the decades to come. As the climate warms and we experience weather extremes, having a clean, safe water supply for communities, farms, the economy and the environment is becoming a challenge. The stories in this report are intended to inspire other communities to work together to build a more secure water future. The report is available at http://www.carpediemwest.org/newvisions-smartchoices.
The Quality of Our Nation’s Waters - Ecological Health in the Nation’s Streams, 1993-2005
Daren M. Carlisle, Michael R. Meador, Terry M. Short, Cathy M. Tate, Martin E. Gurtz, Wade L. Bryant, James A. Falcone and Michael D. Woodside. National Water Quality Assessment Program, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia, 2013
A new report from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) explains how the health of U.S. streams is being degraded by multiple factors, including stream flow modifications and elevated levels of nutrients, salinity and contaminants such as pesticides. To assess the health of streams, scientists examined the relation between the condition of three biological communities (algae, macro invertebrates and fish) and factors with known potential to alter stream health. At least one altered biological community was found in 83 percent of the assessed streams, and 86 percent of the streams had been modified by dams, diversions, flood control structures or groundwater withdrawal. The report found that stream health was reduced in the majority of streams located in agricultural and urban areas, where elevated levels of salinity, nutrients and pesticides are widespread. However, one in five of these streams was in relatively good health, showing that it is possible to maintain stream health in watersheds with substantial land and water-use development. The USGS provides access to this report at http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1391/pdf/circ1391.
Sustainability: Water
Video Series. National Science Foundation and NBC Learn, 20130
The National Science Foundation (NSF) and NBC Learn collaborated to produce this seven-part video series that examines significant challenges to managing water supply in selected regions and cities across the United States. Videos feature NSF-funded scientists from a diversity of fields, geographic locations and institutions. The first video introduces viewers to the water cycle and each subsequent video explains a specific challenge, how this challenge affects the water supply, and how scientific research can help trace a path to a sustainable future. These videos seek to advance public understanding of the impacts of human activity on the long-term health of this essential resource and the need to manage it wisely. All seven episodes are available free for teachers, students and the public at the NSF (http://science360.gov/series/sustainability-water) and NBC Learn websites (http://www.nbclearn.com/water).
Plume Activity and Tidal Stresses on Enceladus
M. M. Hedman, C. M. Gosmeyer, P. D. Nicholson, C. Sotin, R. H. Brown, R. N. Clark, K. H. Baines, B. J. Buratti and M. R. Showalter Nature, 500, 182–184 (08 August 2013)
Data obtained by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft recorded Saturn’s moon Enceladus ejecting plumes of water regularly depending on how close the moon is to its planet. A study published in the journal Nature, including significant contributions from UA scientists, reports that the geysers can be explained by the existence of a reservoir of liquid water that is subject to tidal stresses by Saturn’s gravity. Because Enceladus’s orbit around Saturn is an eccentric ellipse, gravitational pressure varies regularly between compression and tension as the moon orbits the planet. Cassini has been orbiting Saturn since 2004 and uses various instruments to monitor the planet’s surface. It first discovered the water geysers in 2005 and later flew the spacecraft through one to determine its contents. Mostly made up of tiny water particles, they also include some organic, carbon-based, molecules. The plumes find their way out through “tiger stripes” that are long deep cracks at the moon’s south poles.
The UA team at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory controls operation of the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) an instrument aboard the spacecraft Cassini. VIMS detects the plume’s brightness. Analyses of its data revealed that the plume is much brighter when Enceladus is at the end point of its ellipse farthest from Saturn than the end point when it is nearest. The article, which appears in Nature/Letters, is highly technical; but interested readers can access it at http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v500/n7461/full/nature12371.html.
An Observed Correlation Between Climate Change and Indigenous Peoples in the United States: Impacts, Experiences and Actions
Maldonado, Julie Koppel, Rajul E. Pandya, and Benedict J. Colombi, eds. Special Issue, Climatic Change. Vol. 120, Issue 3, 2013
This Special Issue of Climatic Change shines a light on the impacts of climate change on tribal natural and cultural resources across the United States, the first time a peer-reviewed scientific journal has devoted an entire edition exclusively to this important topic. A collaborative effort by over 50 authors representing tribal communities, academia, government agencies, and NGOs, it explores such impacts as loss of traditional knowledge, forests and ecosystems, food security and traditional foods, water, Arctic sea ice loss, permafrost thaw, and relocation. Articles also highlight how tribal communities and programs are responding to the changing environments.
With a long history and deep connection to the Earth’s resources, indigenous peoples have an intimate understanding and ability to observe the long-term impacts from climate change. Traditional ecological knowledge and tribal experience plays a key role in developing future scientific solutions to adapt to climate impacts. The research presented in this Special Issue supplements the “Impacts of Climate Change on Tribal, Indigenous, and Native Lands and Resources” chapter in the Third National Climate Assessment, to be released in early 2014. Released on-line on September 15, 2013, this issue of Climate Change is available at http://link.springer.com/journal/10584/120/3/page/1.