IAN is committed to producing practical, user-centered communications that foster a better understanding of science and enable readers to pursue new opportunities in research, education, and environmental problem-solving. Our publications synthesize scientific findings using effective science communication techniques.

Disappearing headwaters: patterns of stream burial due to urbanization

Elmore AJ and Kaushal SS ·
2008

Headwater streams provide important ecosystem services, including clean drinking water, habitat for aquatic life, and rapid processing and uptake of nutrients, which can reduce delivery of nitrogen and phosphorus to downstream coastal waters. Despite their importance to ecosystem functioning, very little research has addressed the extent to which headwater streams are buried beneath the land surface during urbanization.

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Effects of nutrient enrichment in the nation's estuaries: A decade of change

Bricker SB, Longstaff BJ, Dennison WC, Jones AB, Boicourt KE, Wicks EC, and Woerner J ·
2008

An updated assessment of nutrient related impacts in US estuaries was completed in 2007. This assessment evaluates three components for each estuary: the influencing factors (e.g. land use, nutrient loads), the overall eutrophic condition (e.g. chlorophyll a, presence of nuisance/toxic algae and macroalgae, extent of dissolved oxygen problems, loss of submerged aquatic vegetation), and future outlook.

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Environmental problem solving in coastal ecosystems: A paradigm shift to sustainability (Page 1)

Environmental problem solving in coastal ecosystems: A paradigm shift to sustainability

Dennison WC ·
2008

The human ecological footprint now extends to the entire globe, and human impacts are the dominant feature of many ecosystems, resulting in our current era being coined the 'anthropocene'. This is particularly apparent in coastal ecosystems as human populations are increasing rapidly in coastal cities and the ecosystem services in these areas are rapidly being compromised.

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Eutrophication and harmful algal blooms: A scientific consensus (Page 1)

Eutrophication and harmful algal blooms: A scientific consensus

Heisler J, Glibert PM, Burkholder JM, Anderson DM, Cochlan W, Dennison WC, Dortch Q, Gobler CJ, Heil CA, Humphries E, Lewitus A, Magnien R, Marshall HG, Sellner K, Stockwell DA, Stoecker DK, and Suddleson M ·
2008

In January 2003, the US Environmental Protection Agency sponsored a "roundtable discussion" to develop a consensus on the relationship between eutrophication and harmful algal blooms (HABs), specifically targeting those relationships for which management actions may be appropriate. Academic, federal, and state agency representatives were in attendance. The following seven statements were unanimously adopted by attendees based on review and analysis of current as well as pertinent previous data:

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Groundwater influences on atmospheric dust generation in deserts

Elmore AJ, Kaste JM, Okin GS, and Fantle MS ·
2008

Groundwater resources are being overexploited in arid and semi-arid environments globally, which necessitates a deeper understanding of the roles that groundwater plays in earth system processes. Of particular importance is the elucidation of groundwater's effect on the generation of atmospheric dust.

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Local and large-scale climate forcing of Puget Sound oceanographic properties on seasonal to interdecadal timescales

Moore SK, Mantua NJ, Kellogg JP, and Newton JA ·
2008

The influence of climate on Puget Sound oceanographic properties is investigated on seasonal to interannual timescales using continuous profile data at 16 stations from 1993 to 2002 and records of sea surface temperature (SST) and sea surface salinity (SSS) from 1951 to 2002. Principal components analyses of profile data identify indices representing 42%, 58%, and 56% of the total variability at depth-station combinations for temperature, salinity, and density, respectively…

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Seagrass: A Hidden Treasure (Page 1)

Seagrass: A Hidden Treasure

Bill Dennison ·
1 January 2008

This brochure is part of a series of images, diagrams and fun facts produced by the Global Seagrass Trajectories working group, funded by the National Science Foundation and conducted at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis in SantaBarbara, California. It describes the temperate and tropical distributions of seagrasses globally, their role as food and habitat for a variety of organisms, as well as being effective indicators of change.

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Spatial and temporal variability of ribotyping results at a small watershed in South Carolina (Page 1)

Spatial and temporal variability of ribotyping results at a small watershed in South Carolina

Kelsey RH, Webster LF, Kenny DJ, Stewart JR, and Scott GI ·
2008

The utility of library-based ribotyping methods for a very small study area was evaluated through comparison of local results to libraries with differing spatial and temporal scales. Ribotyping of Escherichia coli isolates was used to evaluate sources of fecal pollution at a coastal golf course in Beaufort County, South Carolina.

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Spatial distribution of agricultural residue from rice for potential biofuel production in China

Elmore AJ, Shi X, Gorence NJ, Li X, Jin H, Wang F, and Zhang X ·
2008

In China, agricultural residues (particularly from rice) are widely used for energy and other applications, albeit on a localized scale and often at poor rates of efficiency. if some portion of this biomass were to be reallocated and transported to central biomass energy facilities, an initial component of the design process would be to gain an understanding of the spatial distribution of biomass production.

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