Professional Education
Water Luncheons
Dr. Ryan Winston, Assistant Professor, The Ohio State University, winston.201@osu.edu
April 17, 2019; 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Permeable pavement is an effective tool for improving stormwater quality when sited over soils with high infiltration rates, but its efficacy over less permeable soils is uncertain. This presentation will focus on three novel questions related to water quality performance of permeable pavements:
- Water quality performance when situated over heavy clay soils,
- Nutrient removal through denitrification during dry periods, and
- The effects of seasonality on water quality performance, particularly in locales with cold winters.
To ensure long-term function, permeable pavements need maintenance to remove accumulated sediment and debris which clogs its pore space. Various maintenance methods were tested in the field, including different types of street sweepers, milling the pavement surface, vacuuming, and pressure washing, to determine what techniques best restore permeable pavement hydraulic function. Permeable pavement can significantly reduce the load of common stormwater pollutants even over heavy clay soils if engineering design accounts for seasonal influences and long-term maintenance needs.
Past Luncheons
Insights into the Composition of the 2018 CyanoHAB on Lake Erie Based on Spectral Decomposition of Visible Remote Sensing Images, Joseph Ortiz, Professor, Assistant Chair of the Department of Geology, Kent State University, October 2018
Successes, Challenges and Failures in Sustainability, Vincent Valentino, Sustainability Manager and Operations Assistant, Land-Grant Brewing Company, July 2018
Overview and Updates - Ohio Watershed Coordinator Program, Greg Nageotte, Grants and Watershed Administrator, Ohio Department of Agriculture and Kurt Keljo, Watershed Coordinator, Franklin SWCD, January 2018
Macro- and Micro-nutrient Control of Algal Growth in Great Lakes Aquatic Ecosystems, David Costello, Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Kent State University, October 2017
Water Quality Monitoring within Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District, Fernanda Craig, Water Quality Coordinator, Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District, July 2017
Hidden Chemical Exchange Due to Lake-Groundwater Interactions, Audrey Sawyer, Assistant Professor, School of Earth Science, The Ohio State University, April 2017
Update - ODNR Acid Mine Drainage Program, Ben McCament, Unit Administrator - Acid Mine Drainage; ODNR – Division of Mineral
Resources Management, January 2017
Methane Emissions
Gases trapping solar heat in the atmosphere are called green house gases. Methane (CH4) is the second most prevalent greenhouse gas emitted in the United States from human activities (the first one being carbon dioxide). In 2014, methane accounted for about 11 percent of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from human activities. Although methane is much more potent green house gas than carbon dioxide (25 times greater impact on climate change than CO2 over 100 years), its longevity in the atmosphere is only about 12 years.
Water body methane emissions play an important role in the global methane emission budget, but there are large uncertainities in methane fluxes estimates from natural and anthropogenic systems. Researchers in Ohio work on evaluating methane fluxes from both of these sources.
- Prof. Bohrer projects funded by NSF and Ohio WRC investigate methane fluxes from natural and anthropogenic sources in shale gas development areas.
- Prof. Buffam and Hamilton project funded by Ohio WRC 104(b) program evaluate how are Ohio reservoirs methane emissions influenced by nutrient enrichement.
Resources:
Methane: A Scientific Journey from Obscurity to Climate Super-Stardom