- Exploring water quality in a highly agricultural catchment
- Context
The Belgian catchment of the Geer river is strongly affected by agriculture. In the 1970’s, the catchment’s biodiversity was so low that it was considered “dead.” The water quality in the Geer river was poor, mainly due to very high nutrient concentrations. Since then, several restoration projects in the Geer river basin have taken place, aiming at improving water quality and increasing biodiversity.
We monitored this catchment from May 2017 to January 2019 to assess the impact of these restoration measures. We measured stream discharge at different tributaries and collected water samples for subsequent analysis of major ions and stable isotopes of nitrate and water.
Under our guidance, you will explore and evaluate spatiotemporal variations in the collected hydro-chemical data. You use these data to explain how water quality in this catchment relates to water fluxes and agricultural nitrate sources.
Objectives
– Analyze spatiotemporal variability in nitrate concentrations with those of nitrate and water stable isotopes
– Link the nitrate dynamics to hydrological conditions and agricultural practices
– Prepare a report, which will be the foundation for a scientific publication
Type SIE semester project
The project would suit you if you
…are curious to explore data collected in the field
…have good English
…have programming skills (R, Matlab, etc.) to create plots and handle larger datasets yourself and to utilize existing code
…like scientific writing
…understand very basic statistics (e.g., how to use ANOVA)
…are willing to learn new things
Contact [email protected] or [email protected]
