KU combines satellite technology, aquatic research to study watersheds

LAWRENCE -- The research led by Jim Thorp and Mark Jakubauskas at the University of Kansas is a watershed project both literally and figuratively.

Literally speaking, the team recently received a $1.15 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to develop a method for classifying watersheds, the land areas from which all the water from a stream or river is derived.

The innovative project will link aquatic research from the Kansas Biological Survey with remote sensing satellite technology from the Kansas Applied Remote Sensing (KARS) program, both of which are based at KU.

Figuratively speaking, the model they develop to determine those classifications -- or grades -- very well could change the way policymakers address water-quality issues that affect drinking water, recreational fishing and the survival of threatened species. The model will look at rivers in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa.

"Some watersheds and their linked streams or rivers are more susceptible to disturbance than others," said Thorp, a senior scientist at KARS. "This kind of approach will give the states, tribal governments and the federal government tools they can use to better predict changes."

Predicting change instead of reacting to it is the key behind addressing water-quality issues early, while the water still is in the watershed, rather than waiting until it's in the drinking supply.

Each watershed will be graded based on its impact on the "ecological integrity" of streams, Thorp said. The ecological integrity is based on variables such as the levels of pollution, and the number of species and how well they function within a given stream.

But that doesn't necessarily mean all attention will be focused on the watersheds that receive failing grades.

"One of our goals is to help policymakers know where to put the tax money in order to get the best result out of the process," Thorp said. "Changing from a C to a C+ quality stream may not be perceived as being as important as taking the same money to improve a C+ to a B-, for example."

The model they are creating to figure out those grades will require three stages. In the first stage, the researchers will use remote sensing technology to get a highly detailed look at vegetation "greenness" and land-use characteristics of some of the smaller watersheds and their wadeable streams throughout the Central Plains region.

Kansas is developing standards to classify wadeable and non-wadeable streams based on E. coli levels and other factors.

The second stage entails combining those findings with existing data on the wadeable streams, creating a model for predicting the health of other similar watersheds.

"We have a lot of data already on wadeable streams that the KBS has been working on," Thorp said. "But what has been lacking nationally is focusing on non-wadeable rivers."

In the final stage of the project, the researchers will scale their model to predict the health of those non-wadeable rivers. They will collect field samples from 40 non-wadeable rivers in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa over the next two summers. The data collected from analyzing the samples will be plugged into the model to predict the health of these larger systems.

Ed Martinko, director of the KBS, was instrumental in bringing the two research units together and contributing to the development of the proposal that attracted the EPA funding, Thorp said. The grant also will provide funding for KU to establish the biological survey as the national center for coordination of similar projects; Martinko will lead national coordination efforts as well.

Jakubauskas, assistant researcher in the KARS program, said previous studies used remote sensing to look at watersheds, but those studies used the technology mostly to create land cover maps that gave highly detailed views of the land surface. However, the studies didn't look at other factors, such as vegetation conditions.

"We're using the remote sensing to identify the condition of a watershed and follow it over a growing season," he said.

KU was the obvious choice for this type of cutting-edge research, he said.

"You could say that this project was custom made for KU because we have this long track record in remote sensing and greenness indices and the established reputation for water-quality studies," Jakubauskas said.

Thorp said projects such as this one reflect a change in the way society views its rivers. Not too long ago, rivers often were seen as wastelands, where people could dump their pollutants and even old stoves and other trash, hoping it would simply wash out to sea. More recently, however, cities such as San Antonio, Texas, have demonstrated that clean, healthy rivers can be great assets for attracting businesses and tourists.

But for that to happen in more places, scientists will have to determine the most effective way to use our limited resources to improve our rivers.

"A number of us here at KU are interested in contributing to this to make our rivers better for everyone," Thorp said.